Tears Of The Neko - 5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The knock on his door startled him from sleep. Damien squinted at the sun shining through the drapes, surprised by how late in the morning it was. He groaned as his head pounded from the movement of sitting up.

"I'm up," he called, knowing it was Drystan making sure he was up in time for any appointments or meetings he may have today. He was usually up shortly after dawn, but last night had made this morning an exception.

"Very well, sir," Drystan called back from the other side of the door. "Shall I bring something back up for your breakfast or will you be dining downstairs?"

He groaned again as he made his way to his feet. "Just bring some bread, cheese and coffee," he called back.

"Yes, sir."

He made his way to the washroom and stood in the small tiled area with the drain, pulling on the rope to release the shower of water. It was a little cool from sitting in the pipes, but he knew the next pull would bring warmer water up from the boiler room where they stoked the fires to keep warm water available. He quickly soaped up and rinsed, grabbed a towel to dry off and brushed his teeth. Lathering up his shaving soap in the small bowl, he quickly brushed the lather over his cheeks and managed to not nick himself with the shaving blade. He was dressed before Drystan came back in.

The young man set the tray on the table near the door. The room had a couch, thick rug, and small table creating a sitting area near the fireplace. The suite was large enough to have a desk and small table for dining, as well as a large armoire and chest. He also kept a chair near the window for reading. Sometimes he was guilty of leaving his coffee mugs or books on the wide window ledge, and Drystan would find them later. He loved his view of the garden but felt he didn't get that much time to enjoy it anymore. Large curtains covered the huge glass doors that led to his balcony. Often, he would sit outside in the evening before retiring for the night to calm his mind from the stresses of the day.

"I brought an extra bowl for your guest as well," Drystan said as he set the tray down.

Damien frowned. "My guest?"

John cast a glance at the closed study door. Damien followed his gaze. It took a second for last night's events to be dredged up from his hangover fogged brain.

"Oh, shit." He ran his hand over his face, remembering the young neko his brother had given him last night. "Yeah, thank you, Drystan."

A slow smile spread across the lanky young man's face as he turned towards the door to leave. "You're welcome, sir."

With a deep sigh, he made his way to the study door, feeling slightly guilty that he'd forgotten all about the young boy. When he opened the door, he expected to see the boy on the bed, well, large cot it appeared. He froze when he saw the bed next to the door was undisturbed, and a quick glance around the nearly bare room told him no one was there.

He went back to his door and called down the hallway. "John!"

His servant hadn't gotten very far. "Yes, sir?"

"Where is..." he floundered for a name, but couldn't recall it. "... where is the boy?"

John frowned. "Kayden? He's been in the room since I put him there last night."

"Well, he's not there now," Damien snapped.

Drystan hurried back down the hall to Kayden's door. He threw the bolt that had been installed on the outside of the door at Harrison's instructions.

"That's impossible," John stammered, uncomprehending as to where the boy could be. He came back down the hall towards his master. "I don't understand. I locked him in last night, I swear sir."

Damien sighed. "Could he have come through the door to my room and left the rooms before I came up?"

A look of horror crossed John's face as he realized the door to the main room hadn't been locked. "Oh, sir, I--I--"

Damien waved away his apology, "Don't. Just find him."

"Yes, sir, right away, sir."

As the servant ran down the hall, Damien strode toward the stairs. He met Roman coming from the other side, dressed in his riding habit.

"Aren't you missing a shadow?" he quipped.

"He's missing," Damien sighed.

The brown-haired man laughed. "Already? Wow, I thought it would take him at least a day to get up the nerve to run."

Damien just glared.

"How did he get out, anyway? I thought Harrison told them to put a bolt on the outside of the door."

"The hallway door was locked. The one to my room was not. He had to have come through my room. I will have to remember to keep my door locked from now on."

"So it would seem," Roman mused. "Well, since I'm heading out to ride, I will join the search for your little escaped tiger."

"I'm sure that's not necessary," Damien waved off his brother's offer to help search.

Suddenly, the floor below them erupted in activity as servants and slaves started in on a search. They watched as Ysmenia brought a pile of cloth over and called the three hybrids over, two of them were guards from outside. She held out the cloth and they sniffed it. Damien realized it must have the boy's scent on it. While nekos weren't necessarily known for their scent tracking, they would probably be able to tell if he were hiding in the house. She handed the cloth over to Arnett who took it outside, presumably to set the dogs out to track him.

