A Life in Service
Okay so real life stuff I can't exactly explain just yet not only prevented me from working on part three while thie was being proofed but also kept me from posting this until today. So, sorry for the delays. I will try to have part three out in a week or so depending on scheduling and proofer holiday scheduling stuffs.
Possession. That is all Kael could feel in his Master's grip. Before all of his clan Zurui squeezed his mouse tighter and tighter forcing a choked squeak of terror from the rodent in his grasp. 'It had to be this way,' was all the cobra could think as he shifted his coils away from the boy's shoulders. Kael was only vaguely aware of what was going on, bright spots clouding his vision as he thrashed about uselessly in his owner's grip. He knew what came next. Zurui's jaws parted above him, pink flesh squishing lightly as the cobra's jaws flexed, his fangs slipping forward into the trapped boy's view. All at once the rodent's thrashing stopped, replaced instead with fearful quivering. "Please Master..." Kael shakily began, only to gasp in shock as the cobra's fangs slipped effortlessly into his shoulder.
In an instant a searing pain tore through the mouse's world only to be replaced with a total lack of feeling in his body. When the serpent's fangs slipped out of his shoulder again the mouse's jaw simply gaped in a wordless expression of betrayal. Kael could barely process much more than his owner's grip relaxing slowly, turning into his cradle as unconsciousness claimed him. In truth, this was how it had to be; Zurui perhaps knew that better than most. There were those in his clan who would have taken this mouse's life in a heartbeat purely to sate their appetites. Kael couldn't understand what a life he was receiving.
Most slaves his age were used purely for pleasure. Likewise all mice were considered feeder slaves. They would receive a mark soon after being taken in and would be devoured repeatedly for their whole life only to one day simply not reform. Zurui was more compassionate than most of his clan, unable to see a point in senselessly punishing his slaves when the clan said they needed it. This mouse was his age and didn't seem to have a mean bone in him. And besides, being in Zurui's service would mean he would always be fed, he would never be cold if the serpent could help it and he would never need anything beside his Master.
As Zurui slithered down from the altar, carrying the limp body of his mouse hugged close to his chest, he thought over what would come next. He made his way to his room and nestled his mouse in the center of his bed, curling his coils slowly around the limp mouse. When he was settled he pulled one of the furs over the unconscious mouse to keep him warm as he waited. Most marked servants took days to recuperate. As he lay there, curled around his mouse, he idly wondered what the mouse could have been dreaming of at the moment.
The rodent's dreams were very erratic, filled with thoughts of times with his older brother playing with him before his father passed away. Thoughts of his mother and the last time he saw her. It was only recently that he was able to comprehend why his brother was taken away. He was old enough to be sold into slavery. He volunteered for it practically, anything to keep his mother and brother from needing to do the same.
He even remembered the smile drawn across his brother's face as he reassured his little brother that everything would be alright. Still it seemed the world had an ironic sense of humor as no sooner had they taken his brother they had come back a month later. He and his mother were sleeping when the slave-traders had kidnapped and sold them both into slavery. It was a sad story fit only for the writings of a crazed poet in the throes of depression. It was his life.
He remembered next that his mother was sold to the same clan that had bought him. Shortly after he arrived though they were split up, put to different sides of the clan's housing. He had only seen her in passing as he was raised by his new owners. At the age of fourteen, days ago in fact he had been deemed fit to be one of the cobra's personal servants after having lived with them for four years. It was an honor or so he was told and his very first day of service had been filled with sating the sexual urges of his new master.
He did not dare to oppose the snake, he was afraid to even speak at first before the cobra had reassured him that he had no intention of ending the mouse's life. Even into the night he was still vigilant, unable to sleep with the thoughts of what he had been told by others. Those stories were of ruthless predators in the clan that would scarf down mice on sight if it so pleased them. He had even been sent to fetch his owner's dinner, a meal that was capable of walking with him to its fate. He could still remember the swiftness with which Kris was devoured, and the satisfaction the serpent held with another living creature being smothered within his stomach as the mouse rubbed his master's coils.
It was too much for him to comprehend, too much input for his brain to handle at the time. But now, now he had time to sort through it all. His dreams began to replay every scene that had brought him here. His brother, mother, even thoughts of what his father would think if he knew that his son had enjoyed the company of...
He was unable to complete that thought. It hadn't occurred to him yet just why exactly he felt so betrayed by the cobra. He liked the cobra, even so far as to have enjoyed being nestled in amongst the naga's coils where he was sheltered, safe. He had yet to see the cobra put him up to anything he did not want to do. The first time he had been bred by the cobra Zurui had even asked him if it was alright. Not that he would have said it wasn't, what place was it of a servant to deny the whims of his master? Still, even the motions of the cobra's body were gentle, slow and careful. As if he feared hurting the mouse. It wasn't until Kael himself had reassured his owner that he was alright that his pace had changed at all. Zurui seemed to have little intent if any to see him harmed. Why then did this happen?
