Fate

Title: Fate
Author: MakaiKitty
Rating: R/NC-17
Category: Original Fantasy
Warings: slash, m/m, sex
Distribution: My website, My LJ and any LJs I posted at, AFF.net, FicWad, and DeviantArt. If you\'d like to use it just let me know.
Status: Complete

Author\'s Note: Just a note. This is a work in progress, and it hasn\'t been betaed yet. I just thought I\'d share what I had so far. If you\'re kind enough to R/R, then I give you my thanks.

\"Fate\"

There is a devastatingly beautiful, nearly naked, crimson haired boy lying beside me. He\'s snuggled tightly against my side, his silky soft skin brushing tantalizingly against my body. I look down at his lovely face, gentle and unguarded in sleep, and all I can think is I hate my life. Why, might you ask, does his presence make me think this way? It\'s simple. Life was so much easier before he came along. I hated my life even then, I realize that now, but back then I didn\'t really notice that much. I walked around feeling numb inside, so it didn\'t seem to matter much rather I was happy or not. I just figured I was one of those people born to be miserable. No, that\'s not exactly true either. I didn\'t feel miserable. I didn\'t feel much at all. I didn\'t feel anything strongly enough to say I was miserable, but I know I wasn\'t happy either. Like I said, I walked around feeling dead inside, and I didn\'t much expect that to ever change. I got up every day well after noon, and then spent the rest of the day trying to find something meaningless to amuse myself with. I\'d draw sometimes since I do occasionally work as an artist of independent comics, but due to a large inheritance and a complete lack of ambition or direction, I didn\'t really need to do much of anything. So I didn\'t. Then I\'d go to bed and start it all over again the next day. And I always did it alone. I know, I was wasting my life away, but I didn\'t really care. Then he had to show up and change everything. And that\'s not the only problem he\'s created. Of if only it were! But you\'ll understand soon enough. It all started about six months ago.

I had decided to go for a walk one night about midnight, and I was just making my was around the west bank of the lake near my home when I heard it. At first I thought it was an injured animal, but I soon realized it was actually a person\'s low pitched keening. And that\'s when I first set eyes on him. He was crouched down at the base of a nearby tree, trying to drag his little frame into the darkness under the bushes surrounding the lake. He was covered in scratches, blood, dirt and grime, and he was dragging his left leg behind him, apparently having injured it somehow. I originally thought he had black hair, but when the clouds parted from the bright, full moon I saw that it was the strangest dark crimson color, a color I didn\'t know was humanly possible. I know I\'d only seen it in comics or anime, but it was too natural looking to be dyed. And his eyes. When he turned those frightened orbs on my I saw that they were also red, a bright ruby-like red! Now, normally I would think it would be frightening to come across a bizarre red eyed being in the middle of the night under a full moon, but there was something so lost in those eyes that I found it immediately impossible to feel fear towards him. Even when I noticed the tiny points of his ears and the sharper points of his eye-teeth I didn\'t think, What is he?, but instead, What happened to him? Besides, I\'m six foot, well built, and haven\'t ever been afraid of much. Especially not a boy cowering under a tree that could have weighed all of one-hundred pounds soaking wet. There was just nothing frightening about him.

As I started to approach him he gave a frightened little squeal and redoubled his efforts to squeeze himself under the shrubs. Now, as I\'ve already said, I wasn\'t much of an emotional person, but it would have taken a real monster to not feel for that poor little creature right about then. I didn\'t know why he was so terrified, but I knew I wanted to do what I could to help relieve some of that fear. I crouched down beside him and grabbed him around the waste just as he started to disappear under the greenery. He gave a high pitched scream and started to sob as he struggled to free himself, but I held tight and tried to reassure him with calming words. He wasn\'t very strong, and I easily maintained my hold on him as he fought, when suddenly he went still as a statue in my arms. I thought I may have hurt him, and opened my mouth to apologize, when I saw that his eyes were locked on some point above my left shoulder. I hadn\'t thought he could look any more frightened than when I had first come across him, but if it was possible he looked even more terrified.

I turned around and saw a tall, dark haired man, dressed all in black. He had high, sharp features, and cold, dark eyes. He reminded me slightly of the big birds of prey, especially with his long coat flapping behind him with the breeze. I hated him immediately. I didn\'t really understand why because I usually don\'t care one way or the other about people when I first come in contact with them. And I never feel things as strong as hate right off the bat. But sure enough, I despised him at first sight. Maybe it was the cruel sneer that graced his lips. Or the fact that this was obviously the cause of the boy\'s suffering. Now that I think back I\'m pretty sure that that was the reason. I don\'t know why, but I felt instantly protective of him, and that was probably the reason I felt such strong and instantaneous animosity towards the man in black. Or maybe it was the full moon? They do say it causes people to act strangely. Maybe I have the moon to blame for everything, including my current problems. Maybe.

Anyway. Getting back to the man in black. He looked right past me as if I weren\'t there and locked eyes with the red head in my arms. He looked at him, taking in his disheveled appearance, and then started to laugh. He actually started to laugh! That trembling little form was probably one of the saddest things I\'ve ever seen and he was laughing at him! If I hadn\'t hatted him already then that cruel laugh of his would have done it for me for sure.

