Kidnapping is Always an Option - 10. Chapter 10

Dear Jackoff the Second,

Don’t tell anyone, but I have started to take on photography as a hobby. I don’t mean professional, high quality, art photos, either. I’m talking about scrapbooking candid shots of everyone around me. In one of the ports, I came across one of those small, spy-cams that you can attach pretty much anywhere. With a single touch, it reads your fingerprint and takes a snapshot of wherever it’s aiming at. It took me a while to figure it out, but I love it. I’m keeping them hidden away in my tablet until I finish the video reel I’m making for Caspin’s birthday some months from now.

I do have another secret folder, one that has two passwords on it and holds all of my candid shots of a particularly persuasive feline. But, those sappy photos will never see the light of day…hopefully.

The Hot Hobbyist,

Rios

"Come on, if we all go as a group, no one will try anything!" Rios pleaded with Adrian and Caspin. They had found a new port on a new path Caspin was trying through the sector and the moth wanted to step on something with real gravity for a while. "Right, Nix?" He prompted the feline.

The feline tugged his pants on and nodded. "Yeah, especially if we take Mr. Beefcake." Nix sauntered over to rub against Adrian. "No one will mess with us. And Falorios and I know how to dress in order to encourage the ragtags not to touch."

Adrian lifted his hand to gently rub the back of Nix's head. "Alright, alright." He conceded. "But, we walk as a group and return as a group. No one is to wander too far." He stated.

Nix smiled coquettishly up at the tall human. The jade jewel in his new eyepatch twinkled in the light. "I could wear that collar Falorios got me, the one with the little bell." The cat wiggled close. "You could put a leash on me. Lead me around, keep me as close as you want."

"The collar is fine, but not the leash." Adrian replied. "Here in the privacy of the ship, a leash is fine, but not out in the port. One never knows if it is offensive to other cultures, maybe offensive enough to deny us our supplies."

Nix pouted for a moment, his dark lip pooching out before he brightened. "You'll leash me on the ship sometimes?"

"Yes, if that's what you wish." Adrian agreed with a smirk. "We can do almost anything on the ship if you ask."

"Almost... anything?" Nix's eye widened. He bit his lip and looked down. "You don't mean that."

The human leaned down to kiss the feline, his tongue slipping inside to slide along Nix's for a while before pulling away. "I absolutely do." He insisted before looking around for the others. "Now then, is everyone ready to go?"

Phenner bounced up, excited to see the new port. He was still amazed at all the things he would often see that they didn’t have on his home planet. Everyone loved showing him new things just to see his wide-eyed and happy reactions. Caspin stood and joined him, twining their fingers together. They made quite a pair standing side-by-side.

They were both petite, though Phenner was a little shorter and thinner. Their colorings were both mostly monotone, Phen all white with pink cheeks and lips and Caspin tannish-brown with black eyelashes and sooty areas at the tips of his ears and on his tail. It made their captivating eyes all the more enticing, one pair rosy-pink and the other grassy-green. They were adorable.

During the past few days, they had been tearing around the ship, chasing each other and wrestling in their animal forms. The crew had accepted Cas’s animal form, which did wonders for his acceptance of himself. In fact, to see one or both of them being petted on someone's lap after supper wasn't an unusual occurrence. It was enough to make Nix wish he could turn into a real kitty-cat

Nix tugged on a ruby red shirt and a jacket that jangled with small chains. He winked at Adrian as he buckled on his shiny red and black collar. The cat flicked the tiny bell, making it tinkle merrily. Rios had on a pair of tight, black pants and a sleeveless, forest green shirt. He made sure to put on a black fedora, tucking his antennae in. And he kept his wings tucked away, as well.

Before they left, Caspin made sure everyone had a little communicator on in case someone happened to be separated from the group. Cas grabbed his usual shoulder bag and the group headed out to explore the new port.

Though Adrian tried to be prudent, he and Caspin ended up caving in to more than a few requests from his little loves. They bought all kinds of snacks and accessories for them. However, one particular request made Adrian regret having allowed them to join Caspin and himself at that particular port.

They had wandered through the port, letting everyone’s curiosity guide them. They’d come upon a crowd that drew their attention. A slaver was selling foreigners and species of all kinds. The mouse currently held at auction was an adorable thing. His skin tone fell between tan and pale and he had freckles on his shoulders and buttcheeks. Each of the slaves wore a thick collar and a brown cloth that barely covered them at all, but the shade made the brown spots on the mouse's white ears stood out.

He seemed so young, although looks could be deceiving. The wavy, strawberry blonde hair was a mess atop his head. His golden yellow eyes were opened wide as he gazed about in panic.

