The Neko's Tail - 17. Golaski

“Get the tablets. We’re heading to the ship now,” Artemis said, setting Reinard on the hotel bed.

The Faro was out cold, and the tiger gently shook him. There was no response.

“Fuck,” the tiger muttered. “Come on. I want to get him to a med bay. Who knows when he was last checked?”

Elias scurried around the room, gathering everything they had brought with them. It wasn’t much, but it still filled his arms. Artemis scooped the fox back into his arms and hurried out of the room again, Elias running to keep up with the taller cat’s strides. He was worried about the fox; that scream still haunted him.

They were back at the ship in fifteen minutes, and Artemis had to twist to unlock the door with the fox in his hands. Elias dropped everything in the cabin as the tiger carried Reinard into the med bay. He rejoined the tiger less than a minute later.

“Elias, I need you to remove his clothes while I prep the bay,” Artemis said.

Elias stared at the unconscious fox. This didn’t feel right at all.

“He can’t go into the pod with any clothing on,; it would interfere with any healing. You’re helping by doing it,” Artemis explained quickly.

The neko studied the fox. He was so small, smaller even than Elias.

Hesitantly, Elias gripped the hem of Reinard’s shirt, slowly lifting it away from the fox’s body. He could count every rib on Reinard’s body, and he was afraid to touch the fox, scared he might break him.

Lifting the fox’s head gently, the neko removed the shirt. It wasn’t much different than the times he had been forced to do it for patrons at the inn in Astara, and Elias found himself slipping back into that slave mindset.

No, it was different, because this time he cared. He shook his head, clearing it.

Pulling Reinard’s pants down, Elias stared at the fox’s rod, so small and furry. He had to fight the urge to lick it, removing the pants the rest of the way.

“He has a hole…” he said uncertainly, as the rest of Reinard’s groin was revealed.

Artemis gently pushed him aside, taking in the fox’s body.

“I didn’t know Faro were intersex…” the tiger said.

He returned to the pod’s controls, making a few changes, before returning.

“Fuck, the collar…”

The tiger held his finger against the collar, wincing at the sound of the collar unlocking. He lifted the fox, gently depositing him into the pod.

The lid hissed shut over the fox and a quiet chirp sounded, letting the room’s occupants know the pod was working its magic.

“Come on Elias. It will take a while for him to wake up,” Artemis said, ushering the neko from the room.

The baying of dogs followed him as he galloped on all fours through a boulder-strewn field. He was free of the collar, free of the electric shocks it emitted.

Running on all fours, the fox darted into a tiny hole, squirming to get deeper within. He was small… but not small enough.

Sobbing, Reinard gasped for breath, stuck halfway inside the hole. Further in he could see a cavern filled with light, holes branching off in hundreds of directions. He would be free if he could just get inside.

The fox tried to make himself even smaller, wriggling his butt. It was no use. He was firmly stuck in the hole, the muffled sounds of the Dalmar chasing him growing ever closer.

He would pray to Golaski, the Faro god, but it had never helped him before. Why would it help him now?

“I got you now.”

Reinard yelped as a pair of hands pulled him from the hole. He kicked frantically, breaking free from the hands that held him, and took off like a bullet fired from a gun.

Sprinting around a rock, the fox tripped, sliding face-first across the ground. Wincing, Reinard rolled, looking up at his pursuer. A brown tiger…?

The world around the tiger blurred until Reinard was staring at a white ceiling. The tiger gazed down at him, concern on his face. Artemis.

“You had quite a few injuries. How do you feel?”

He felt better than he had in a long time. But he could still feel the weight of his collar.

“I’m fine,” the fox said, his voice surprisingly deep off the helium-rich planet.

“We’re on our way to your planet already. It should take just under four hours to get there.”

Artemis gestured at the neko sitting in the corner of the room.

“I’m giving you to Elias,” he said. “You are to do what he tells you to.”

Reinard nodded. Hopefully, he would soon be free of this all.

Elias paled as Artemis singled him out. He controlled the fox? But he had never owned anything before. He had no idea what he should do.

The neko and the fox stared at each other as Artemis left the room, sizing each other up.

‘Food. He needs to eat.’

“Follow,” Elias said quietly, tentatively.

He had no idea if Reinard would listen, but he had to act like he didn’t care, just as he had when that alien confronted Artemis in the space city.

Turning toward the door, the neko led the fox to the kitchen. Looking at the pad on the wall that made food, he paused. What did the fox people eat? What did they like?

Elias faced the fox.

“You need to eat,” he said a little more forcefully.

Reinard stared at him blankly.

“Eat… Esara?” Elias tried, voice faltering again.

What was the word Artemis used?

“Desai?”

Still, the fox stared, not understanding what his new master wanted.

“Esara… Esarai…?”

Reinard’s eyes widened.

“You want food,” the fox said.

Elias shook his head, pointing at Reinard.

“No, you esara.”

Reinard frowned again, puzzling out Elias’ words.

“You want me to eat?”