\"Well, well, little one, you\'ve given me quite a chase. What\'s it been? Forty-five minuets?\" He ask, looking at this watch and laughing again. Forty-five minuets?! Well, I thought, that certainly explained the sorry state the boy was in if he\'d been running around the woodland surrounding the lake for nearly an hour. That only left the question of why? \"Now come here.\"

When he reached out to take hold of the boy the little red head gave a pitiful, choked little shriek and reacted to the man\'s touch as if he\'d been burned. I immediately pushed the boy behind me, against the trunk of the tree I\'d found him under, and stood up to shield him from the grasping hands of his tormentor. I don\'t know why I did it, none of it had anything to do with me, and I should have just walked away and let them handle their problems between themselves. I should have, but I couldn\'t. I couldn\'t just leave the boy like that when it was so obvious that something awful would happen as soon as I left. Of course I couldn\'t just leave. The strong sense of protectiveness sure as hell surprised me though. Still does. It sunrises me even more that the feeling hasn\'t gone away to this day. It\'s all tied into my current problems, but we\'ll get to that later.

Until I stood between him and his objective the man hadn\'t really seemed to notice me. Even after I got in his way he only looked at me as if I were an annoying insect to be swatted away. Not something I\'m used to. He really wasn\'t making up any points with me.

\"What do we have here? Found a white knight have you? How sweet.\" He spoke around me, trying to engage the boy I was still shielding. And it was really pissing me off! By the time he finally spoke to me I was about ready to knock his block off, and I\'m not even a violent person. Must have been the full moon.

\"Kindly move aside boy, this has nothing to do with you.\" When I didn\'t move, he finally seemed to really take a good look at me. He probably thought that since he had a few inches on me that he could intimidate me with a combination of that and a really wicked glare. All I thought of that was Wonder if he practices that look in the mirror? I\'d made my stand and I sure as Hell wasn\'t backing down now. The mournful sobbing coming from behind me only served to strengthen my resolve.

\"Are you the one that hurt him? The one that made him cry?\"

\"And what is it to you boy? He\'s mine. I can do with him as I please. I can, and I will.\"

I couldn\'t believe what I was hearing. He\'s mine? I can do with him as I please? What the hell was this guy thinking, treating the boy behind me like he was some wayward puppy who needed to be dragged back home after jumping the fence? Considering the state I had found him in, I didn\'t even want to know what would happen if he did manage to drag the boy back with him. I decided right then that I\'d do anything to keep that from happening. Hell, I think I\'d probably decided the moment the bastard showed up. Who knows? Probably.

When he saw that his explanation wouldn\'t cause me to move he stood back and seemed to be reevaluating the situation. He looked from me to the boy and then back again, before asking me his next question.

\"Do you even know what he is? Do you know what it is that you\'re seeking to defend?\"

What he is? I didn\'t understand why he\'d chosen those words. What he appeared to be was a scared little boy. What else would he be? It seemed obvious to me at the time. I was soon to find out otherwise.

He must have sensed my confusion, because he stated that evil laugh of his again. With his appearance and that laugh all he needed was a long mustache to twrill and he could have been a cartoon villain. How bizarre my night had become! And this was only the beginning.

\"You don\'t know what that is do you?\" He said, pointing behind me \"Please, allow me to clarify things for you, and then perhaps you will return my property to me. How does that sound my boy?\"

\"Property? What the Hell is wrong with you, bastard?\"

\"Oh, but that is exactly what he is. That\'s how it works with his kind.\"

\"His kind? What the Hell are you on about?\"

I was beginning to think he must be nuts or on drugs. Maybe both. I was thinking of human trafficking, child prostitution, and white slavery rings. If only it had been that simple. I had no idea how off the mark I really was. He\'d soon rectify that situation for me though.

\"You think you\'ve happened upon a poor, defenseless little boy hiding in the woods, don\'t you. You want to save him from ... what, his evil step-father, or maybe some pervert with a taste for little children? You think that you\'re saving him from ending up in kiddie porn on the net or something like that? Am I right? Plan on calling Child Protective Services when you\'ve run me off? Is that it? How noble of you. You should be commended for you chivalry. And here I thought such things were dead in this day and age! I was right about the white knight remark earlier I suppose.\"

I pretty much thought he\'d hit the nail on the head Except for the white knight thing. I didn\'t really see it as being all that noble. As I saw it I was just saving myself a few sleepless nights. I knew that if I left the boy here then I\'d be seeing his eyes in my dreams, beseeching me to save him from this devil. Just a selfish act of self-preservation in my opinion. But aside from that, he had echoed my thoughts pretty accurately.

\"Well, you\'re wrong. He\'s a daemon.\"

At first I thought he must be joking. Or that my earlier assessments of being insane or high must have been correct. A daemon? Yeah right. No. Such. Thing.

\"Ah, I see that you don\'t believe me. Of course you don\'t. In this modern age no one believes in much of anything. So sad really.\" He said this in such a conversational way, as if we\'d had this discussion on the state of modern day non-believers many times before and were just rehashing old arguments. Or maybe he expected me to agree with him? How was I to know. He was the lunatic, not me! After shaking his head a few times, more to himself than to me, he looked back up and pinned me with that harsh stare of his. As if he were now daring me to disbelieve him. But how could I believe? Daemons?