"He's so scared," Phenner whispered. "We should buy him and bring him with us!"

“We can’t just buy people, Phen,” Caspin hissed.

“Not even for my birthday?” Phen asked under his breath.

“Sure you can buy people.” Nix shrugged as Caspin ignored the rabbit’s question. “I’ve been bought and sold several times.”

Cas bit his lip and hugged the cat tight, surprising him and making him jingle from the chains on his coat and the bell on his collar.

Nix patted the fox’s back awkwardly. “Hey, it’s okay.”

The fox looked at the terrified mouse then back to Nix, his heart hurting when he imagined his lover in that position. “Should we buy him, Nix?”

“If you want to.” The cat looked uncomfortable, shrugging again. “Anyone else who buys him here… it won’t end well for him. He looks…soft. I’m not sure he’ll survive the things they’ll probably demand from him.”

Caspin looked to Adrian and Rios, still unsure.

"If we have enough money to, that is." Rios pointed out, shuffling his feet. "I feel the same as Nix."

Adrian's lips formed a thin line as he kept an eye on the auction. "What do you want to do, Caspin?" The Vulpan was, indeed, the owner of the ship and the biggest breadwinner of the group.

"Money isn't an issue..." Caspin's emerald eyes were dark with indecision as he looked up at Adrian. "We can't save everyone... but, we could save this one."

The human looked carefully at the expressions on their faces. Some were taut and guarded. Others were full of pity. "Then, let's do it. Let's buy the poor thing."

Caspin pushed through the crowd to reach the check-in table. He ducked under or around people until he reached the stout alien sitting in front of a small screen. Cas slapped down his card with his account info. The man was only startled a moment before he scooped up the card and waved it over the sensor. Cas was given back his card as well as a larger square that resembled a small screen. He could use it to bid. The frightened mouse was in the process of being auctioned as Cas activated the screen.

"Come on, come on," he growled as it popped up an introduction screen about the auction company.

He swiped through the intro and ads for future auctions to bring up the auction going on right then. Caspin quickly pulled up the bid tab and punched in his instructions for how much he wanted as his bid increments as well as his max bid. If he needed to, he would increase the maximum, but for the large max bid he entered, he didn't think it would be a problem. The system checked the information against his account to make sure he had the coin before it allowed him to make his first bid.

Mycha was frightened to near death. One day, he was in the shops near the base of his town, searching for the perfect gift for his lovely fiancé. He couldn’t remember what happened after that, but when he came to again, he was already wearing nothing but the brown cloth and uncomfortable collar that kept him from shifting into a little spotted mouse. The many different species around him all had sympathetic looks on their faces. They had warned him that he should try to escape once sold, at all costs. Someone as tiny as him was sure to bleed and ache, but if he was lucky, his buyer would be a gentle old man.

As Mycha scanned the crowd, he did see a few old men casting bids on him. But, he also saw many lewd young faces that were eager to buy him, as well. The face of his fiancé came to mind.

"Rina, forgive me." He whispered. She was surely worried sick with worry about his whereabouts by then.

Caspin's crewmates had found the little Vulpan in the raucous crowd. Adrian stood ominously over his smaller lovers, scaring off any fool who dared get too close, clearing a little bubble around them. The Vulpan let out a sigh of relief as his screen flashed, alerting him that he had the winning bid on #3482: Murisian male, young adult, unaltered. Caspin tried not to think what being altered would have entailed as he led the way back to the bored alien who'd given him the auction screen.

"I won lot thirty-four eighty-two." He said in a rush as he returned the screen. "I'm in a hurry. I want to collect immediately." Cas eyed the alien who made no move. "I'm willing to tip... generously." He dropped a credit chip on the table.

The alien's eyes widened, sausage-like fingers snatched the chip before punching something into his own screen. He pressed a ticket into Cas’s hand and pointed to a door.

"Go through there," he told Caspin. "Give this to the guy in white. He'll set you up."

Mycha's wrists were tied behind him, but he slid the tip of his left thumb over his engagement ring in a nervous manner. Amidst everything that happened to him, he had been lucky that the ring hadn’t been pawned off from the beginning. He was taken to a room and was seated on a single chair for his new owner's "inspection." He was trembling so hard his teeth chattered.

"You have five minutes to look him over and decide," an alien in white stated as he opened the door to allow Caspin into the room. "If you decline, he will go to the second highest bid."

Wide, golden eyes met a set of emerald ones. Mycha let out a squeak.

Caspin knelt down in front of the trembling mouse, face tense. "We'll get you out of here and on my ship in no time." He leaned forward. "My crew and I... We'll take care of you."

