Felix felt like time froze around him, his mind thinking back to better memories. Looking back in the months that passed, he wondered how his life became this way so quickly. Where would he be today if he hadn't found KuliKuli and decided to take her under his care, even after discovering her true Nekomata form? Was this all his fault for trusting a monster girl, for failing to see her as anything other than someone who was lost, scared and looking to him for help? He couldn't just turn his head away and refuse her, to point at the front door and demand she remove herself from his life anymore.
Because doing so would mean rejecting the change he experienced with her.
He thought back to his early childhood, the memories of his birth and his parents were never known to him. He would grow up in his life surrounded by others who share the same ill fate as he did. They had no rights, no families, and no future, forever confined into the job that would become their new life.
They were slaves. Property that was tasked with caring for the land and the kingdom which housed them. They were less than people, they were property, and he came to learn that people considered the value of their property very carefully. If you didn't give it your all in your work, your value would drop in the eyes of the people that own you. He was fortunate to have avoided lashings to his back only because he did what he was told without question. Keep your head low, it's disrespectful to look at others in the eyes because doing so asserts yourself as an equal. You speak only when you are spoken or have a message sent from another, and if you needed to relieve yourself you would wait until you were dismissed.
The many scars surrounding his chest and shoulders came from a different source during his time as a slave, they came from someone who took a personal liking to him for reasons he could not explain why. Perhaps it was because one of his owner's friends caught a glimpse of him looking at her at one time, though he could not recall the exact time if such a thing did occur. But she was someone who shared history with the owner, someone they considered to be family, and she asked for him to be her personal servant. So it was that for the teenage years in his life, he was treated callously as if he were no different from the muck she would find under her boots after stepping out into the muddy fields when it rained. A backhand to the face would become a sport for her as she would show her friends just how far he would fly in the air whenever she would strike him. Her strength was unfathomable, far outweighing the sheer force of a charge from a bull or the strength of a bear. She may have looked human, but she was anything but human, he had the puncture wounds in his neck to prove that.
Now that he recalled, perhaps that could be a reason why she kept him around. Perhaps it was something to do with the taste of his blood when she would pull him in by the tug of his arm, strong enough to have dislocated his shoulder once, and sinking her fangs into his flesh before draining a mouthful of his blood.
Friendship was a cruel reminder of the hopeless fate he had to endure as a slave, for any slave he would come to familiarize with would be living the same way he would, on borrowed time. One by one, they would be replace by younger, stronger slaves with plenty of years to drain from them. He would see it in their eyes, some would arrive as prisoners and carried this sense of optimism and hope that he found to be oh so addicting. They would tell stories about their past lives, how it was to live outside the kingdom walls and to have the freedom and liberty to do as you please and find your path in life, whatever that means. But they would often be the first to disappear, likely killed during an escape attempt in the morning. An attempt to run away at night was seen as suicide due to the nocturnal nature of their owners, one would have better odds evading the guards that watched them in the day rather than to be caught within their grasp at night. They took a seductive pleasure when it came to torture, capable of peeling the skin off their bones as if it were wet paper. He would know, he had witnessed this fate happen to one poor soul before. They made a display of her to show what happens should any of us step out of line.
The thought of escaping hadn't crossed his mind in his many years kept behind the castle walls, he simply came to accept his fate. When the day came and the castle came under attack in the early glow of the rising sun, a trebuchet hurled a large stone into the air, where it crashed through the wall and into the kitchen where he was mopping the floor. Several workers fled for their lives, running into the crater in the wall, jumping into the morning sunlight in pursuit for their freedom. That was the day his legs refused to stop running until he found himself out of breath and out of strength, collapsed on the ground when a soldier poked at him with the flag. He grunted back, confirming to the man that he was not dead, and the soldier would shout to the others before carrying Felix in the back of a wagon where many others looked at him with dirty, bruised faces. One little girl squeaked and pointed at him with a stubby finger, bouncing in her mother's lap while she smiled back and asked for his name. He had none, and that was the day he was given a new name and discovered a new life.