\"Yes boy, that thing behind you is indeed a daemon. And a wicked, misbehaving, disobedient one at that. And as such it will do you no good to try to protect him. Or to call CPS for that matter. By the Goddess, he\'s not even a child! Don\'t let appearances fool you. The deceitful little thing has obviously duped you. Now kindly step aside and let me finish disciplining my wayward pet.\"

He seemed to feel that his explanation was acceptable, and that our conversation was over. He honestly thought that after that little speech I would just stand aside and let him take the boy! Maybe he thought I was the lunatic? Even if I had believed his explanation, did he really think I\'d let him pass, rather or not the boy behind me was a daemon? That\'s when he crossed his arms over his chest and started tapping his foot, waiting for me to move I suppose. Well, he was in for a long wait if that was the whole of his explanation! Deamons? Couldn\'t he have even come up with a more reasonable explanation? And I swear he started to growl at me, a low rumble deep in this throat. At the time I was much more likely to believe he was a daemon! And yes, I know I said earlier that I noticed fangs on the boy and points to his ears, even his unnatural red eyes and crimson hair. But I wasn\'t really ready to decide what that meant. Maybe he was right about modern day non-believers. Who knows?

\"What? You still don\'t believe me? Then by all means...\" and he spread his arms wide, gesturing towards the boy still huddled against the tree behind me, \"ask him. Take a good look at him and you\'ll see for yourself. Hurry up and look so we can be on our way.\"

I wasn\'t really planning on turning my back on him (I\'m not stupid, after all) but I suppose curiosity got the better of me. Besides, I had a feeling that he would have stood there all night waiting for me to examine the boy for myself. So, against my better judgement I turned around an knelt by the shivering little form.

As I\'ve said before, it was a full moon, and a bright one at that. Also, I\'ve always had really good night vision, so it was pretty easy to see despite the late hour and the lack of artificial lighting. Although I wasn\'t quite ready to admit that the boy was a daemon, I did think he was somehow unnatural looking. Even covered with wounds and grime, his face soaked with tears and contorted with fear, he was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. He had huge ruby colored eyes, and despite the oddity of the color, they were still stunning, with a dark fringe of lashes to frame them. His features were delicate and pretty, very nearly feminine but not quite. He had porcelain like skin, high, deep carved cheek bones, and full, pink cupid\'s bow lips. His crimson hair was thick and silky looking, cut into a cute little bob-like style. He had a slight and delicate figure, very lovely despite the tattered and dirty state of the clothing covering him. And sure enough, he did have tiny points to his ears, a sharpness to his nails, and little white fangs in his mouth. But a daemon? That couldn\'t be. Could it? I\'ve never thought of myself as the type to let my imagination get the best of me, but there was something about the boy that did seem different. I was even leaning towards believing that he wasn\'t the child that he appeared to be because there was something in his eyes that spoke of age and knowledge, a look that just didn\'t say child to me. But a daemon? It just didn\'t make any sense to me. All the while, as I looked him over and tried to reason things out in my mind, he just looked at me with an increasingly desolate expression. He obviously already believed he had lost his protector, that I would undoubtedly see something in him that wasn\'t worth saving and then I\'d get up and leave him to his fate. That look alone would have been enough to convince me to stay. He looked so incredibly lost. Daemon or not, how could I just leave him?

\"There, see? He\'s not human. Now move aside and let me have him.\"

I had almost forgotten that the man in black was there as I looked into the eyes of the boy. Or the daemon. I might not be the type to believe easily, but I also wasn\'t going to delude myself just because something was outside the realm of normalcy. I figured I may as well go with the daemon explanation for the time being, and then think things out more clearly after I\'d taken care of the current situation. I put my hand on the little daemon\'s cheek and quietly told him \"It\'s ok, just stay behind me. I\'ll keep you safe.\" And then I stood up to face the man in front of me. Not that I had any idea what I was going to do, but hey, I think well on my feet.

\"So, he\'s not human? I still don\'t think he wants to go with you. Seems scared shitless of you actually. Plus, I just told him I\'d protect him. Can\'t go back on my word, now can I? So I think you should just leave. Go practice your evil villain laugh in front of the mirror or something.\"

He looked so taken aback that it was almost funny. Not the reaction he was expecting I guess. Now that I think back on it I probably shouldn\'t have been so rash. Since I had just decided the boy behind me was in fact a daemon, then there was no telling what the man in front of me was. After all, aren\'t daemons supposed to be scary? And this one was terrified of this man, so what could he have done to scare a daemon? Didn\'t really occur to me at the time, but maybe it should have? Oh well, can\'t change the past.

\"Protect him? But he\'s a daemon.\"

\"Yeah, and your point is?\"

He seemed to think for a moment before asking \"And what do you plan to do if you protect him? Do you have any idea what you\'re supposed to do with one of those?\"

Now, I had no idea what he meant by that, but I didn\'t really care. Have you noticed by now that I have a one track mind? I set myself to something and that\'s that. Game over. I don\'t really change my mind once it\'s set. He had no idea what a stubborn mule he\'d just run up against. Oh well, his problem not mine.

Out of nowhere he started to laugh. A real, hearty belly laugh. As if he\'d just thought of the funniest thing in all the world. And then he turned that laughing gaze on me. I really found that look more unnerving than his evil glare. Go figure.

\"I\'ll tell you what you\'re supposed to do with him. I\'ll tell you exactly what should be done with him. Then, if you still want him so badly, I\'ll give you this\" and he held up his left hand to show me a bizarre looking ring on his middle finger. \"If you decide to take it, then I\'ll leave and never bother either of you ever again.\" Then, as if it were an afterthought, he said \"I was getting tired of him anyway. He\'s served his purpose After all.\"

Throughout all of this I hadn\'t heard a word from the daemon behind me, just the heartrending keening and his quiet sobs, but at this new proposal he reached out and grasp the edge of my tee-shirt. I figured this meant that he at least wanted me to consider this option, so I squared my shoulders and glared right back at the smug bastard, waiting for his explanation.