He grimaced at the thought of the small neko being set upon by the dogs and hoped the trackers stayed close to call them off quickly.

Drystan, Ysmenia and one of the nekos, Ellis he thought his name was, came back up the stairs to search the upper levels. Damien's stomach growled and he remembered his forgotten breakfast. He made his way back to his room, sitting down to sip at the cooling coffee and nibble at the bread and cheese.

A few minutes later, the large brown-haired neko appeared at his open door. "Sir?"

"Yes? Ellis, right?" Damien turned. "Did you find him?"

"Yes, sir," the large hybrid seemed nervous.

"Well, where is he?" he snapped.

"Um, the kit is in his room," Ellis stated, unsure if it was wise to let the master know he was wrong.

The massive man stood, frowning. "No, he isn't. I was just in there."

The poor slave looked even more uncomfortable. "Uh, begging your master's pardon, but he is, sir."

Damien stormed to the study door, looking again around the room. The hallway door was open too. Damien gestured widely in frustration at the slave calling him a liar. "Really? Where?"

The neko made his way past his master in the doorway, his brown ears at full alert. "I scented him in here." He pointed towards the bed. "He's right there."

Damien frowned and stepped farther into the room. He had to bend slightly to see the small figure curled up in a blanket under the bed, pressed into the back corner.

"Shit."

--Neko--

The loud curse startled Kayden from his sleep.

He hadn't gotten to sleep last night until very early in the morning, but then he hadn't slept much since he'd arrived at this manor.

After the smelly master had hurt him, he'd very diligently hid the evidence of the master's abuse, afraid he'd be in trouble for getting the new clothes dirty. He was glad when the woman let him bathe himself, as he was able to wash away the blood that stained his thighs before anyone noticed. But he'd lain awake in pain most of the previous day, pretending to sleep so they would leave him alone.

He'd been terrified to meet the new master--Damien, they called him. He'd liked the man's woodsy scent and his firm but gentle touch. But the master didn't seem to want him around, and Kayden was afraid that he'd be handed back over to the smelly-tobacco scented one.

He was glad that the master had insisted that he not stay at the party; the huge number of people had terrified him. But then he had paced the room most of the night, the grey stone cold under his bare feet, even with the thick calloused pads nekos had to protect their feet. He was nervously afraid of what might happen if he were caught sleeping if his master expected him to be awake. He just couldn't anger his new master who might send him to that one called Roman.

And he wasn't sure if he was allowed in the bed; maybe it was for his master to use, even if it seemed small. He hadn't been told it was okay.

Last night, he'd finally heard the door slam from next door and jumped, waiting for the door between the rooms to burst open. But it never did. He'd vaguely heard the rustle of clothes and boots dropping to the floor. After another hour, when nothing happened, he'd eventually exhausted himself by worrying. Having been awake and overly alert and on edge for the last two days, he finally pulled the blanket folded on the end of the bed around him. He crawled under the bed to sleep. It felt safer there than the open corners of the room, more protected.

So he was shocked by the loud curse, and even more surprised he hadn't woken to movement in the room when the men came in. He rarely slept so soundly that he wasn't aware of other people in the room. Time had taught him to sleep lightly--to be careful not to be caught unawares. But he'd just been so tired.

His wide green eyes popped open, staring at the two men in his room, quickly scenting sandalwood and another neko. He slowly slunk out from under the bed towards his angry master, kneeling at the man's feet, his dark ears drooping nervously.

"Ellis," his master breathed, controlling himself. "Tell everyone he's been found and to call off the search."

Ellis glanced nervously at the young neko, fearing the boy was going to be punished for hiding. But he disappeared quickly.

"Kayden, right?" Damien stated.

He nodded silently, afraid to look up at the huge man.

"Do you always sleep under the bed?"

He shook his head, not sure how much trouble he was in.

An audible sigh. "Can you speak?"

Kayden nodded hesitantly, gulping. "Y-yes, sir."

Another deep sigh. "So why were you under the bed? Were you hiding from me?"

Kayden shook his head quickly, then remembered to use his voice. "N-no, sir."

A moment's pause, then an exasperated sigh. "Well?" Damien demanded.

For a second, Kayden wasn't sure what his master was asking but then remembered the first question. "I-I d-didn't w-want to sleep in the c-corner."

"What the hell was wrong with the bed?" his master snapped, and Kayden flinched at the anger in his voice.