But it wasn't a happy ending ever since. He would come to suffer from weeks of sleepless nights, awaking from constant nightmares and hiding under his bed believing that his owner would come back for him any moment. To say that he would recover soon after was a lie, for he had left his past behind but those memories lingered on forever in his head. The shelter where he was offered a place to stay in was meant for refugees from an ongoing war, and they needed more room for less fortunate survivors with missing limbs and head wounds. His stay was temporary, one of the cooks felt pity for him and handed him a small pouch of twenty silver coins before sending him on his way. Living all of his life in one setting and now finding himself lost in the world, it was too large for him to adapt to. All those stories he heard from the prisoners about enjoying their freedom and getting to decide for themselves was a terrifying concept to him, it shook him to adapt that their was a comfort in having his fate decided for him. What could he possibly seek to do in this growing world where he was but an insignificant speck in it's vast wealth of species populating the planet.
No, he resorted to doing what he had learned to do his entire life, he continued to survive.
Be it through small tasks like sweeping around the house, or through decent employment like janitorial duty at a small town restaurant, he did what others wanted to be done in exchange for a bit of coin. He didn't need much, just food for his belly and a roof to sleep under. He found a comfort sleeping in cellars or closets, it reminded him of his old life. One day, he was sitting on a cobblestone wall enjoying a biscuit when an old man looked to be struggling with moving a few barrels into his wagon. Felix jumped in and offered to help, after the task was done they engaged in small talk when the old man took an interest on him after Felix shared about his history with agriculture and farming. He asked if he was comfortable with remote employment. It didn't matter to him, any kind of employment would do, and so he introduced himself as Auguste before inviting Felix to join him back home.
He was under his employ for two years since, being taught his ways when it came to farming and crop harvesting. He wondered why Auguste took a chance on him, being generous enough to let him stay and sleep on the living room. Time took its toll on the old soul, his body began to tire easily and his knees would ache as soon as he stood up from bed. Felix would learn to take over bit by bit, and it came as a surprise when Auguste sat him down and told him that he would be leaving to visit his family, and that his absence would last for close to a year due to how far the traveling distance was. He felt confident that Felix was ready and bid him farewell before departing, and it was three weeks after when a harsh rainstorm swept by and tormented the farm with strong winds and lighting, toppling the toolshed in the process.
That was when Felix found a stray cat under the rubble of the shed, and that was when he took her under his care and named her KuliKuli.
"Well," Arcaye's voice brought him back to the present moment, his hand extended as he waited and looked at him with a curious raise of his brow. "Do we have a deal?"
Right, the deal.
"You know," Felix replied in a soft, relaxed tone. "I lived a pretty small life so far. All my life, I was focused on just living to survive another day, and then repeat the process the next day. I was alone, I only knew how to live on my own and... I was fine with that. I think I was contempt."
"Okay-?" Arcaye responded, staring at him quizzingly.
"But... I don't know if I could say that I was ever happy. When I think about it, I mean really think about it, I don't think I was ever happy then. I can't say I knew what happiness was. No one ever taught it to me."
Arcaye retracted his hand, shifting awkwardly while Felix continued sharing.
"I was a slave once, I had no idea what it was like to live with a family, make friends, be properly educated by older folk who pass down their ways to you. I never knew what it was like to love or be loved. That is, until I met someone who... who was lost. Someone who was lost, scared and alone. Someone who I was told to be scared of and to run far far away from. I took her in, I looked after her, cared for her, and she in return started to care for me. She would greet me in the morning with a smile before I got out of bed. She would try to make stupid little jokes or tease about little things, always asking questions and letting her curiosity grow as she learned more and more. I didn't know most of the answers she looked for, but it was enough for her. I think she never had someone take her seriously in that way."
KuliKuli's tails dropped low as she felt a warmth grow in her heart, she began to look longingly at Felix while he spoke.
"One night, I found myself pounced on by someone I considered to be an enemy and a danger to us. But she gave her a chance and asked me to trust her just as she trusted me. I did, and now I've grown to know more about this new person in our lives as well. She wasn't a killer, she was scared. Just like me, just like her, just like a lot of us when we find ourselves with nothing left."
Reta blinked her eyes and opened her mouth, realizing that he was describing her and the apparent impact she had on him.