Mycha let out a louder squeak and began trembling even harder. "C-Crew? It's not just you?" He whimpered.

"No." Cas shook his head emphatically. "There are five of us. Adrian is huge, nobody messes with him. Rios and Nix know how to handle themselves. They're tough," the fox told him, hoping to reassure the mouse that they could protect him. "I may not look like much, but I know my way around the ports, and I'm handy with knives and stunners."

The mouse began to sniffle, tears gathering in his eyes. He was so frightened he couldn't even speak. This was surely one of the worst case scenarios that the others had told him about!

The Vulpan looked at the upset Murisian. Poor thing, he thought to himself. The cloth the mouse wore could barely be called clothing and the collar didn’t look like something even Nix would enjoy wearing. Cas thought that between himself and Phen they could probably find some clothes that would fit the little mouse. The tiny thing was even smaller than Phenner. "We'll have you on the ship and get rid of those rags they forced you into in no time." Caspin stood, looking for the guard to let him know he was ready to go, taking the mouse with him.

Mycha went with Caspin. His head was down and his tail curled between his legs. When they met up with a group of intimidating men, he let out a loud squeak and tried to hide behind the Vulpan.

Phenner's pink eyes went wide. "So tiny! So cute!" He swept the mouse up into a tight hug. "What's his name?"

"I don't know..." Caspin admitted.

"You didn't ask his name?" Phen scolded.

The mouse's breath hitched as the albino took him in a vice-like grip. He tried to keep still, not wanting to offend him.

Phen looked hopefully at Caspin. "Can we keep him?"

Nix licked his lips, his half-tail lashing behind him. His green-yellow eye was sharp on the frightened mouse. "Yeah, foxy, can we keep him?"

Caspin scowled at both of them. "Come on, let's get back to the ship. Oh damn, I didn't even untie his hands." Cas shoved the envelope the guard had given him into his bag then struggled with the knots until the mouse was loose. "Let's go. I want off this awful hunk of metal."

Adrian guarded all of them from the back, ensuring a safe return to the ship. But, the tall human was, hands down, the most intimidating of them all to the mouse's eyes.

Mycha let out another loud squeak as he was ushered into the ship and the hangar closed behind them. "P-Please!" He pleaded, his tail still curled between his legs. "Be gentle with me, I'm a virgin!"

Adrian was already heading off to pilot the ship, though the comment made him look back for a moment. Everyone else was frozen, staring at their ship’s new guest. Nix reacted first.

"You're lucky." The cat said with a shake of his head. "Normally, a slave would have been raped long before you left your home system... Probably several times."

“I was so tiny, the others kept me hidden away.” The mouse explained as he began to weep, falling down to his knees as he wiped at the copious tears with the backs of his hands. "Th-they took me from my home planet and my fiancé!" He sobbed.

Phen dropped to his knees in front of the mouse. "Hey, what's your planet called?"

Mycha sniffled as he gazed at the rabbit. "Yralis." He murmured.

Phen's rosy eyes snapped to Caspin. "Do you know it?"

The fox chewed his lip. "It sounds familiar. I'll look it up. Maybe we can get him home." Caspin darted off to join Adrian in the command room, shoving the mouse's envelope into Rios’s hands.

The moth sifted through the envelope, speed-reading the information. "It says here that his name is Mycha Neil Stewart the fourth? Has his birthdate and everything." Rios mused aloud. "I wonder if they nicked the info from an ID."

Nix crossed his arms, looking away from the pitiful mouse. "You should find out if he has any injuries that need the MedBay... Slavers aren't usually gentle."

"Mycha," Phenner asked gently. "Did I say your name right? Are you hurt anywhere?"

The mouse began to take gasping breaths with hiccoughs in between. "N-No. I don't think so." He responded.

Rios went to the kitchen to retrieve a glass of water for the little thing. "This should help." When the golden eyes gave him a suspicious glance, he sighed and took a sip from the cup. "See? We're not gonna poison you."

Small, shaky hands took hold of the cup and he drank until his hiccoughs settled down. "Thank you." He whispered.

Phenner took the cup, staying crouched next to Mycha. His eyes widened as Nix swept in and picked up Mycha as though he weighed nothing.

"Come on then, mousy-poo." The black cat strode down the hall toward the crew's rooms.

Mycha let out a surprised squeak and clung to the larger feline. "Wh-where are we going?" He gasped.

"Phen's room." Nix told him. "He's little, like you."

Unable to do much else, Mycha peered up at the man, noticing the eyepatch that covered one of his eyes and the interesting hairstyle. "What happened to you?" He asked softly.

