Neko Shorts - 5. Prompt #291--That Damn Tree

Prompt # 291--First Line: "Oh, crap, here we go again."

That Damn Tree

"Oh, crap, here we go again," he mumbled as he looked up into the tree.

The slave master frowned up at the small figure perched high on the limb in the one tree that graced the slave yard: the one the young neko had scurried up when he'd first been brought here after being frightened by shotgun blasts. And now he was there again.

"Kayden! Get down here!" Ellis shouted.

Jacob laughed at the other neko calling up to the scared kit.

"We're supposed to be going to meet Master Damien in the stables."

The brown-eared neko looked over at the slave master with an annoyed frown as the man laughed at him.

"Good luck getting him down, Ellis," Jacob chuckled.

"What the hell caused him to run up the tree like that?" Ellis asked, his sable brown tail swishing in annoyance.

Arnett shrugged. "I don't know. Last time he did that it was when Damien was shooting skeet." He looked around but didn't see anything that would cause the young neko slave to be so scared. There were no loud noises, not even the chopping of wood. He swung his arms wide, gesturing with the coiled whip he had been taking to the stables to get oil to condition it with. "There's nothing here for the kit to be afraid of. No one's after him, there's no loud noises..."

Ellis stared up at the young neko who had stolen his master's heart. The poor thing had been so abused and scared when he'd first arrived, but he had been settling in lately. He'd even started speaking to someone besides Damien.

He could see that Kayden was staring down at him intently, but the slight shaking in his lean legs and the sleek black tail tucked tightly into his body betrayed the kit's fear.

Ellis frowned, his hands raising to his hips as both he and the slave master pondered what had startled the young thing up the tree this time.

"Kayden, come on, there's nothing down here to be afraid of," Ellis urged.

"Come on, kit," Arnett called as well, waving the hand holding the coiled leather placatingly. "You're safe. Nothing's going to hurt you."

Ellis's keen cat eyes noticed the flinch of the black-eared neko even as high as he was in the tree. What could have--

Oh, shit. The whip. The young neko had raced up the tree as Arnett had walked out of the slave den with his leather whip.

"Sir, your whip," Ellis nudged the older man.

"What about it?" Jacob looked at the length of braided leather. "I'm heading to the stables to get oil to condition it."

Ellis cast one last glance up the tree. "He's afraid of the whip."

Arnett stiffened as the house neko's words sunk in. Fuck. Of course, Kayden would be terrified of the whip, especially after what Roman had done to him. The damn Marquis had nearly stripped the flesh off the poor neko's back in his hate for his brother, Damien, and his lust for the throne. Even though, Roman was no longer around to harm the young neko, seeing the whip that had wrought so much pain must have triggered panic in the boy.

Arnett quickly slipped the braided leather behind him, out of sight of the bright green eyes staring down at him from the tree.

"Hey, kit, it's okay," he called gently. "I'm going to go put this away, and you can come down for Ellis, okay?"

He watched as Kayden tilted his head, his black ears pricking forward. As Jacob stepped backwards, keeping the whip out of sight, he could see the tension in the neko's lean limbs slowly loosen.

As he turned back into the slave den to wait until Damien's young neko lover came down from the tree, he could hear the rustle of leaves in the tree. He sighed in relief as he realized that the boy was climbing down, probably leaping down in death-defying jumps that would scare the crap out of Damien if he were around. Of course, if Damien were around, Jacob figured he'd be getting an earful for scaring the kit in the first place.

He shook his head as he watched the boy land gracefully on the ground, and Ellis quickly shooed the kid toward the stables, knowing that Damien would settle Kayden.

He really needed to consider cutting down that damn tree.