"And well, we have had some troubles along the way. One time we were nearly discovered and I went to hide in a market with the owner willing to help us. I'm sorry to admit that I was reluctant to accept her at first, she made the intention of wanting to get to know us more with the idea of becoming friends. But I think in time I took a liking to that concept."
Arcaye sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Yes, this is all very fascinating to hear. I'm sure you've been through a lot, but time is money and my time is quite costly. Now if you would do us both the favor and accept the deal."
"Would you do it?" Felix asked.
"Do what?"
"Would you take the deal if you were in my place?"
Arcaye rolled his eyes and adjusted the collar of his suit. "Of course I would, it's the best offer you'll get. Think of all of the money you can earn and the sights you'll get to see! Anything would be better than a dirt pit like this. So many peasants and beggars on the sidewalk pleading with their hands crying out for a simple coin. It can be fun to throw out a fistful of money and see them fight for it, but that get's boring after a while. Someone like myself shouldn't even be in these parts, I perform for royal families, entire kingdoms no doubt! You're a small fry, so why not indulge in something like this with your cat? Think bigger! You can make a name of yourself out there rather than to squander your time here."
"I think that's the difference between us. I never liked thinking big, I'm comfortable being small. Just doing my own thing surrounded by the people I've grown to love." Felix looked up at him with a smile. "I'm refusing the deal, Arcaye. We're going home and we're taking Umeko, whether you allow it or not."
Arcaye adjusted the collar of his suit and removed his hat, running his finger around the inner sweat band. His eyes were staring down, half closed while he hummed to himself a musical tune. His mouth turned and his mustache wiggled left and right before he looked up at Felix with raised brows and a raised hand.
"That is a shame, mister. 'Cause I sure do wish you would have reconsidered."
KuliKuli lifted her tails as she looked around them, with Reta and Janette scooting closer together.
"Normally I would have this done at the blink of an eye, but it just so happens that my two associates went out drinking today. It's no bother though, I saw what you lot did to two of my workers so I'd rather take a different approach." Arcaye said as he patted the top of his hat before a ball of slime fell out with a splat. "Slime-o, it's feeding time."
Felix felt like time froze around him, his mind thinking back to better memories. Looking back in the months that passed, he wondered how his life became this way so quickly. Where would he be today if he hadn't found KuliKuli and decided to take her under his care, even after discovering her true Nekomata form? Was this all his fault for trusting a monster girl, for failing to see her as anything other than someone who was lost, scared and looking to him for help? He couldn't just turn his head away and refuse her, to point at the front door and demand she remove herself from his life anymore.
Because doing so would mean rejecting the change he experienced with her.
He thought back to his early childhood, the memories of his birth and his parents were never known to him. He would grow up in his life surrounded by others who share the same ill fate as he did. They had no rights, no families, and no future, forever confined into the job that would become their new life.
They were slaves. Property that was tasked with caring for the land and the kingdom which housed them. They were less than people, they were property, and he came to learn that people considered the value of their property very carefully. If you didn't give it your all in your work, your value would drop in the eyes of the people that own you. He was fortunate to have avoided lashings to his back only because he did what he was told without question. Keep your head low, it's disrespectful to look at others in the eyes because doing so asserts yourself as an equal. You speak only when you are spoken or have a message sent from another, and if you needed to relieve yourself you would wait until you were dismissed.
The many scars surrounding his chest and shoulders came from a different source during his time as a slave, they came from someone who took a personal liking to him for reasons he could not explain why. Perhaps it was because one of his owner's friends caught a glimpse of him looking at her at one time, though he could not recall the exact time if such a thing did occur. But she was someone who shared history with the owner, someone they considered to be family, and she asked for him to be her personal servant. So it was that for the teenage years in his life, he was treated callously as if he were no different from the muck she would find under her boots after stepping out into the muddy fields when it rained. A backhand to the face would become a sport for her as she would show her friends just how far he would fly in the air whenever she would strike him. Her strength was unfathomable, far outweighing the sheer force of a charge from a bull or the strength of a bear. She may have looked human, but she was anything but human, he had the puncture wounds in his neck to prove that.