Nix glanced down. "My eye?"

The mouse curled in on himself, fearing a violent reaction.

The cat sighed. He quickly checked to make sure no one else was looking before he flipped his patch up, flashing Mycha a glimpse of his dead white eye. The mouse was able to catch sight of an opalescent glimmer shining across it before the jeweled fabric was back in place.

"I did it myself, also chopped off my tail." Nix flicked his shortened tail. "I did it so I'd have a chance to get away from my owner." The ebony feline grinned fiercely, showing sharp white teeth. "It worked, too. It was worth it."

Mycha gasped loudly. "Then, why are you here? Isn't that tall man your owner?"

"Adrian?" Nix snorted. "That might be a fun game, but he's not the possessive type and he couldn't afford me anyway. Caspin's the one flush with coin. He could fill this ship with slaves if he wanted." Nix grinned wickedly. "It was sweet little bunbun who begged him to buy you." The cat chuckled as they swept through Phenner's doorway.

"The Vulpan?" Mycha wondered out loud. "Then, he's our owner?"

Nix snorted. "Technically, I suppose. He did snatch me off the port I was stuck on, and he’s the captain of this boat."

"I was given to him as an appeasement gift." Phenner piped up. "And didn't he kidnap Adrian?"

The mouse let out a squeak, freaking out a bit at the idea of such a seemingly nice-looking Vulpan being the mastermind behind it all.

Nix shrugged. "Anyhoo, let's have a look." He dropped Mycha to bounce on Phenner's soft bed, covered with layers of blankets and pillows. "Lose the loin-cloth thing. We'll see how hurt you are."

The cat started inspecting the mouse, starting at the top of his head and intending to go south. It was what Nix did to himself back when he was a slave and some bastard had gotten too rough with him. He'd check himself over for injuries and deal with them as needed. The feline couldn't believe that the slavers hadn't hurt the little guy.

Mycha wrung his hands for a moment and his eyes began to water, but he pulled the brown cloth off and allowed himself to be looked over. "All I remember is that I was in the shops of Yralis a-and the next thing I knew, I woke up with this on and a bunch of others on the slave ship."

"Hmmm," Nix told him as he poked at one freckled shoulder. "Count yourself lucky they knocked you out. Sometimes they'll just do a drop and grab, overpowering the ones they want by force. The ones that die from their injuries after are just spaced out the nearest air lock."

The mouse's lower lip trembled as he thought of how much worse things could have been. "A-Are you all g-going to t-take me at once?" He asked quietly.

"Take you?" Nix looked up from checking the mouse's hands and fingers. "Oh, I see. Well, Falorios and Adrian both took me at the same time once." The cat nodded at Rios, who was looking over the contents of Mycha's envelope more carefully, glancing up when he heard his name. "I think bunny-boy is going to be getting filled by Caspin and someone else at some point." Nix cocked his head. "If you really are a virgin, though, you might have some trouble with that, hon."

Phenner popped his head out of his massive closet when he heard his name. "What?"

"Nothing." Nix told him, waving the snowy rabbit back into the closet.

Tears began to fall down Mycha's face once again. He didn’t know if he could take one person, let alone two. "Why couldn't they have taken me after I married Rina?" He whimpered down at the bed, as if it held all the answers.

Nix noted Mycha's belly seemed uninjured. "Who's Rina and why would that have been better?"

"My fiancé!" Mycha squeaked and sniffled.

"I don't see how being hitched would have saved you from the slavers." The cat paused then continued his inspection.

"B-but, I would have at least been with her," Mycha insisted, wiping at his tears. "And I wouldn't have been a virgin."

Nix froze, his gaze lifting to spear the mouse. A wicked smile crept across the cat's face. "You don't want to be a virgin, baby?" Nix licked his lips before running his dark hands up Mycha's smooth thighs. "I'd be happy to help you with that."

The mouse gasped and scampered back until he flopped onto a pillow in a fetal position to hide his privates. "No!" He squeaked.

Nix crawled up the bed, stalking the frightened mouse. "You sure, baby?" He caught Mycha in a moment, pinning the little man to the soft comforter beneath him. The Civek wasted no time, diving straight for Mycha's cock, dragging one hot, wet lick up the underside of his shaft. He grinned up at the Murisian. "I could make you feel so good."

A loud wheezing noise filled the air as the mouse began to all but hyperventilate. For a wild moment, he was in too much shock to do anything. But, then flailed his little legs on either side of the feline. "Heeeelp! Rape! Raaaape!"