\"Now, I don\'t expect you to know this, human,\" he began, as if he were lecturing at university or something \"but there are many types of deamons in this realm, as well as others. And each type usually serves a specific purpose. At least to those who know how to take advantage of their various uses. No doubt you have a rather fearsome image in mind when I say the word daemon, but that\'s just one type.\" Here he looked down at the little ruby eyed daemon hovering just behind me, as if to say he wasn\'t as good as those types of deamons of which he spoke. One thing was for sure, if he was the monstrous daemon I\'d always associated with the word then we probably wouldn\'t be in this situation. Not unless the guy in front of me was hiding some seriously freaky powers. And maybe he was, but who cares about that now. Fact was, the daemon in question wasn\'t fearsome, and that was that. \"This daemon here, however, does have some useful abilities. He\'s a personal daemon, made to serve his master faithfully. Regardless of what is ask of him.\" From the tone of his voice I figured this was the cause of their current problems. I wasn\'t too keen to find out what this particular master may have ask of his servant. Surely nothing good. \"His kind are actually made to be pleasure slaves.\" Ah, so I had been mostly right before. \"They serve their master\'s needs, as well as performing minor magicks on command. They can really be quite useful to have around.\" The lustful look he gave to the daemon clinging to my shirt was enough to make me sick. I could only image what he must have done with the pretty red-head as his slave. Not that I could entirely blame him, but still. \"Now, for the best part. They can also grant an altered state upon a human master. In other words, he can make you a daemon. And a lot more powerful than one of his kind. He can grant his master the immortality of his kind, as well as the powers that go along with that.\"

When he\'d finished he just stood there, smugly looking me over, waiting for my reaction. Turn you into a daemon? Immortality? Was he kidding? He had to be. Didn\'t he? Then again, if I was willing to believe that I was doing this to protect a real live daemon, then why not believe the rest? In for a penny in for a pound. Isn\'t that the saying? But still ... Wow! However, I still couldn\'t figure out what this guy was up to. Why tell me all this? Was he really planning to give me the daemon? Let us both leave without a confrontation, just like he\'d said earlier? And what was up with the ring?

\"This ring\" he went on as if he\'d read my mind. And who knows, maybe he did? \"is what controls him. Keeps him tied to you. It\'s also why it was pointless to run, my little one. I could have found you any time I wanted, I just thought it\'d be fun to play a bit.\"

This, in my mind, was the last straw. He had purposely let him run, just so he could be chased down and recaptured? The bastard had enjoyed it, known that the boy would be scared and desperate, but that no matter how hard he fought he\'d still be found? How could he treat someone like that, daemon or not? I couldn\'t help it, I swung and hit him right across that smug jaw of his. Hit him hard enough that my hand was left stinging. Now I know I\'ve already told you that I wasn\'t an emotional person, I\'ve said it more than once by now, but even I can only take so much. This bastard was sick. He needed more than just a punch to the jaw. And I was going to give it to him. I would have to, if not for the little daemon still clinging to my shirt. I spun around to tell him to let me go, but when I did I guess he thought I was going to hit him too, because he cringed and pulled back, but still didn\'t let go of my shirt. That fearful look stopped me in my tracks. I was supposed to be protecting him, not scaring him. I was protecting him from that sort of thing. I think he was trying to stop me from getting hurt, he obviously had reasons to fear the man in front of us, so who knows, maybe he saved my life right then. Either way, it stopped me from doing anything else. And do you know what that jerk did after I popped him one? He started laughing again! He may have been right about the whole daemon thing, but I still believe he\'s a nut case.

\"How valiant! Has my behavior angered you? Will you defend his honor? Oh, I assure you, he\'s none left to save! But go right ahead and vent your righteous indignation on his behalf. Bravo, sir knight! How very brave of you!\" And then he took off the ring and threw it at my feet. \"Still want him? Still want him after you know what he is? I assure you, if you do, that he\'s been well broken in. Are you sure you wouldn\'t like something a little less used? And a bit more manageable?\" Here he leered knowingly at the ruby eyed daemon who again cowered behind me. Whatever memories the words invoked for the boy, it made him begin to sob again, pulling back to huddle against the tree\'s base again. He was such a pathetically heartbreaking site that nothing the asshole in front of me could have said would have changed my mind as I reached down to retrieve the discarded ring.

\"Wait,\" he said before I could slip the ring onto my hand \"I like you. You\'ve got spirit. Don\'t waste it on this little whore. I can find you something much better. Come, leave with me and we\'ll both go find new servants. It\'ll be fun.\"

I can\'t believe he honestly thought I\'d accept his invitation, but then again I have said he was crazy, haven\'t I? I just glared at him and defiantly slipped the ring onto my finger. The moment it touched my flesh I felt the strangest sensations. My body was at the same time both hot and cold, and I tingled all over as if I were in an electrical storm. I heard a buzzing from somewhere and the very air seemed to shimmer around me for a moment. I don\'t know how long it lasted, could have been seconds or hours, but when it ended I suddenly felt energized. I felt stronger than I ever have in my life and I was filled with a sense of inner power. I felt more truly alive than I ever had. I later found out that this was the moment I was transformed. All and all, it wasn\'t as bad as I would have imagined. It was actually pretty cool. Who would have guessed?

To his credit the jerk did get up, brush himself off, tell me \"It\'s your loss boy.\", and then he simply turned and left. Just like he said he would. Not even a backward glance or an offhanded insult for his former slave, no threats that I\'ll be back! or anything cliched like that. Kind of anti-climatic. I was really surprised that he kept his word though, he didn\'t really seem like a trustworthy guy. Guess I shouldn\'t look a gift horse in the mouth.

