Tears Of The Neko - 7. Chapter 7

Kayden slunk into the master bedroom from his tiny room the next morning. Having heard his master wake, he crawled out from his bed and moved into the large, elegant room to await his master's orders. He'd been with the man for a week now and the huge man still made Kayden nervous. His deep, demanding tone could cause Kayden to cower in seconds, but he was not nearly as scary as that tobacco-scented one. This one, Damien, was very intense. Kayden noticed that he held himself stiff and rigid most of the time, especially when strange people came into the study. He didn't know what they were talking about most of the time, but he didn't care. His main concern was trying to stay out of his master's way.

Strangely, while his master's temper was easy to ignite, Kayden rarely found it directed at him. Occasionally, the man would huff in annoyance at him, but he'd never raised a hand to him. And even though Kayden felt safer in this man's presence than any of the others, he couldn't help flinching still if the man moved quickly or a loud noise startled him.

So Kayden tried to keep himself as small as possible, to avoid the attention of his master, or anyone else for that matter. He knew his place, even if he wasn't very good at controlling his fears.

So he peeked into the master bedroom, expecting to see his master waiting for him to go down to breakfast. While they had eaten in the room the first day, the last two days his master had stiffly led the way to the dining room, where his brothers would meet him for breakfast. At first, Kayden didn't like being in the presence of the other two men, but he quickly found that he could choose where to sit, and he made sure to place himself between his master and the one who'd bought him, staying as far away from the one who hated him as possible.

Kayden was surprised when he didn't see his master in the room. He would have sworn he'd heard the man get dressed. A humming noise came from the washing room, and Kayden peeked around, finding that the door was still open.

He stilled at the sight of his master standing over the washing bowl. He sucked in a breath at the golden planes of the strong, muscular back and tight biceps. His master was only half-dressed in his form-fitting black pants, his maroon shirt laying on the washing table next to the bowl and towel.

He realized his master was holding something in his hand and strained to see what he was doing. His master was swirling a short bristly brush in a bowl. Kayden watched in fascination as a thick foamy cream appeared from the swishing of the brush. He frowned. It didn't make sense that the man would be cooking in the washroom. He sniffed, trying to get a sense of what was in the bowl making that fluffy cream, but all he could scent was the overwhelming smell of his master.

Then the dark haired man scooped some of the cream from the bowl with the brush and smeared it over his chin. Kayden frowned again, shocked by the fact the huge man would spread cream on his face, and Kayden wondered briefly what it would be like to lick it off.

But then his master picked up a familiar item, and Kayden almost hissed out loud as he scooted back. The blade. Ehern and Theo, and several of the other hunters had used something similar. And Kayden remembered the sting of the blade on his skin when they'd wanted a laugh at his whimpering cries, but then they would scrape their faces with it. It didn't make sense to Kayden why they'd drag a sharp blade over their skin like that. He secretly laughed when one would bleed himself with the blade. Served him right.

But when his master leaned in closer to the mirror and scraped the blade across his cheek, it slid smoothly, taking the cream with it. It didn't look painful and reddened like it had when the hunters had done it. He realized he'd clenched his fists in fear at the sight of the blade, and he slowly released them as his master continued to draw the blade over his chin.

Soon, the man's strong jaw was smooth and free of the tiny bristles that some men wore all the time, and Kayden realized that he'd never thought about his master having to remove them. Kayden rubbed his own jaw but felt nothing as his master grabbed up the towel and wiped away a few stray streaks of cream. When he turned to grab his shirt to put it on, Kayden scurried back to his room, afraid to be caught spying on his master.

He fidgeted with the long sleeves of his shirt while he waited for his master to be done, worrying he might get in trouble.

"Kayden," the deep baritone voice called, and Kayden instantly calmed at the tone.

He jumped and appeared at the doorway joining the two rooms.

"I've got an early meeting this morning, so I'm heading down to the study," Damien explained, and Kayden watched the large hands tucking the tails of the shirt under the waistband of the dark pants. Kayden kept his eyes carefully lowered and his shoulders appropriately hunched as he nodded. His master barely paid him any attention as he sat to pull on his boots. "John will bring you breakfast here shortly, then he'll bring you down later," the man said, then seemed to be grumbling under his breath to himself. "Harrison and Roman can just deal with it if you aren't with me every freaking second."

Kayden flinched and flattened his ears when Damien's boot thudded on the hard floor, and he could feel the disapproval radiating off his master. Kayden sighed as the man huffed and disappeared out the door.

Kayden made his way to the washroom and relieved himself quickly. He breathed in the fragrance of sandalwood, the scent of his master, as it enveloped him.

His master had left the little bowl of cream sitting next to the wash bowl. He cast a quick glance out the open door of the washing room to be sure he was really alone in the room. Then he crept over to the washstand. His tail flicked curiously as he picked up the brush resting in the cream. His master must have been in a hurry to have left it there.