Phenner burst out of the closet, arms full of clothes. "Nix, no! Bad! Very bad, kitty!"

The rabbit dropped the clothes to the floor, running for the bathroom. He was back in a moment with an odd little gun in his hand. Phen lunged forward, pulling the trigger. A stream of cold water launched from the tip, it nailed Nix in the back of the neck. The cat yowled and sat up. The next shot caught him in one tall triangular ear. Nix wagged his head vigorously as he climbed off the bed, trying to shake the icy water from his ear.

When Rios noticed the commotion, he placed the envelope down and rushed over to Nix. "Everything alright, my love?" He asked as he pressed the back of his hand against the side of the feline's face to feel the temperature.

Phen hopped onto the bed and plopped next to the wide-eyed mouse. He wiped a few errant drops of water from Mycha's shin.

"Sorry about that." Phenner apologized. "Nix gets a little... eager sometimes. Caspin's trying to find medicine that will settle him down." He patted Mycha's head between his soft round ears. "You okay?"

Mycha felt a gushing warmth of gratitude towards the rabbit. "I-I'm ok," He stammered. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Phenner gathered the little mouse to hold him in his lap. "I've had to use it a few times on Nix myself. He sometimes gets ahead of himself. You can trust him as long as it doesn't involve sex."

Nix couldn't argue. He was too busy batting at his ear while Rios tried to peer into it to see what was wrong.

"Goodness," Mycha whispered to himself. As far as he was concerned, that meant that he couldn't trust Nix at all.

Rios held Nix's head still as he peered into the feline's ear. "Nothing inside..."

Nix's ears drooped as he looked pitifully at Rios. "He shot me with the water-gun again."

The moth gave him a sympathetic smile and gave him a kiss. "Other than that, everything's ok, right?" He asked.

"I think so." Nix smirked. "Maybe you should check... thoroughly."

The moth didn't quite pick up on the hint, so he literally did check him over. His hands slid over the back of Nix's neck and over his shoulders. He gently wiped at the dampness on his tail and began to stroke it for warmth.

"Ooo, right there, sugar." Nix purred. "I think I need some attention."

Rios’s breath hitched at the sound of Nix's purr. "How much attention?" He teased, flashing him a mischievous grin.

"Why don't you start and I'll tell you when to stop?" Nix wriggled his tail in Rios’s grasp. "You could even go lower..."

The moth tugged the feline against him with one arm as he used the other to scratch at the tail. He pressed a leg between Nix's and began to grind against him. "How much lower?"

"That depends on if you want to fuck me of if you want me to fuck you," the cat whispered seductively.

"From what I feel," Rios whispered back as he pressed his thigh against the feline's prominent bulge. "You seem to be more ready to go than I am." He admitted. "Are you already imagining ramming it in?"

"Yessss." Nix's voice was a breathy hiss. "You want that, Falorios? You want me to take you rough and hard?"

"Any time you want, Nix." The moth whispered back.

"Now." Nix growled, his shining yellow-green eye dilating. "I want now."

The cat spun Rios and slammed him facedown on Phenner's pretty lacquered desk. Luckily it was sturdy. Nix whipped off his jacket, flinging it to the floor before covering Rios’s back with his body. The cat's rumbling purr vibrated through the moth's body as Nix reached down to unbutton Rios’s pants and then his own.

"Nix!" Rios cried out as he arched against the feline's body.

"Goodness! What are they doing? Are they fighting?" Mycha asked as he tugged on Phenner's hand. "Should we tell Caspin the Captain?"

Phenner had been watching the cat and moth with avid eyes. He tore his gaze away to look at Mycha.

"Fighting?" The rabbit giggled, leaning back on some pillows and pulling the mouse with him. "Not fighting, but they are going to work something out." Mycha still looked confused. "They're going to fuck. It's always fun to watch them. They're so intense together."

The mouse's eyes opened as wide as saucers. "Fuck? A-As in intercourse? Willingly!?" He questioned. "Are they both not males?"

"Mmhmm. Don't you know how this works?" Phen asked as he soothingly petted Mycha's hair.

Mycha gaped at Phen as if the rabbit were crazy. "But, males can't reproduce! Why would they do such things willingly?"

"Well, actually, if the slavers hadn't... done things to him, Nix would have been able to reproduce." Phen shook his head sadly. "Even so, we can have sex without the need for reproduction." The rabbit blushed and giggled. "We do it just for fun!"

The mouse's head was all but spinning. "Nix used to be able to reproduce? Sex between males for fun?" Mycha was having the darnedest time trying to comprehend it.