He wished tears weren't threatening to spill. "I-I I've n-never been a-allowed before." Since he'd never been allowed on a bed before, he had no reason to believe he was now.

He felt the stillness in the room as his master got suddenly very quiet.

After a long silence, Kayden heard the deep rumble of his master's voice again. "Where did you sleep with your other masters?"

"In m-my cage, sir," he answered softly. "O-or the g-ground."

With a small curse, his master turned, and Kayden peeked up to see the man running his hand through his dark hair.

His new master seemed huge, larger even than he had appeared when he'd had a glimpse of the man on the horse in the distance, and he tried not to think about how much damage a man like that could cause. Up close, he seemed as big as a tree. The man was beautiful though, broad lean muscles stretched under his linen shirt that was tucked into cotton pants that fitted the man's form easily. His hair was black and trimmed short around his neck and ears. Kayden flinched when the piercing blue eyes narrowed on him again.

"You are allowed to sleep on the bed," his master said slowly, seemingly trying to control his temper. When he turned back to Kayden, Kayden dropped his eyes quickly. "This is your room, Kayden. You can use anything in it. I assume they've put clothes for you in the dresser there. Stand up."

Kayden quickly rose to his feet.

"Come with me."

He was led through a side door into a room that smelled of his master. He breathed deeply as he eyed the huge expanse of the room.

"This is my room, but you are free to move around in here as well, as long as you don't get in my way. The washroom is over there," his master pointed. "I expect you to use it whenever you need to. I will keep the door between our rooms unlocked for you, for that purpose. The hall doors will be locked until I can trust you not to wander."

Kayden nodded his understanding, knowing his master was laying out expectations as clearly as he could. It was a much bigger 'cage' than he'd ever had before, and he felt a frisson of excitement race through him.

"Now, do you need to use the washroom?"

Kayden hesitated briefly before nodding.

"Then go," his master waved his arm abruptly, and Kayden flinched, expecting to be hit. But then scurried quickly to the side room.

He finished in the washroom, watching in fascination at the water swirling as he pulled the rope like Ysmenia had taught him. When he returned to the suite, he saw his master sitting at the table. He slowly circled closer to the table, not sure what his master wanted him to do.

"Here," he said curtly, handing Kayden a cut of chicken from the bowl that John had left.

Kayden nearly ran over to the table, dropping to his knees on the stone floor before hesitantly reaching for the food. He was half afraid the man would yank it back like the hunters liked to do--teasing him when he was starving and desperate for anything, even the grizzled left-over bones.

Kayden quickly scarfed down the delicious meat, grateful to get something more than bread and water and gnawed left-overs, like he'd had with his former masters. He was handed a small cup of milk next and curled his small hands around it, careful not to spill it.

"Come on," Damien rose quickly, causing Kayden to flinch again before he rose gracefully.

This time Damien reached his hand out slowly, and Kayden didn't startle when the large hand curled around his neck.

"Look at me."

--Neko--

Damien waited for the large emerald eyes to rise to meet his. He slowly smoothed his hand over the silky locks of the young neko, barely brushing against the sensitive ears, carefully and soothingly. The boy was extremely skittish, he'd realized. In just the last few minutes, he had flinched at least three times, and it suddenly dawned on Damien that the boy expected to be hit. He vaguely wondered what had happened to this slave to make him so anxious.

"Kayden," he breathed softly, keeping his voice low and even, and he could feel the boy relax into the hand petting his head. "Look, we will be spending a lot of time together over the next month. If you are good and behave, keep quiet and out of my way, you have nothing to fear from me. Okay?"

The green eyes seemed to glisten as he nodded his understanding. Damien sighed as he realized the boy wasn't going to speak unless directly asked a question he couldn't answer with a nod or a shake of his head. Well, at least the boy had the quiet part down.

"Good," Damien ruffled the ebony locks and smiled as he handed Kayden a roll. "Here, take this. You can eat on the way to my office."

Damien had to glance back over his shoulder to be sure the small neko was following him, he was so quiet. Once he got to his office, he settled in his chair at his huge mahogany desk. He grabbed his accounting book and started reconciling figures.

He'd gotten back into his work so quickly that he hadn't even noticed that the little black-haired neko had settled onto his knees next to his right elbow, until he'd moved abruptly to reach for another pencil and he saw the boy jerk in fear.