That was when it first hit me what I had just done. That was when I realized I probably wasn\'t human anymore, and more importantly, that I\'d just taken responsibility for the little ruby eyed daemon behind me. What the Hell was I supposed to do with a daemon pleasure slave? Well, I know that sounds like a stupid and self-explanatory question, but it\'s really not as easy as it sounds. You\'ll understand when I\'ve finished my story. It really isn\'t nearly as easy as it sounds.

I did know one thing: we couldn\'t just stand in the forest all night. It was defiantly time to head home. I turned around and looked down at the little form still huddled against the tree trunk. As weird as I was finding the night, what must the be thinking? He was essentially just traded away by his master. Sold like so much property. Hell, not even sold, tossed away. Like garbage. And the things he had said to him. The boy had to feel pretty crummy right about then. Not to mention his physical state. I knew I needed to get him home right away. I could think of what to do next after I\'d done that.

He was shaking so badly that I was almost afraid to touch him, but I\'d seen the way he was dragging his leg earlier and I knew he couldn\'t walk on his own. Luckily for both of us I was pretty strong, probably stronger now that I had this new power, and he was very small and could be easily carried home by a man half my size. From the looks of him that bastard hadn\'t even fed him well enough. God, people treated their dogs better than this!

\"It\'s okay now.\" I said to him, trying to use as soothing a voice as I could manage. I really didn\'t want to scare him anymore than he already was. I know I said he didn\'t even really look like a child, but right then he seemed very much like one. I don\'t ever want to see anything like that again. Especially that look in his eyes. I never want to see that again. Not ever. \"You\'re safe. I\'m going to take you home with me now. I\'ll get you something to eat and get you cleaned up. There\'s nothing to be afraid of. It\'ll be ok.\"

He just nodded at me, almost like he didn\'t quite want to believe me. I couldn\'t really blame him. For all I know his last master had spoken softly to him, given him kind words to lull him into a feeling of safety and security, and then turned into a monster once he had him. Plus, he did say the deamons were immortal. Who knows how many so called masters he\'d had in his lifetime. I had no way of knowing. Surely some of them had seemed kind at some point. I only hoped for his sake that they hadn\'t all turned out like the last one. I didn\'t blame him for not trusting me, even if I had just saved him. For all he knew it was out of the fire and into the frying pan. I probably would have been more worried if he\'d rushed into my arms and gleefully called me his savior.

Figuring we\'d spent enough time outside, and worried that he\'d catch a chill from the cool air blowing off the lake (I wasn\'t sure if a daemon could catch a cold, but better safe than sorry) I decided I\'d just have to let him be a little afraid of me for the time being. Nothing much I could do about it right then. So I picked him up as gently as I could and held him close to me the whole way home. About half way there he put his too thin arms around my neck and seemed to fall into a sort of half sleep. I was glad for that, figuring he\'d been through enough for the day and deserved a rest. He didn\'t stir until we were inside my home some fifteen minuets after we\'d set off. The sad thing is, the tears didn\'t stop the whole time either. I knew right then that I had to take care of him, I had to find out what that pretty face would look like smiling. Hey, even a cold hearted bastard like me can feel romantic sometimes. Or maybe I\'m really soft at heart? Just fooling myself with this heartless image of myself? To Hell with it, who cares anyway. That\'s just how I felt as I looked down at that sad little daemon curled in my arms. I had no idea then what sort of trouble my strange new feelings would lead to. All I know is that I never remember thinking I hate my life before that day!

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Now, as I\'ve said, I didn\'t really plan to do any of this. I just saw him there, by chance, and I felt like I had to do something. However, I didn\'t really think beyond the immediate threat. Once I got him home I realized just what a mess I\'d gotten myself into.

\"What do I do with him now?\" I remember asking aloud. Didn\'t get an answer. Or course not. I never do.

Deciding I had to do something, that standing in the entryway all night wouldn\'t get me any closer to an answer, I took a good look at my new found companion and realized that I did actually know what to do next. He was filthy, having spent nearly an hour running around in the woods. And I doubted he looked that great before he\'d run. He needed a bath. Bad.

Baths have always been a weakness of mine. Go ahead and laugh, but it\'s not just chicks that enjoy a good long soak. It\'s no wonder this was my solution to the question of what to do. A nice hot bath has solved many of life\'s problems for me. Maybe it would solve some of his as well? This decided, I carried him upstairs to my room since I have a master suit with a huge corner garden tub in it. It\'s big enough to seat three, a statement which I wouldn\'t mind testing one of these days, and it has a huge window that looks out at the woods behind my home. From there I could probably see the lake where I\'d just been walking on a clear night. This bathroom alone makes the house in my opinion.

That was when I discovered that I had another problem. While not entirely asleep, the little red head defiantly wasn\'t awake either. He was just sort of zoned out in my arms, clinging rather weakly to me. I suspected that alone was taking up all of his strength. I didn\'t really think he could bath himself at the moment. Hell, he\'d probably have drown if I had left him alone in the massive tub. That left the whole thing to me. I didn\'t want to frighten him anymore than he already was, or to make him feel any more uncomfortable with me than he probably already felt, but I knew it had to be done. So, despite my misgivings, I set him down on the ledge of the tub and started to undress him. Even this didn\'t really snap him out of the fog he was in, and aside from a slight momentary widening of his eyes, he didn\'t respond at all as I slipped his shirt up and over his head. This actually made things worse for me than if he had gotten frightened or angry. That mute acceptance of my position of power over him, the quiet acceptance that his fate was out of his hands and that he was completely at my mercy actually scared me! I know that if it had been me in his position and a strange guy had started to try to undress me he would have been in for quite an earful. And that would be after he picked himself up off the floor. Not my little daemon though. He just sat there and let me do what I wanted, a light trembling of his body the only clue that I had that he wasn\'t as comfortable with my actions as he was letting on.