He sniffed. It wasn't real cream, he realized. It smelled like his master--of sandalwood. He stuck his finger in it. It was smooth and creamy, like soap but smoother, fluffier. He looked up to the mirror he'd seen his master peering in and realized it was set at a height for his master. He'd never paid attention to it before, not caring about his appearance, so he'd never realized how high it was.

With a quick glance at the door again, he slid the large washing bowl to the side and climbed up on to the table in front of the mirror. Crouching on the edge, he peered at himself in the mirror.

His long ebony hair nearly obscured his face, and he brushed the bangs back. He noticed his eyes were green, and not the beautiful sky blue like his master's. He huffed at his plain face, he was nothing like the chiseled man he now shared a room with. While his master's jaw was hard and strong, his was thin and boring.

Maybe the cream would make it better, like it did for his master. Kayden lifted the bowl and brush and swirled it like he'd seen his master doing earlier. Then he scooped some lather up on the short bristles and rubbed them over his cheeks and chin. He gazed at himself in the mirror. He frowned. He looked like the rabid dog that had chased him into a tree once.

He growled at himself in the mirror, tipping his ears forward and trying to look menacing like the dog had. It didn't work. He sighed, reaching for the scraping blade to take off the cream.

He suddenly heard a sound, almost like a laugh from the other room. His eyes darted around and widened in shock at his master standing near the bed with his hands on his hips.

Oh, shit! He'd been so wrapped up in playing with the cream that he hadn't heard the man come back into the room. Kayden jerked and felt himself falling toward the floor.

--Neko--

Damien had stopped in shock when he'd walked back into his room. He'd forgotten his dress coat and had returned to find the little neko perched on the washroom's washstand, smearing shaving cream over his face. The sight was nearly ridiculous. Kayden had been so timid and cowered at everything that Damien nearly expected to see the little kit sitting on the floor by the table waiting for John. The fact that he'd actually been playing in the shaving cream nearly had Damien laughing out loud. He'd stayed quiet, however, not wanting to disturb the boy, enjoying the sight of the boy being so uninhibited.

But when the little kit growled at his reflection, Damien couldn't help but feel a chuckle bubble out of his chest. Oh, god, that felt good, grinning as he realized that he hadn't really laughed in such a long time.

An instant later though, he regretted his laughter. The young neko looked terrified as he'd realized Damien was in the room and half fell, half jumped from washing table. Bowls clattered, one crashing to the floor and shattering into pieces as the boy darted out of sight.

"Kayden!" Damien shouted in concern, racing toward the washroom. A quick glance and he couldn't even find the boy, which didn't make any sense. Where could he go?

Damien walked further in the bathing room, his foot accidently kicking at his shaving razor that had also hit the floor, and he finally spotted the little neko cowering behind the washing tub. He chuckled again at the sight of the boy smeared with the shaving cream.

The boy's green eyes darted to his, and Damien realized just how frightened the boy was. He probably thought he was in trouble.

Damien smiled and grabbed a bathing towel off the nearby rack.

"Come here," Damien gestured gently.

Kayden ducked his head submissively, or maybe he was worried Damien would hit him, Damien wasn't sure.

"I-I'm s-sorry, s-sir," came a soft voice whisper, then a sneeze.

The Duke laughed out loud now. "It's okay, kitten," he assured, taking the boy's chin in his hand. "I'm not mad at all."

The boy's eyes shot to his in surprise, and Damien smiled widely. He wiped at the shaving cream.

"Kayden," came a call from the other room. It was John. He must be here with the boy's breakfast.

"In here," Damien called back.

"Sir?" John queried as he hesitantly looked around the doorway of the washroom, surveying the mess on the floor.

John saw the Duke wiping white cream from the little neko's face and hair. The man was smiling and laughing, and John was shocked to see the lord acting so gentle and--was the man actually laughing?

Damien finished wiping the boy's face, and slowly he could feel the boy's trembling subside.

"He had a little accident," Damien explained to John without looking away from the bright green eyes.

"I see," John said.

Damien rose, gently pulling Kayden to his feet as well. He was still grinning down at the young neko. "I don't think you need to shave yet, kitten," Damien chuckled, running the back of his fingers over the smooth cheek of the boy. "You're just fine like you are."

He was surprised when soft fingers ghosted over his own cheek, testing the smoothness. Then the hand jerked back as if the boy realized his forwardness was grossly inappropriate.

Damien grinned, taking the neko's hand and placing back on his cheek, letting the boy know that it was okay, that he wasn't mad. "I, on the other hand, have to work at it."

He straightened, his hand wrapping around the boy's neck gently to guide him from the washroom. Kayden suddenly dropped to the floor to help John clean up the mess, picking up a couple broken pieces of the pottery, anxious to help with the mess he'd made.

"Kayden, you don't--" Damien started, but both John and Damien froze when they saw Kayden swipe up the straight razor from the floor. The boy moved so fast and silently, that neither man knew what to expect.

John darted in front of the Duke, instinctively moving to protect his master.