Now that he recalled, perhaps that could be a reason why she kept him around. Perhaps it was something to do with the taste of his blood when she would pull him in by the tug of his arm, strong enough to have dislocated his shoulder once, and sinking her fangs into his flesh before draining a mouthful of his blood.
Friendship was a cruel reminder of the hopeless fate he had to endure as a slave, for any slave he would come to familiarize with would be living the same way he would, on borrowed time. One by one, they would be replace by younger, stronger slaves with plenty of years to drain from them. He would see it in their eyes, some would arrive as prisoners and carried this sense of optimism and hope that he found to be oh so addicting. They would tell stories about their past lives, how it was to live outside the kingdom walls and to have the freedom and liberty to do as you please and find your path in life, whatever that means. But they would often be the first to disappear, likely killed during an escape attempt in the morning. An attempt to run away at night was seen as suicide due to the nocturnal nature of their owners, one would have better odds evading the guards that watched them in the day rather than to be caught within their grasp at night. They took a seductive pleasure when it came to torture, capable of peeling the skin off their bones as if it were wet paper. He would know, he had witnessed this fate happen to one poor soul before. They made a display of her to show what happens should any of us step out of line.
The thought of escaping hadn't crossed his mind in his many years kept behind the castle walls, he simply came to accept his fate. When the day came and the castle came under attack in the early glow of the rising sun, a trebuchet hurled a large stone into the air, where it crashed through the wall and into the kitchen where he was mopping the floor. Several workers fled for their lives, running into the crater in the wall, jumping into the morning sunlight in pursuit for their freedom. That was the day his legs refused to stop running until he found himself out of breath and out of strength, collapsed on the ground when a soldier poked at him with the flag. He grunted back, confirming to the man that he was not dead, and the soldier would shout to the others before carrying Felix in the back of a wagon where many others looked at him with dirty, bruised faces. One little girl squeaked and pointed at him with a stubby finger, bouncing in her mother's lap while she smiled back and asked for his name. He had none, and that was the day he was given a new name and discovered a new life.
But it wasn't a happy ending ever since. He would come to suffer from weeks of sleepless nights, awaking from constant nightmares and hiding under his bed believing that his owner would come back for him any moment. To say that he would recover soon after was a lie, for he had left his past behind but those memories lingered on forever in his head. The shelter where he was offered a place to stay in was meant for refugees from an ongoing war, and they needed more room for less fortunate survivors with missing limbs and head wounds. His stay was temporary, one of the cooks felt pity for him and handed him a small pouch of twenty silver coins before sending him on his way. Living all of his life in one setting and now finding himself lost in the world, it was too large for him to adapt to. All those stories he heard from the prisoners about enjoying their freedom and getting to decide for themselves was a terrifying concept to him, it shook him to adapt that their was a comfort in having his fate decided for him. What could he possibly seek to do in this growing world where he was but an insignificant speck in it's vast wealth of species populating the planet.
No, he resorted to doing what he had learned to do his entire life, he continued to survive.
Be it through small tasks like sweeping around the house, or through decent employment like janitorial duty at a small town restaurant, he did what others wanted to be done in exchange for a bit of coin. He didn't need much, just food for his belly and a roof to sleep under. He found a comfort sleeping in cellars or closets, it reminded him of his old life. One day, he was sitting on a cobblestone wall enjoying a biscuit when an old man looked to be struggling with moving a few barrels into his wagon. Felix jumped in and offered to help, after the task was done they engaged in small talk when the old man took an interest on him after Felix shared about his history with agriculture and farming. He asked if he was comfortable with remote employment. It didn't matter to him, any kind of employment would do, and so he introduced himself as Auguste before inviting Felix to join him back home.
He was under his employ for two years since, being taught his ways when it came to farming and crop harvesting. He wondered why Auguste took a chance on him, being generous enough to let him stay and sleep on the living room. Time took its toll on the old soul, his body began to tire easily and his knees would ache as soon as he stood up from bed. Felix would learn to take over bit by bit, and it came as a surprise when Auguste sat him down and told him that he would be leaving to visit his family, and that his absence would last for close to a year due to how far the traveling distance was. He felt confident that Felix was ready and bid him farewell before departing, and it was three weeks after when a harsh rainstorm swept by and tormented the farm with strong winds and lighting, toppling the toolshed in the process.