\"Sorry. It\'s okay, I\'m not gonna do anything to you. Promise.\" I told him this after realizing that I hadn\'t told him what I was going to do. I had just gotten so used to him lying in my arms like a life-sized doll that I didn\'t really think it would do any good to ask his permission. I know, I can be an insensitive jerk sometimes. So sue me.

\"It\'s all right Master. You can do as you please. I\'m yours now.\"

He said all this with his eyes downcast, carefully avoiding my gaze and instead looking at the delicate and trembling hands clasped in his lap. But it wasn\'t his mannerisms that surprised me the most; it was his voice. It was soft and pleasant, somehow melodic despite the slight quiver to his words. It sounded neither masculine, nor as girlishly pitched as I had feared it would be. It added perfectly to his charm. And yes, he was oddly charming despite the sorry states of both his emotional and physical appearance.

Since I had been less concerned with what he was saying than with how he was saying it, it took me a moment to realize what he meant by his words. He actually thought I was trying to ...

\"No. No, no, no, no,\" I said, backing up and giving him a little space between us \"That\'s not it at all. You\'ve got it all wrong! I wasn\'t trying to ...\"

\"Trying to what, Master? You don\'t need to justify yourself to me. As I said, I\'m yours now.\" All this and he still wouldn\'t look at me. Still kept his eyes downcast. And he kept calling me \'Master\'. What was up with that?!

\"Listen,\" I said, intending to set things straight before he really got the wrong idea. I was, After all, supposed to be helping him, not making matters worse. \"It\'s not what you think. I\'m not going to try anything funny. It\'s not like that. I just figured you should probably be cleaned up before you go to bed. And, you seemed kinda out of it, so I figured I\'d have to do it for you. That\'s all. Really. Promise. You don\'t have to worry about me. You\'re safe with me. Really.\" I wasn\'t sure if I did a good job calming him down, or stating a case for the innocence of my intentions, but at least my words finally got him to look at me.

\"Do you not like me?\"

That comment caught me completely off guard. Not like him? How could anyone not like him with those beguiling ruby eyes looking up at them? Impossible.

\"Am I not to your liking Master? Am I not pretty enough? Not to your tastes? Or maybe you don\'t like males? Do you ...\"

But I cut him off because he looked like he was about to break into tears again. That was the last thing I wanted.

\"I like males fine ...\" And that\'s when I realized I didn\'t even know his name. I\'d just been thinking of him as the boy or the daemon, but he must have a proper name. Or at least I hoped he did. Even pets got names. Didn\'t they? \"Please tell me that you have a name little one.\"

He looked shocked by this one, as if he hadn\'t really expected to be asked his name. Sad really. I was beginning to wonder what else he was or wasn\'t expecting from me.

\"Alexis, sir.\"

\"Alexis? Isn\'t that a girl\'s name?\" I said it before I really thought about it. Like I said, I can be a really insensitive jerk sometimes.

\"Not always,\" he said in a small voice. \"And they usually call me Lexi.\" Then he added hastily, \"But you may call me whatever you wish, Master.\"

\"Sorry.\" It really was a pretty name. Suited him somehow. Just didn\'t know anyone gave guys names like that. \"Oh, and don\'t call me master. I have a name too. It\'s Shayne. Call me Shayne.\" This caused him to look at me like I had sprouted a second head. Probably a loosing battle, but the whole \'master\' thing was really disturbing to me.

\"But, you are my master. Why wouldn\'t you want me to call you Master? Did I do something to upset you?\"

\"It\'s always about you, isn\'t it?\" I\'d meant it to be a joke, but he didn\'t seem to be getting it. Doubt anyone joked with him very often. \"Never mind.\"

Once we were done with introductions it left us again in an awkward situation. I was starting to believe that my earlier feelings were misplaced and that it all would have been easier if he were still nearly unconscious. However, despite the fact that he was talking with me, he still didn\'t seem stable enough to look after himself if left alone in the huge tub. Since he wasn\'t up to it this left me with a half naked daemon in need of a bath and no idea what to do next.

Taking a deep breath, I decided to just suck it up and take care of the situation as soon as possible. If it made us both feel a little weird, then so be it. We\'d get over it.

\"Listen, I meant what I said. I\'m not planning on doing anything to you. I\'m not trying to molest you or anything like that. You don\'t have to worry about me trying that shit. I\'m not that kinda guy.\" I\'m not sure that he believed me, but I meant every word. Yes, he was lovely to look at, and if I\'d met him in some other situation then my words may not have held as true. Hell, I\'d probably be trying to get him into the situation that we were currently in. But things weren\'t like that, and I wasn\'t going to take advantage of someone in such a vulnerable state. I just couldn\'t do it. \"I just thought you\'d need some help cleaning up. You don\'t seem to be in such good shape right now.\"

He looked sheepishly down at himself, then catching his reflection in the mirror he gave a startled gasp. Guess he hadn\'t realized just how bad he looked right then. Poor thing. I wanted so badly to ask what that bastard had done to him to get the results I was currently seeing, but even I\'m not that insensitive. At least not all the time anyway.