The neko nodded, and the fox cautiously approached the sensor. His palm grazed it, and a small loaf of bread appeared.

Elias frowned as the fox began nibbling the bread, eyes glancing furtively at Elias as though he was going to take the bread away. He remembered the days of eating stale bread. Those days were behind him now. But Reinard was still living them.

Not on this ship though.

Elias pressed his hand against the pad, thinking about a type of food Artemis had made for him once. It was hot, with a strange sauce that tasted really good.

The plate appeared on the counter next to the pad, and Elias carried it over to Reinard. The fox stared at him in alarm as Elias took the bread.

“Eat,” the neko smiled.

Artemis sat at the controls of the ship, listening to Elias try to convince Reinard to eat. He was proud of the neko. Elias was overcoming his fears.

The tiger hated slavery in all forms, but he had to admit it was hot listening to the neko boss the fox around. Artemis wouldn’t mind letting Elias take charge of him.

A quiet beep let the tiger know they were within a light minute of their destination. He was flying at relatively low speed; it would take them another ten minutes to reach the planet’s atmosphere.

Standing, he stuck his head into the kitchen.

“Hey, we’re almost to the planet,” he said to Elias.

The neko nodded, cleaning a plate. Artemis noted with interest that Reinard was sitting quietly at the table.

He returned to the cockpit, settling back into his seat. Twenty minutes later, he touched the ship down on the planet.

“Reinard!”

The fox was standing next to him a second later.

“I want you to translate between myself and anyone who does not understand Xanthian.”

Reinard nodded as Elias entered the cockpit.

“Hey kitten, we need to get you tested. It might take a day or two. Do you want to go with Reinard and I, or get the testing done with first?”

The neko shrugged, then his hands made a strange gesture.

“Oh… I don’t think I’ve gotten as far as you have,” Artemis said, realizing the neko was signing.

“I’ll go with you,” Elias said quietly.

“Okay. Reinard, where would someone go if they wanted to become a citizen of the planet?”

“I don’t know Captain,” the fox said quietly, his body tensing.

“Okay, we’ll have to do this the hard way. Follow me.”

They stepped off the ship, Elias shivering in a cool breeze. Snow crunched under the neko’s bare feet, and he kept moving, not letting his feet rest too long in the cold. He had never seen snow before, and the white stuff interested him. Not that he could study the snow at the moment.

The trio passed into a small building, a grey Faro approaching quickly. A brown bracer sat upon his left forearm, and Reinard quickly scanned his memory, trying to recall the title for him.

“Good day to you Captain,” the Faro said, looking up at the tiger.

“Good day to you as well Corporal. I have an issue you might be able to help me with. This Faro has been off-planet for around ten years, and he’s coming home now.”

“Well, he would still be considered a citizen of our species, however, he needs to become a citizen of the Alliance, considering he is wearing a slave’s collar. Does he belong to you?”

Reinard remained silent, listening to the conversation. He didn’t really belong to Artemis, though he knew the tiger had a claim to him.

“Things will go a lot smoother if he has a home. Does he have a clan he can live with?”

Artemis looked at Reinard.

“I don’t know,” the fox admitted. “If they’re still alive, they’d be in Gara Valley.”

“That’s five hundred miles northeast. We can look them up from here. What is your clan name?”

“Reinard Artego.”

The Faro scowled.

“Forgive me if I don’t believe that.”

Artemis stared at the Faro.

“Why would he lie about his... Clan?”

“The Artego clan was one of the old Elder clans before the Alliance interceded in the Dalmar war. Their youngest child went missing ten years ago. But there is no way you are him. If he was still alive, the Dalmar would have returned him when the war ended, as they returned the rest of their prisoners.”

“All the same, I would appreciate it if you could tell us where we could find the Artegos. It’s the only lead I have right now,” Artemis said.

“They haven’t moved from their home. If you are their son, you’ll know where to find them,” the Faro glared at Reinard.

“Thank you for your help Corporal,” Artemis said, ushering Reinard and Elias away.

Elias stood between Reinard and Artemis, watching strange carriages rush past. Their horses were invisible, and they made a noise similar to the ship.

The neko wondered if Artemis had invisible horses moving his ship around. But no, he would have told Elias about them by now, wouldn’t he?

He could feel the tiger’s eyes on him and he shivered. He had spoken to Reinard, ordered him around. Would Artemis expect him to speak to the tiger now?

“Reinard, do you think you can handle your family on your own?” Artemis asked suddenly.

“My family?”

“Your clan,” Artemis corrected himself.

The Faro nodded slowly.

“Call us a car.”

Elias watched the fox step forward nervously. His hand went up, and one of the carriages stopped in front of them, the door opening.

“Come here.”

Artemis placed his hand on Reinard’s collar, releasing the fox. Reinard’s hands moved to his neck, massaging the area where the collar had been for so long.

“You are free to go,” Artemis smiled, handing him the collar.

The tiger ducked into the carriage, speaking quickly with the black fox within. He slid his card through a box and withdrew from the vehicle.