Why did Zurui bite him? He could still remember the pain of the bite, the feel of the cobra's fangs slipping fully into his shoulder to inject their venom and could even remember the feel of them withdrawing as Zurui lifted himself to full height again, a soft hiss rising from the reptile's throat as he spread his hood and prepared himself. Right before his eyes could no longer remain open, in that single second, he saw Zurui lean forward again, as if to finish him off.
He could still feel the cobra's coils around him, holding him secure as he moved in for the next bite. There was still time, he could still get free! As the mouse's head played tricks on him, replaying an image of his master striking, he sat upright, beginning to thrash in earnest to fling the cobra's coils from him. Zurui only stared in surprise as Kael jerked back to the physical world, away from his dreams. He felt those paws of his mouse pushing out against his coils and quickly removed the fur above the rodent to allow the mouse breathing room as it were. Kael shakily pulled himself to his hands and knees, his world spinning as he swayed. He let out a soft whine as he realized he had exhausted himself already and swayed towards the edge of the bowl-like bed only to be collected in a scaled embrace again.
"No...no...no..." Kael sobbed quietly nearly in tears as he was pulled back to the middle of the bed.
"Kael!" Zurui shouted as he grabbed the mouse's shoulders lightly.
"Let me go!" Kael managed to shout back.
Zurui said nothing further, simply choosing to let the mouse go, allowing him to slump back against the bed, tears slowly dampening his cheeks as he curled into a ball again. "Kael....I had to, I'm sorry....I just." Zurui began to lean forward, his hand outstretched to gently rest upon the rodent's shoulder. Kael whined and flinched, cringing away from the touch.
"Please...." Kael whined softly.
"Kael." Zurui whispered calmly, gently slipping closer to the balled up mouse. "Believe me I'm sorry mousie." The cobra whispered quietly.
"Why?" Kael asked softly, on the verge of another breakdown.
"It's a clan tradition. All personal slaves are marked by their owners in venom." Zurui explained in a hushed tone as he snuggled the mouse to his chest.
"But why?" Kael pressed while quivering against the cobra's chest.
"Something in our venom changes our slave's anatomy to be dependent on it. We mark slaves so they can't run away or betray us without dying." Zurui explained while nuzzling his mouse lightly.
"Hurts..." Kael mumbled softly while uncurling a bit. Zurui smiled a bit and gently nuzzled against the mouse's cheek.
"Sorry hun I can't afford to spoil you forever." Zurui said quietly.
"Hun?" Kael repeated, still sounding a bit groggy.
"You didn't hear that mousie." Zurui mumbled while gently running his hand down the mouse's back, petting him slowly and soothingly. The serpent was unable to keep from comforting the mouse; gently curling his coils back around the boy to keep him snuggled against his chest. "Do you feel up to eating?" Zurui asked in a hushed whisper as he continued to stroke the rodent's sides.
"Not hungry..." Kael mumbled softly as he stretched a bit. He still couldn't feel his toes and the very tip of his tail but what he could feel of his anatomy ached. "Did you have to squeeze so hard Master?" Kael murmured softly, his voice beginning to get hoarse. He still didn't completely understand why Zurui couldn't have told him of the marking beforehand but knowing that there was a reason dulled that sting of betrayal he had felt earlier.
"Well you would have thrashed harder and torn your shoulder if I had let you." The serpent hissed quietly. "Besides that was a few days ago." Zurui added quietly.
"Days!?" Kael squeaked.
"Easy mousie... It's not too unusual for the marked servants to need up to a week of rest afterwards. You've been out for two days." Zurui explained while continuing to stroke his mouse's fur comfortingly.
"That explains a lot." Kael murmured softly. "Z-zurui? Could I make a request?" the mouse asked softly.
"Depends."
"Kris mentioned something about...well...trying what he does." Kael said in a slightly less shaky voice. In truth he had been considering it all night long after he had watched his master devouring that bunny.
"No." Zurui replied quickly. You're my mouse. If anyone is going to be doing that with you it's going to be..." Zurui was cut off by the rodent squirming lightly.
"That's why I asked." Kael mumbled softly.
Zurui couldn't believe what he was hearing from the mouse. He wanted what the cobra had been trying to shield him from. "Kael..." Zurui whispered quietly. "What brought this on?" he asked while lightly nuzzling his mouse's cheek.
"Kris explained most of it to me...After watching you two, how gentle you were with him." Kael mumbled, beginning to trail off to quieted murmurs.