\"I\'m sorry Mas ... I mean Shayne.\"

Sorry?! He was apologizing to me? That really blew my mind. I couldn\'t figure out what he could possibly be apologizing to me for. I just knew it made me feel like an ass. It seemed like nothing I said that night was right, nothing I did had the right results. I just wanted to reassure him and make him feel safe, and instead he kept apologizing for his imagined shortcomings! And I had no idea how to make things right.

\"What are you sorry for? What could you have done wrong?\"

\"Well,\" he said, still staring at his appearance in the wall of mirrors across from us, \"I must be quite a disappointment to you.\"

This made me laugh. A disappointment?! Hell, it\'s not like I went out looking for a daemon pleasure slave that night. I just wanted some fresh air! I told him all this, but it didn\'t seem to make any difference to Alexis, so I gave up trying to convince him. I decided that we\'d both had a really long night, albeit his probably seemed way longer than mine, and that we\'d both be thinking better in the morning.

\"Let\'s just get you cleaned up and then we can both get some sleep. It\'s late.\"

He just nodded and mutely let me strip the rest of his clothes off. It was all I could do not to let him see just how shocked I was. Aside from the numerous cuts and scratches from fleeing through the woods he also had a multitude of other visible injuries. His back was the worst, looking as if someone had taken a belt to him, the lashes crisscrossing from his shoulder blades all the way down his slender hips and onto his thighs. There were black and blue marks all over him, and deep cuts surrounded each of his wrists and ankles. You could even still see the imprint of a set of fingers around his upper arms. I only needed one guess to know who had given him these marks, and I literally felt my blood boiling as I looked him over. I wanted to hurt the bastard, bad. Give him some marks of his own. Although we had only met less than an hour ago, it was obvious to me that Alexis was a very gentle and timid person. I doubt he would, or even could, disobey much that his master ordered, so what could he possibly have done to warrant such treatment? I wanted the asshole dead! Hell, maybe I\'ll track him down one of these days and pay him back for Alexis. Sounds like a good plan to me.

Getting my temper under control, I helped him lower himself into the tub. I was almost afraid to touch him, it looked like he must hurt all over, but if he was in pain he hid it well. I think maybe he is stronger than I give him credit for, but I can\'t help it because he just looks so small and delicate that he exudes a sense of helplessness most of the time. Well, maybe not helplessness exactly, but I still felt like I should treat him with kid gloves. I still feel that way to some extent, even though I know better now.

Turns out I was right not to leave him alone because as soon as I let go of his arm he began to slide down into the water and I had to quickly grab him before he went under. Although he must be about 5\'5\" he still looked tiny in the huge tub, especially since I\'m used to preparing a bath for someone a lot bigger than him. I felt bad that I hadn\'t thought of that ahead of time, but I have to admit that he did look really cute with the water dripping off his crimson hair as he bobbed in the water up to his chin. I tried to just play the humanitarian and not notice such things, but it was kind of hard. Add to that the fact that his skin felt like satin against my hands, and I was finding it harder and harder not to notice the fact that I had a beautiful, naked young man in my bathtub, and one that was more than willing to do anything that I ask of him. But then again, one look at the marks covering his body and those sorts of thoughts were easily banished from my mind.

I tried to be as gentle as possible as I used a washcloth to clean away the remnants of the outdoors, but I\'ve never bathed anyone before, so I\'m not too sure how well I did. Alexis said that I did well, but he may have just been trying to be kind. Then again, maybe he was too exhausted to care? Either way, I somehow got him cleaned up, even managing to get the tree sap out of his hair, and I soon had him up and out of the tub and wrapped up in a thick cotton towel. He looked even more adorable with the huge towel wrapped around him, and again I was shocked at the thought that anyone could ever hurt him. I couldn\'t help but grab him up in my arms for a moment and hold him close, even though it seemed to confuse him even more. When I realized this I hastily put him down and told him I\'d go find him something to wear for the night.

Now, as I live alone and don\'t have any little brothers to stay over I didn\'t have much to fit his slight 5\'5\" frame, so he ended up wearing a pair of drawstring shorts that were several sizes too big. I figured it would do for the night, and in the morning we could figure something else out. I just wanted to get to bed by that time. For the first time in my life I was actually glad that the home I had inherited from my Great-Uncle Christopher was as big as it was, because this meant that I had two extra guest rooms that I could put him in.

\"Why don\'t you get some sleep now.\" I told him as I showed him to the room across the hall from mine. \"The bathroom\'s next to you on the right and I\'m right across the hall. If you need anything come and get me. Okay?\"

I turned to leave and head for my room but he grabbed hold of my shirt before I could make good my escape. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before standing up on his tiptoes and giving me a soft kiss on my cheek. \"Thank you.\" he said, before he blushed bright red and hurried off to the bed on the far side of the room. I had to chuckle at his awkward show of gratitude because it was just so cute. Like I said before, he can be very charming. Then I bade him goodnight and headed for my own room. I wasn\'t sure what I was going to do when morning came. I wasn\'t sure what I was going to do about the changes in me or what I was going to do with my new house guest, but at the time I just felt contented to have him safely tucked away under my roof.