"Oh yeah," Phen said with a hum. "It's the best. It looks like they are going to play a little rough, but it doesn't have to be that way." The rabbit snuggled Mycha closer. "I usually like it gentler."

A bright pink blush formed on the mouse's face and, all of a sudden, the rabbit's innocent snuggling felt not quite so innocent anymore. But, he was too wired and anxious about what he was seeing, he didn't want to move. "I-I've just never seen anything like this...no one on Yralis copulates with their own gender."

"That's weird." Phenner blinked. "They're missing out. Just look at those two." Phen nodded at Nix and Rios. The Civek was pounding into Rios hard and fast, whispering wicked things into the Alano’s ear as his rumbling purr filled the room. "They're lost in each other."

Mycha was indeed partially fascinated with the two males. As the sounds of their lovemaking became louder and louder, he blushed harder and harder. When he felt the first stirrings of lust, he was so shocked that he decided to hide his face against the rabbit's chest to keep from staring at them anymore.

"Aww." The bunny shook Mycha's shoulder. "You're going to miss the best part!"

The mouse tried to resist, but he turned his head slightly to peek at the two men grunting over Phenner's desk.

It looked so... violent. Intense. Passionate.

"Fuck yes, sugar," Nix's husky voice groaned. "Squeeze down on me."

The cat stood on the tips of his toes and angled himself downward to try to catch Rios’s prostate. On the third thrust he found his target, making Rios stiffen, his back arching as he cried out. Nix grinned, zeroing in to pound his lover's sweet spot.

"Take it, Falorios." Nix knocked the hat from Rios’s head, the gentle teasing strokes on his sensitive antennae were a sharp counterpoint to the harsh banging his ass was receiving. "I'm going to make you cum so fucking hard..."

The moth let out a keening whimper. He braced his forearms against the desk so that he could match the feline's thrusts, pushing back against him to the best of his ability. Another stroke of his antennae caused his wings to unfurl and flap.

"Nix!" He cried out. "Hah! C-Close!"

"Right behind you, sugar," the cat growled.

Nix felt his impending orgasm burning low in his belly, drawing his balls up tight, and making his cock swell. A bead of sweat trickled from his throat to his chest as he fought back his peak, determined to make Falorios explode first. He grunted roughly every time their bodies slammed together. The cat balanced on the razor's edge, about to erupt at any moment.

Rios’s wings gave a flutter and he arched his back as he came all over Phenner's desk. "Ahhn!" He moaned throatily.

Stars burst behind Nix's eyes as Rios tightened around his sensitive cock. The cat swore, long and loud, as he dug his fingers into Falorios’s hips. Nix clenched his eye closed as his orgasm ripped through him. It seemed to shoot down his spine to launch into his cock and balls. His legs shook as he rammed into Rios three more times, shooting jets of cum inside him with every hard thrust.

Nix collapsed over Rios, his hot panting breaths brushing the back of the moth's neck.

"See?" Phen whispered to Mycha. "Wasn't that amazing?"

Mycha let out a whimper and closed his legs tighter as he fought the lust rising. "I-It's still strange. A-And my people would never..." He whispered.

"I found..." Caspin burst through Phen's door then stumbled to a stop at the sight of Rios and Nix. "...it. What the hell, guys? Did he even get a bath yet?"

Rios let out a little groan, but merely pressed his heated cheek to the cold surface of the desk. "Nix got a heat spike and I had to distract him." He wheezed. "So worth it, though."

"Bath?" Mycha squeaked, feeling frightened once again. Would they take him in the bath?

Caspin sighed heavily. "Do I have to do everything?" He grumbled under his breath. He held out a hand to Mycha. "Come on, I'll get you in the bathtub."

The mouse clung tighter to bunny, clutching Phen's clothes in his small fists. "T-to service you?" He asked in a trembling voice.

"I... What?" Caspin blinked dumbly as Phen happily patted Mycha's back. "Don't you want to get cleaned up?" Cas looked to Phenner. "Did you find him some clothes?"

The rabbit nodded, nuzzling into Mycha's soft hair.

"Good." Caspin made a grabby motion at Mycha. "Come on, then, let's get you clean so we can get you into some better clothes. Unless... Do your people not normally wear clothing?" He cocked his head. "I guess you can go naked if you'd rather..."

"N-no!" Mycha cried as he crawled his way over to Caspin, reluctant to leave the comforting warmth of the rabbit. "Bath and clothes, bath and clothes!"

"Oh, good," the Vulpan perked up. "What temperature of water do you like? Phen likes his baths hot. I like mine cooler... Or do you want a shower?" Cas stretched a hand out to Mycha. "I thought you might like a nice soak, but there's a shower if you'd rather do that."