That was when Felix found a stray cat under the rubble of the shed, and that was when he took her under his care and named her KuliKuli.
"Well," Arcaye's voice brought him back to the present moment, his hand extended as he waited and looked at him with a curious raise of his brow. "Do we have a deal?"
Right, the deal.
"You know," Felix replied in a soft, relaxed tone. "I lived a pretty small life so far. All my life, I was focused on just living to survive another day, and then repeat the process the next day. I was alone, I only knew how to live on my own and... I was fine with that. I think I was contempt."
"Okay-?" Arcaye responded, staring at him quizzingly.
"But... I don't know if I could say that I was ever happy. When I think about it, I mean really think about it, I don't think I was ever happy then. I can't say I knew what happiness was. No one ever taught it to me."
Arcaye retracted his hand, shifting awkwardly while Felix continued sharing.
"I was a slave once, I had no idea what it was like to live with a family, make friends, be properly educated by older folk who pass down their ways to you. I never knew what it was like to love or be loved. That is, until I met someone who... who was lost. Someone who was lost, scared and alone. Someone who I was told to be scared of and to run far far away from. I took her in, I looked after her, cared for her, and she in return started to care for me. She would greet me in the morning with a smile before I got out of bed. She would try to make stupid little jokes or tease about little things, always asking questions and letting her curiosity grow as she learned more and more. I didn't know most of the answers she looked for, but it was enough for her. I think she never had someone take her seriously in that way."
KuliKuli's tails dropped low as she felt a warmth grow in her heart, she began to look longingly at Felix while he spoke.
"One night, I found myself pounced on by someone I considered to be an enemy and a danger to us. But she gave her a chance and asked me to trust her just as she trusted me. I did, and now I've grown to know more about this new person in our lives as well. She wasn't a killer, she was scared. Just like me, just like her, just like a lot of us when we find ourselves with nothing left."
Reta blinked her eyes and opened her mouth, realizing that he was describing her and the apparent impact she had on him.
"And well, we have had some troubles along the way. One time we were nearly discovered and I went to hide in a market with the owner willing to help us. I'm sorry to admit that I was reluctant to accept her at first, she made the intention of wanting to get to know us more with the idea of becoming friends. But I think in time I took a liking to that concept."
Arcaye sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Yes, this is all very fascinating to hear. I'm sure you've been through a lot, but time is money and my time is quite costly. Now if you would do us both the favor and accept the deal."
"Would you do it?" Felix asked.
"Do what?"
"Would you take the deal if you were in my place?"
Arcaye rolled his eyes and adjusted the collar of his suit. "Of course I would, it's the best offer you'll get. Think of all of the money you can earn and the sights you'll get to see! Anything would be better than a dirt pit like this. So many peasants and beggars on the sidewalk pleading with their hands crying out for a simple coin. It can be fun to throw out a fistful of money and see them fight for it, but that get's boring after a while. Someone like myself shouldn't even be in these parts, I perform for royal families, entire kingdoms no doubt! You're a small fry, so why not indulge in something like this with your cat? Think bigger! You can make a name of yourself out there rather than to squander your time here."
"I think that's the difference between us. I never liked thinking big, I'm comfortable being small. Just doing my own thing surrounded by the people I've grown to love." Felix looked up at him with a smile. "I'm refusing the deal, Arcaye. We're going home and we're taking Umeko, whether you allow it or not."
Arcaye adjusted the collar of his suit and removed his hat, running his finger around the inner sweat band. His eyes were staring down, half closed while he hummed to himself a musical tune. His mouth turned and his mustache wiggled left and right before he looked up at Felix with raised brows and a raised hand.
"That is a shame, mister. 'Cause I sure do wish you would have reconsidered."
KuliKuli lifted her tails as she looked around them, with Reta and Janette scooting closer together.
"Normally I would have this done at the blink of an eye, but it just so happens that my two associates went out drinking today. It's no bother though, I saw what you lot did to two of my workers so I'd rather take a different approach." Arcaye said as he patted the top of his hat before a ball of slime fell out with a splat. "Slime-o, it's feeding time."