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When I woke up the next morning I could almost believe it had all been a dream. Just a bad bit of cheese, or however the line went. Almost. What was keeping me from convincing myself it was a dream? The fact that I still felt different. I\'m not sure how, more powerful maybe, I can\'t really explain it. Just different. That, and the fact that there was a little daemon peaking around the doorjamb of my room. He stood in the hallway, wearing the too big clothes that I\'d put on him last night, his hair adorably tousled from sleep and his big eyes staring at me shyly. I should have been more upset, or confused, or worried, or something like that, but since I felt fine I figured there wasn\'t too much to worry about. Why be bothered by something I probably couldn\'t change? I was pretty bored as a human, maybe being a daemon would be more fun? Besides, Alexis looked so cute standing there that I didn\'t feel much like freaking out over a little change in species.

\"Morning Kitten. Planning on standing in the doorway all day?\" I know, it sounded more like a pickup line than a friendly morning greeting, but I really don\'t think well first thing in the morning so I could have said worse. After the night we\'d had I thought I was pretty with it, all considered. At least I tried to smile reassuringly as I said it.

\"Kitten?\" He looked so perplexed when he said it, tilting his head to the side like a little bird. I couldn\'t help but chuckle, which only seemed to confuse him more. \"I\'m not a kitten. I\'m a daemon. A carnelian daemon.\" He paused, looking a little more uncertain, before asking quietly, \"Would Master prefer a fellerian?\"

\"A fe-what?\"

\"A fellerian, Master. They\'re cat-like deamons.\"

\"There are cat deamons?!\" I don\'t know why this seemed so weird to me. I had no problem dealing with the fact that I was talking with a daemon, and that I was most likely one as well, but I couldn\'t believe there were cat deamons? Go figure.

\"Yes master. They have cat-like ears on the tops of their head and they have tails as well as retractable claws. They even purr like cats.\" Then he added in a somewhat dejected voice, \"They\'re quite popular.\"

\"I bet they are.\" I was already picturing a new character for one of my comics, an adorable yet dangerous kitty daemon. I usually write about magic and deamons, and now I had a real live one right in front of me. I realized then that I had a great professional resource in front of me and I couldn\'t wait to pick his brains. Hell, the events of the previous night would probably somehow work into on of my pieces as well.

It took me a few moments to realize I\'d said something stupid again. Alexis was looking at me with huge, hurt eyes, the brims full of tears ready to fall at any moment. Have you noticed yet that I don\'t always hear everything when it\'s said to me? And that I don\'t always say the right thing? I have a chronic case of foot-in-mouth disease. I just wasn\'t sure at that moment what I\'d said this time!

\"What?! What\'d I say? Whatever it is I\'m sorry.\" Seeing his lip begin to tremble only made me panicky, made me try to say anything to just stop the tears before they fell. \"Come on, you\'re too pretty to cry. Please don\'t. I\'m a jerk. Whatever it is, whatever I said, I\'m sorry. I\'m an idiot!\"

That made him stop for a moment. \"Master\'s not an idiot.\" (Hah, shows what he knew!) \"It\'s not Master\'s fault that he prefers a fellerian over me. They are quite nice. I\'ll try to find a suitable one for Master right away.\"

\"Oh. Is that all?\" I knew then that I\'d really have to watch what I said around him for the time being. He was obviously still really shaken up from what had happened to him, and he wasn\'t real sure of his place with me. I\'m just so used to making off handed comments that I hadn\'t considered trying to reign in my words. I resolved to try for Alexis\' sake.

\"Sorry about that, I don\'t always think before I speak. I\'ll try harder from now on. Just don\'t cry. I have a feeling that you\'ve done more than your share of that.\" I don\'t know why, but seeing tears in his eyes just made me feel so sad. It was heartbreaking. And here I thought I wasn\'t an emotional person? Wonder what it is about him that makes me feel so damn much? Why is he so different from everyone else in my life? And this is how I felt when I\'d only known him a few hours! Are you starting to understand my current dilemma a bit better now? No? Don\'t worry, it\'ll all be clear by the end of my tale. Promise.

\"Listen, I really don\'t want a fellerian, or whatever they\'re called. Really, I don\'t. I wouldn\'t mind hearing more about them, and all the other types of deamons for that matter, but I don\'t want one. Honest. Now will you stop crying? Please?\"

\"You don\'t want a fellerian?\"

\"No. I don\'t want a fellerian.\"

\"Oh.\" Then he looked up and smiled at me. That smile was like a little ray of sunshine, easily dimming the rising of the morning sun in comparison. \"That\'s good. I\'m glad.\"

\"Okay, now that that\'s settled how about some breakfast? You must be hungry.\" He hadn\'t really seemed up to eating the night before, so I hadn\'t bothered trying to cook anything. Looking at him standing there with the tee-shirt hanging off of his shoulders I decided that I wanted to put some meet on his bones as soon as possible. And, I\'ll admit it, in the back of my mind I was thinking that he looked good the way he was, so if he put on a little weight he\'d look good enough to eat. Hey, I\'m not blind! I figured I was allowed to have a few thoughts like that, so long as I didn\'t hurt Alexis by letting him know what I was thinking. So, I kept these thoughts to myself and stood up to go down to the kitchen.

At first I didn\'t understand why his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, and I started to laugh when his cheeks turned the color of ripe tomatoes. That is until I remembered that I\'d striped the night before and fallen exhaustedly into my bed, not bothering to put on any shorts. When I\'d stood up the sheet had slipped off and I was left standing naked as the day I was born in front of my new daemon companion. Do I know how to start a morning or what? I thought about diving back under the covers, but, never having been the modest type, I shrugged it off and started walking for the kitchen, leaving a very startled little daemon standing alone in my room. Hey, I know I look good, so why worry about it? He\'d already seen it all. To my credit, at least I grabbed a pair of shorts on my way out of the room.

And that was how our first day together began.

TBC ...