Nix stood and stretched, then patted Rios’s ass. "I'll take whatever mousy doesn't."

"B-Bath! Bath please!" Mycha pleaded as he finally took hold of Caspin's hand. "A-And lukewarm."

He set the faucet to lukewarm and started the water running. Nix snuck in behind them, slipping into the glass-walled shower. Moments later, the cat groaned happily as steamy water poured over him. Adrian had teased him about being a kitten who liked water. Nix had to admit he didn't like it much on his ears or face, and he wasn't a fan of bathtubs, but showers did have quite a few redeeming qualities. Rios snuck in right after Nix to join him in the shower, a devious grin on his face.

Meanwhile, Caspin had coaxed Mycha into the tub and the water was nearing the mouse's waist.

"Do you like bubbles?" Caspin asked.

Phenner was quite keen on steamy bubble baths. Cas knew there were at least half a dozen bottles of bubbles hiding somewhere.

Mycha nodded yes to the bubbles. As the Captain hunted them down, he looked down at his hands and gazed mournfully at his engagement band. From the time that he had awoken on the slaver ship to the time he was sold, months had passed. How long had he truly been away from home?

Caspin started handing Mycha bottles to sniff, letting him decide which he wanted. He smirked and shook his head as he caught a glimpse of Nix and Rios washing each other... thoroughly.

"We found Yralis." Caspin told Mycha as he passed him a flowery-scented bottle. "Adrian put in a course to get us there as fast as possible."

The mouse gasped at the new information. He was so shocked that he dropped the entire bottle in the water. "Oh no! Forgive me!" He said as he retrieved it. Unfortunately half the contents had already fallen in the water. His eyes began to water as he handed the half-empty bottle back. "Please don't punish me by changing the course." He begged as his big, round ears lowered.

"Hey," Caspin snapped the bottle closed and set it aside. "Don't worry about it. Phen has plenty of other bubbles." The fox shrugged. "If he wants more, he'll get more." Caspin's eyes went soft. "I'm not going to punish you."

"Foxy? Punish someone?" Nix snorted from the shower, sticking out his dripping head. "Like he punished our big hunk last time?"

"Hey!" Caspin glared at the black cat. "He had it coming! He completely passed the port I told him to stop at because he said it look shady. How the hell does the outside of a port look shady? It's just a round hunk of spinning metal!" Cas huffed, not noticing that the bubbles were up to Mycha's armpits.

Mycha kept quiet, not wanting to interrupt, especially not after he heard Nix say that Caspin punished that tall man somehow. His eyes widened, however, when he realized that the bubbles were staring to go out of control. He let out a squeak just as he became completely covered by them. "Gah!"

"He said he was sorry plenty quick when I told him I wouldn't let him pet me in my animal form anymore." Caspin crossed his arms grumpily as Nix laughed and pulled his head back into the shower.

"He didn't sound sorry," Nix teased. "He sounded amused."

"He was very contrite!" Cas snapped.

"Sure he was," the Civek chuckled as he soaped Rios’s chest. "And I think you may have lost your little mouse, foxy."

"I lost my... Mycha!" Caspin turned off the water and began digging through the mountains of bubbles that were starting to drift over the edge of the tub.

Rios knew better than to add to the banter. He merely snickered as he heard them go back and forth.

Mycha flailed his arms until they came into contact with the Vulpan's. "I'm here, Captain!"

Caspin groped wildly, trying to grasp the slippery mouse. He leaned far over the tub, trying to help Mycha. Caspin saw one round spotted ear in the bubbles and reached out, only to lose his footing on the bubble-covered tile. With a cry he was falling. He yelped and closed his eyes. There was a pop and he hit the bubbles as a petite fennec fox.

"Captain?" Mycha gasped when he lost the Vulpan's arms. He felt around and came into contact with wet fur. "Eek!" He squeaked. "Heeeeeelp!" He cried.

Rios staggered out of the shower and rushed over to the tub, lifting the fox over his head. "Cas!"

Cas hung limp, fur stuck to his body, his tail hanging below him, dripping. The little fox whined pitifully.

Mycha finally managed to break out of the bubbles enough to be able to see. "What's going on? Where's the Captain?"

"You're looking dead at him kid," Rios huffed as he gently rubbed the wet fox.

"Captain?" Mycha gasped. "I though Vulpans didn't have a second form. I have one, too. But, this collar keeps me from changing." He explained as he pointed towards it.