"Kael?" Zurui whispered softly. When he looked back at his mouse again he could see the rodent's eyes closed. Zurui sighed softly and slipped his tail out to pull open the door. "Kris." He called out while looking to the door. No sooner had he called him than the lithe form of the rabbit in question had appeared in the doorway. "Keep him warm. I have to go have a word with Kyuushi thanks to you." He mumbled softly, slowly uncurling himself from the mouse to leave him in the center of the bed.
"You're welcome Zuzu." Kris said with a smug grin.
"Yeah yeah, just be a good boy and do what you're told." Zurui said with a playful smack to the rabbit's rear as he passed. Kris giggled and nodded before slipping into the familiar nesting bed.
"Hey lil guy." Kris whispered softly as he snuggled in close to the mouse.
"Mfph..." Kael mumbled softly in his sleep.
"How ya feeling lil guy?"
Kael rolled in his sleep, nestling in close to the bunny's chest before he spoke again. "Kire..." Kael murmured softly.
"Hun my name is Kris, I know you just got marked but you weren't even close." Kris whispered as he snuggled the rodent closer.
Kael murmured too softly for the bunny to make out as he gently gripped the bunny's fur. "Big brother..." he whispered softly as he snuggled close again.
"Oh hun..." Kris whispered softly, gently snuggling the mouse closer.
"Did he wake up?" Zurui asked as he slipped back into the room.
"Zuzu...he's asking for his brother." Kris said quietly, his ears splayed back as he looked back up.
"His brother?" Zurui asked while leaning down to gently pet the mouse's ear.
"Kire. That's what he said."
"Kire....you're sure he said that name?" Zurui asked while staring down at his mouse in confusion.
"Yup that's what he said. Do you know his brother or something?"
"It can't be the same one. Do me a favor Kris. Go get Kaji." Zurui said softly. Kris began to protest but a warning hiss from Zurui silenced him. "Tell him to bring his servant too." Zurui murmured quietly while nuzzling his mouse gently.
Kris nodded once before heading out. The cobra sighed softly and nosed against the mouse's headfur a bit. "I hope I'm wrong mouse." Zurui murmured softly.
It took the bunny a few moments to locate Kaji but when he had found the cobra he almost wished he hadn't. Within the snake's coils Kris could faintly make out the ears of a fox before the cobra's grip tightened, claiming those red ears in a crushing hug. "What do you need snack?" Kaji hissed at the rabbit. Kris promptly laid his ears back and ducked his head, not wishing to give the snake a reason to add him to the meal list.
"Zurui wanted me to ask for your company and of your servant's." Kris said softly, doing his best to keep himself from irritating the snake.
"That so?" Kaji mumbled as he loosened his coils to give the fox breathing room once more. "Tell him he can borrow my mouse until I'm done with this." Kaji hissed while looking over the pathetic fox. Kris knew the fox's face from the prey pantry as they had taken to calling it. He was Zurui's second servant, the one that had attempted to stab the very snake that was crushing him now. The nagas saw this as a punishment, continually taking the fox's life in a brutal manner for betraying the trust that one of their own had had for him. "Kire! Go with Kris, my brother has need of you apparently." Kaji called to his servant.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the snake had returned to squeezing the life from the fox. Kris' ears perked a bit at the servant's name. "Kire..." he murmured softly. His suspicions were confirmed when a brown furred mouse stepped out of the serpent's bedroom to greet him.
~-Kire-~
"Kaji's busy. I did manage to grab uh..." Kris was cut short by another voice.
"He's fine right Zurui?" came a voice from behind the bunny.
"Yeah he'll be fine. Kael...wake up mousie, someone's here to see you." Zurui whispered softly. Kael let out a soft groan as he curled up tighter.
Kael finally stirred from his slumber, opening his eyes slowly to realize he was curled against his owner's chest. "Mas... I mean... Zurui?" Kael murmured groggily.
"Hey Kael." The darker of the mice said softly.
Kael's ears perked instantly, his tail quivering softly as he blinked once. Rolling to his side Kael looked over at the bunny and the mouse beyond. "K...kir..." Kael mumbled in disbelief, stretching his hand out before it flopped limply against the furs lining the bed once more.
"Yeah I remember that." Kire murmured softly. "Can I?" Kire asked softly while inching closer to the bed.
"It's why I asked you here." Zurui said softly while pulling himself away slowly. As Kris stood in the corner grinning at the siblings, Zurui swept up alongside of the bunny and grabbed his ear lightly, tugging him away gently. "Come bunny, let the mice be." Zurui said softly.
"B-but...gack!" the bunny yelped as he was pulled out of the room, led by the cobra's grip on his ear.
Kire turned his head and silently thanked the cobra before slipping into the bed with his little brother. "Hey lil bro." Kire murmured softly, giving the groggy mouse a light nuzzle
"When did...how...Why are you here?" Kael whined softly.