He sighed as he cast his glance over the thin black ears and small body holding itself as still as possible next to him, before he resolutely decided to ignore him. Maybe if they ignored each other, he wouldn't be totally annoyed by having another body constantly in his office.

However, it seemed that every time Damien moved suddenly after working quietly, the boy flinched, startling both him and Damien, who'd nearly forgotten he was there.

The front door suddenly slammed open, causing one of the servants to drop the silver tea tray she was carrying to the parlor. It clattered to the floor with a loud bang.

There was a sudden hiss, and Damien felt his knees bang against his desk as Kayden darted by them to the small space under his desk.

"Ow! Shit!" Damien yelled, rubbing his bruised knee.

"Why the hell wasn't I told?" he heard Roman yell out in the hall.

"Damn it," Damien cursed again, as he rose from his chair. "Roman! What the hell is all the noise about?" he snapped, annoyed that his brother had startled the slave into running into his legs.

Roman appeared in the doorway, and Damien heard a soft hiss from under his desk.

"No one told me that your little brat was found," he snapped. "I was still out on my horse with the dogs searching."

"Well, I appreciate your help in searching," Damien said, "But you didn't need to bother yourself with that; I'm sure the slaves and servants would have been able to find him, had he actually run off."

"What do you mean? Where was he?"

"He was still in his room. Under the bed."

"Hiding, huh," Roman surmised. "Not surprising."

Damien chose to ignore his brother's comment, as he saw Harrison run in from the parlor.

"What's wrong?" Harrison asked breathlessly.

"Nothing's wrong. Roman was just a little upset that he got the news about Kayden a little later than the rest."

"Oh, I see," Harrison breathed easier. "I was with Miss Penelope in the parlor and we heard the crash, which I assume was our tea."

Roman grinned guiltily. "Sorry about that."

Harrison turned to leave to go back to his guest but stopped. "Speaking of your little gift, isn't he supposed to be with you, according to the bet?"

Damien growled. "He is with me."

Both his brothers raised their eyebrows as they glanced around the room, even peering behind the desk by the window.

At his brothers' suspicious looks, Damien sighed. "He's under the fucking desk, thanks to Roman's noise in the hall. Nearly took off my knee trying to get there."

Both Harrison and Roman burst out into loud hysterical laughter. When they settled enough to talk, Harrison said, "You're just lucky there wasn't a tree nearby."

Damien's hands rose to his hips. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"When I first brought him home, Arnett was trying to collar him, but you apparently were shooting skeet. The shots scared him and he ran up the tree in the slave yard," Harrison explained.

"Took over twenty minutes to get the little brat down," Roman sneered disdainfully. "Then he attacked me when we tried to collar him."

"Up a tree? Attacked you?" Damien frowned.

But Harrison glared at Roman. "He scratched you when one of Damien's shots scared him," he amended Roman's version of the story.

Damien was shaking his head and then waved the brothers away. "You know what, I don't care. I don't have time for this. The king's delegate will be here shortly to discuss some things for the legislative meeting next week. Just go, both of you."

"I could stay and help you," Roman offered. "I'd like to keep more informed of what's going on."

"Very well, stay if you'd like," Damien waved, then bent down to peek under his desk.

"Come on out from under there, kitten." He waved for the little feline to dispatch itself from under the desk.

Damien watched him slip out and kneel next to his leg. Roman stepped closer, and Damien noticed the small creature's ears flatten and his body leaned into Damien's leg.

His brother's eyes narrowed, as Damien sat back in his chair. "Sit down, Roman," he ordered his brother, "Kayden, go sit somewhere else," he waved the young neko away. "I don't want you distracting me during my meeting."

The boy quickly surveyed the area as he rose fluidly to his feet, finding a spot in the sunshine behind Damien's desk in the corner. He knelt down and sat carefully on his heels.

"You don't have to kneel all the time, Kayden. Just sit, relax, lay down, whatever. You can sit over in the chairs or on the couch too," Damien stated.

But the boy didn't move, except to shift his position to sit on his bottom, pulling his knees up in front of him. Once Damien and Roman started talking, Damien watched from the corner of his eye as the boy's gaze shifted to the window.

Throughout his meeting and later in the afternoon, Damien smiled as he noticed Kayden continue to shift his position to be more comfortable, even if he kept his limbs tightly tucked close to his body in an almost protective way. Eventually, he was curled up against the wall, but his tail flicked lazily in the sun.