Caspin sneezed and shook his head, whipping water and bubbles from the tips of his ears. Rios set him carefully on a dry patch of floor. The fox gave a full body shake before returning to his regular form. His oversized ears drooped. Rios watched him warily, ready for Cas to slip and fall at any moment.

"Was there a key for it in the envelope?" The Vulpan asked as he wrung out his tail.

The moth nodded. "Yeah, I think I saw something like that in there. The envelope's on Phen's dresser." Rios commented as he stepped back out of the tub. "And Cas? This better be the last time you slip in the bathroom. You have to be more careful, you know?"

Caspin flushed red. "I was trying to help Mycha!" The fox looked to the side with a small groan of defeat. "Don't tell Adrian..."

"I won't, but only this time," Rios replied as he left to get dressed and find the envelope.

When it was just the Captain and himself left in the bathroom, Mycha peered up at him. "Everything ok, Captain?"

Caspin sighed softly at the bubble-covered mouse. He couldn't help but smile at the cute picture Mycha made with a bubbles sticking to his pert noise and a mound of bubbles on top of his head between his round ears. Even looking so serious, he was painfully adorable.

"It's fine." Caspin fished his clothes from the bubbly water and wrung them out. "Adrian's just a bit... overprotective. If he finds out I fell in the bathroom again he'll probably only let me wash if I have a spotter." He squirted some combination body wash and shampoo into his hand and started rubbing it into Mycha's hair and behind his ears.

Mycha bit his lower lip as he was washed, wringing his tail in his hands. "Are we...are we really heading towards Yralis?" He asked softly.

"Of course..." Caspin finished scrubbing the accumulated dirt out of Mycha's hair. "Don't you want to go home?" He used a handy hose with a showerhead on the end to carefully rinse the mouse off. "If you wanted to... you're always welcome to stay with us."

"Thank you, Captain." Mycha replied with emotion as he hugged the Vulpan around the waist. "Thank you so much!"

"Hey, it's okay." Caspin smiled down at the soggy mouse. He patted Mycha's bare back. "We came upon you by accident. We just couldn't stand to leave you there."

Nix turned off the shower and stepped out to towel off. "They rescued me from slavery, too."

Caspin blushed and finished rinsing Mycha.

"So, the owner you escaped from was someone else?" Mycha wondered aloud.

"Demi... He was bad news." Nix sat on the edge of the tub, trailing ebony fingertips in the warm water. "He's the one who put the tracker in my tail and my eye. He gave up after he saw I was willing to blind myself to get rid of the trackers. He was afraid I'd permanently maim myself and lower my rental value for the johns. Foxy and the big guy found me in a back corridor, about dead after the mercs Demi'd rented me to were done with me."

"Sounds like he was terrible!" Mycha piped up. "What kind of cruel person places a tracker in someone's eye?"

Nix snorted, giving Caspin a little splash. Cas flicked bubbles at the cat.

"The kind of person who buys another person and then pimps him out to anyone who can pay?" The cat wiped bubbles off his nose. "There's no shortage of people like that."

"You are nothing like them," The mouse insisted. "And neither is anyone here, from what I've seen so far." They were still bigger than him and scary at times, but not a single one had yet to hurt him.

Nix's single jewel-like eye focused intensely on Mycha. He stared until the mouse began to squirm. Nix grinned and splashed him.

"Maybe." The cat stood, casually tossing his towel in the hamper as he sauntered, naked, toward the door. "Or maybe these people just make me want to be better than I was..."

Mycha looked after the feline for a moment, fighting down the strange stirring of lust that tried to rise up. Instead, he held out his hands to Caspin. "I'm so clean, my fingers are wrinkled."

Cas giggled. "Suppose you're ready to get out then."

Caspin hit the button to drain the tub and stood to grab a giant fluffy towel, walking carefully on the wet floor. He didn't want to risk Rios snitching on him to Adrian if he slipped again. The Vulpan got two, one for himself and one for Mycha. They were warm and fluffy from the heated drawer.

Mycha wrapped himself in the warmth as he dried himself. "Thank you." He said, his thin tail swaying behind him. He was starting to realize that perhaps he had judged this crew too quickly. He was still tense, fearful, and worried. But, he was finally calm enough to think and observe more clearly.

Dear Jackoff the Second,

Today, Caspin bought us a mouse...I'm serious! He bought us an honest to goodness mouse! And, boy, is he the jittery thing. Nix and Phen are downright enchanted by him. If it weren't for the fact that I noticed that ring on his left ring finger, I'd think I would have been a little jealous, even. I guess we'll find out more about him later on...if he ever stops jumping in fear from his own shadow that is. Ha!

The epitome of sensuality,

Rios