“He will take you wherever you need to go,” Artemis said. “If you get in trouble, Elias and I will be around for a few more days. You will always be welcome.”

Reinard bowed his head, placing his fist to his chest.

“Thank you Artemis.” he murmured.

Turning away, the fox entered the carriage, closing the door behind him. Several seconds later, the vehicle sped away.

“Well, my little kitten, it appears we are alone together once more,” Artemis sighed. “Shall we go see about your testing?”

His hand rested on the neko while they walked. Artemis kept telling himself it was a precaution; Elias got in enough trouble on Asla. The tiger didn't want to even imagine the trouble he could find in a system barely ten years out of a civil war.

They stopped by the ship, where Artemis picked up a translator chip with Elias’ tongue already within it. It was his only spare, and he had to be careful with it, but Elias needed to talk, and no one on the planet could understand him, aside from Artemis.

“We’re still going to learn Xanthian sign language if you want to,” the tiger said as they re-entered the warm building of the station. “But I need you to talk to the people you are going to meet today. They are going to give you suggestions when you are done, and it is entirely up to you whether to take those suggestions or not.”

Artemis’ ears swiveled nervously as they walked. He knew what the neko was in for, and if his testing was any indication, there was a good chance Elias would break down at some point. He had to help the neko. But he was forbidden to speak of the testing by law.

They passed down a hall, Artemis directing the neko toward a door he had gotten out of a Dalmar. Entering the room beyond, Artemis brought Elias to a stop in front of a Faro wearing glasses.

‘Fuck, I still need to have his eyes checked…’

“Hello Captain. Is there something I can do for you?”

“I need to get my ward tested for Fleet compatibility,” the tiger said.

The Faro stared at Elias, taking his measure.

“I have never seen his like before,” he said.

“He is a neko. I found him just over a month ago.”

“And took him right off his world,” the Faro glared. “I know you explorer types-”

Elias shook his head, signing. Artemis watched him in shock. The neko had only had the tablet for maybe ten hours over the past two days. How did he learn so fast? Even if it was just a simple ‘no’, the fact that he knew it…

“You’ve been skipping ahead, haven’t you?” he accused the neko.

Elias’ ears flattened, and he nodded meekly.

“He’s mute. I doubt you had his permission to steal him,” the Faro snapped.

“I’m not mute.”

Artemis beamed at the neko. He was so proud of Elias in that moment,

“Thank you kitten,” the tiger breathed, ruffling the neko’s hair.

Elias’ eyes glazed over briefly at the contact. Straightening, Artemis turned back to the Faro.

“Regardless of your personal hang ups, I still would like him to be tested.”

Muttering about self righteous pricks, the Faro picked up a phone.

“Scholar Eitaro, there are some beings here to see you. A tiger and a neko. No, I don’t really know what that is either. Okay.”

Setting the phone down again, the fox glowered at them.

“Scholar Eitaro will be out presently with his colleagues. I suggest you take a seat.”

“Where are you…?”

Reinard tried to settle into the back seat. He was unused to travel, but he was so close to home; a little discomfort wouldn’t stop him.

“Um, I need to get to Gara Valley,” he said.

The driver stared at him blankly.

“I’m serious, I don’t speak Xanthian,” the Faro said.

Serious…?

“Oh.”

Shit, he hadn’t spoken Faro since he was eleven. And this was a different dialect. Or was it?

Reinard tried to remember his native tongue, a language foreign to the fox.

“Uh… I need to go… to Gara Valley,” he stuttered.

Thankfully the Faro understood his garbled enunciations. The vehicle began moving, the fox’s left hand skipping over a series of buttons in the center of the dashboard.

The rumble of the car’s wheels stopped, and Reinard looked out the window, gulping as he realized they were rising into the air.

That was right, the Faro had been working on levitating vehicles for long distance travel… He had heard about it from one of his owner’s friends years ago, but hadn’t paid attention, too worried about surviving.

“We’ll be at the valley in... hours. Is there… you want to go?”

“Artego… manor? Mansion?”

The Faro’s eyes met Reinard’s in the mirror, surprise clear in them. Shrugging it off, he returned to his flying. He had been paid well enough. Maybe the Faro really was an Artego.

They flew in silence, Reinard staring out the window as the white world around him slowly became more green. A lake sped past and the Faro’s eyes tracked it. He hadn’t seen so much water in ten years. Certainly not that much water just laying around.

As he took in the landscape, Reinard reflected that the world he was on was almost completely alien to him.

They landed on a brick road, rolling to a stop in front of a large gate.

“I can’t take you any further,” Reinard’s driver said.

The Faro was grateful anyway. He had a mile long driveway to walk up, but he could see a familiar building at the top of a nearby hill. He was home.

“Thank you,” Reinard smiled at the Faro.

He slid out of the car, walking toward the gate. A black square was set into the steel gate, both additions to the house that Reinard didn’t remember from his childhood. It made the place look foreboding, and suddenly Reinard wasn’t so sure he should be here.