Kayden froze when he realized that they thought he was going to attack with the blade. He ducked his head and cautiously, slowly, moved to the washing table, placing the blade down. He dropped to his knees in the middle of the mess, slowly gathering pieces of the broken bowl.

Both Damien and John Drystan looked guilty for even suspecting that the young neko might have wished him harm. Damien cleared his throat.

"Kayden, come here," he ordered gently, glad that the young boy obeyed without flinching. "Go eat. John will get someone to clean the rest of this."

John nodded with a slightly guilty smile. "I've left your food on the table."

Kayden let his master lead him out of the washroom, and Damien allowed himself the comfort of stroking over the boy's soft hair. John brushed past both of them toward the door, intent on getting someone to clean up the mess. He heard John calling down the hallway for someone. When they were alone for a moment, Kayden looked up at him, eyes questioning.

"You take all the time you need to eat," Damien said softly. "I have an important meeting downstairs. John will bring you down later."

Kayden nodded quickly, and Damien noticed that while the boy was still hunched in on himself, he wasn't shaking in terror either at the moment.

He turned quickly and grabbed his waistcoat from the wardrobe. "Can't keep the king waiting too long, can we?"

Damien smirked and winked at his little gift, surprising both of them. Crap, Damien thought, this wasn't him. He wasn't one to make light of his duties like that. What the hell was this boy doing to him?

--Neko--

Kayden watched his master leave, settling next to the table and hesitantly reaching for a piece of the chicken that was resting on the plate. He savored the taste of the juicy meat, wondering briefly why he was constantly being offered such a treat at each meal. No master had wasted such tasty morsels on him before. His ears pricked at the sound of the door opening, and he flicked his eyes from his spot under the table to see the large brown and white-haired neko striding into the room.

Kayden ducked closer to the floor, quickly chowing down on the piece of chicken he had in his hand in case the older neko was coming to take his food.

He easily recognized this older neko. It was the only other neko he'd seen inside the manor house, but Kayden couldn't remember his name, just his smell, like freshly chopped wood. He vaguely remembered seeing him carrying logs through the kitchen. He glanced at the fireplace, seeing a stack of logs, and suddenly realized how they got there.

Kayden watched warily as the huge neko carried a broom, scoop, and bucket into the room. The older neko, who had seemed very formal, even nervous, around his master, seemed very relaxed right now. When the older neko strode by the table without noticing him into the washroom, Kayden breathed a sigh of relief. He reached blindly above him to the table for another piece of food, not caring what it was.

When the loud clank of the metal bucket dropped to the floor, Kayden jumped, banging his head on the bottom of the table, causing the dishes to clatter.

"What the--!" the brown-haired neko shot out of the washroom, his tail standing out and his ears arched forward.

Kayden scooted back against the wall near the table as quickly as he could, worried what the other neko would do to him. Just because he'd been nice once didn't mean he would be again.

"Oh, jeez," the neko breathed. And Kayden stared at the older neko who was holding his hand over his heart as if he were the scared one.

--Neko--

"You scared me," Ellis said, and Kayden frowned at him from under the cascade of his ebony bangs. "I didn't realize you were still in here."

Kayden pressed back further into the wall when he approached. Ellis froze, apparently suddenly realizing that he was scaring the young one.

"Hey, there. I'm Ellis. Do you remember me?" he said softly, and Kayden watched him squat down to eye level. "It's okay. No one is going to hurt you."

Ellis could have sworn he heard a small choke from the boy, and briefly wondered back to the time he'd stood guard outside the boy's bath. He knew he smelled blood on the boy, but he hadn't seen any obvious cuts on him, just the scrapes. And of course the boy wouldn't say anything, or couldn't...

"It's okay," he soothed again, creeping closer and holding out his hand. He hadn't seen anyone so ridiculously skittish before, even really young kits usually outgrew their timid side within a few seasons.

"I'm just here to clean up the room," Ellis continued, lowering ears and dipping his head non-threateningly, dropping as low to the ground as possible.

He saw Kayden's head tilt in confusion at his submissive display, and he smiled.

"Come on out and finish eating," Ellis continued, as he managed to get almost right next to the boy.

Instead of reaching to touch him this time, Ellis held his hand out, waiting for the kit to come to him. He knew that reaching towards the boy would just make him feel more trapped in the corner.

It seemed like it took forever, but it was probably only a few minutes, before he watched the tense little body relax slightly and uncurl. The sleek black ears that had been pinned back in fear slowly turned upwards, and the tip of the boy's tail flicked as it unwound from against his feet.

Ellis smiled, nodding as Kayden seemed to unfold himself from the wall. But the boy still didn't take his hand, so Ellis backed slowly away, allowing the tiny neko some room.

"Come on, finish your food," Ellis urged again, rising slowly as he backed away.

As he retreated, he watched as Kayden warily eyed him while reaching up to the table to grab a roll. Ellis chuckled as he returned to the washroom to finish cleaning.