"Because I wanted better for you and mom." Kire said softly. "Why are you here? There should have been more than enough money..." Kire said softly.
"They came back big brother... I didn't know what to do and then they...they..." Kael whimpered softly as he clung to his older sibling.
"Kael settle down you're going to make yourself sick. You need to let the venom mix in fully." Kire whispered as he pulled his brother close.
"How do you..."
Kire lifted his head a bit, using his paw to pull his pelt a bit, revealing a pair of scars, similar in size where the fur refused to grow back. Around the bite a symbol the mouse had recognized as the clan's mark had seemed to appear in his fur pattern, an ivory white outlining the shape of a pair of fangs biting through an hourglass.
"You were marked?" Kael whispered shakily.
"Relax lil bro. Being marked is the best you could hope for here." Kire murmured softly.
"But..."
"No buts. Zurui is the nicest of the cobras. He's the one I wanted to be claimed by. I was lucky enough to be picked by his brother though." Kire whispered as he nuzzled his brother's cheek lightly.
"You've been here all this time?" Kael asked with a soft whine.
"Yeah, this is the clan that bought me. They have a thing for mice as you can imagine." Kire said softly, giving his brother's cheek a light stroke. "Now, I have to get back to Kaji, he doesn't like me being away so long."
"But...we just found each other" Kael murmured quietly.
"It's alright." Kire explained calmly. "Please Kael, just sleep. Get better and I'll see you again." Kire said softly before kissing the younger mouse's cheek lightly. Kael let out a soft whine as his brother pulled away, tears staining his cheeks as he lay there, too weak to move. Before stepping away the older of the mice draped a fur over his brother and smiled a bit. "Get well soon lil bro." Kire whispered as he stepped back to the door.
Kaji was waiting outside of the door with Zurui, a thick lump settled midway down his coils that the mouse knew had to be the fox from earlier. Kris sat off to the side, waiting for the serpents to conclude their business. Kire simply slipped past Zurui to settle himself alongside of his owner's coils, giving his meal's resting place light nuzzles as he waited for his master to address him. "Kire, has my brother claimed yours?" Kaji asked with a sideways glance to the mouse. Kire splayed his ears back a bit and nodded once.
"Yes Master, he did." Kire replied while ducking his head a bit.
"Ironic." Kaji murmured softly as his mouse returned to lightly kneading over his coils.
"Very." Zurui said in an almost thoughtful tone. "On the other hand it fits together wonderfully. They can watch themselves while we..." Zurui left the thought incomplete, hinting that his brother knew what he spoke of.
"Say it louder Zurui I don't think our father heard you." Kaji shot back with a bit of a glare.
"Well Kaji I did have one other reason for asking you to come here." Zurui said in a more serious tone. "You know of Nazare I trust?" Zurui asked quietly.
"From the other clan? The vipers?" Kaji asked with a light flex of his hood.
"The same. She was betrothed to the clan as I'm sure you remember. More specifically she was a peace offering, father wants her bound to me." Zurui explained in a hushed tone.
"Then it is your honor and duty to claim her." Kaji murmured softly.
"You realize then that what we've had will come to an end soon?"
"I may not want it to brother but going against father is something I want even less. You and I are poised to take over the elder council in only a few years. It was inevitable that this would need to end by then anyway." Kaji said with a sideways look to his mouse. "Kire, you have two choices for tonight. I will permit you to stay here and watch over your brother as mine asks or you may rest in my room until I return." Kaji said softly.
"I would stay if you would permit me Zurui." Kire said in a quieted voice as he drew himself up to a kneeling position with his head bowed slightly.
"Considering that I was the one that asked Kaji to allow you to stay I think I could live with that." Zurui said with a slight smile.
"Behave yourself then Kire." Kaji said as he began to slither away down the corridor. "I will see you all tomorrow when I return from the market. There are supposed to be a few new slaves with this batch." Kaji said before turning a corner, his long body dragging slowly out of sight.
"Kris, would you have someone send another bed to my room. I'll be needing it tonight." Zurui said with a light smile to the brown furred mouse. "I don't think we can fit three of us in mine so you and Kael may have it while he recovers." Zurui added while resting his hand lightly on the mouse's shoulder.
Kire smiled a bit and nuzzled lightly against the cobra's forearm. "Thank you sir." He said softly. When Zurui nodded he pulled himself back to standing and slipped past the serpent into the room again only to find his brother curled into a ball, asleep. Climbing into the bed the older of the mice curled lightly around his sibling and let out a soft churr as he closed his eyes.
"Why is Nazare a peace offering?" Kris asked Zurui while splaying his ears back.
"Not your problem bunny." Zurui said softly.
"Please tell me Zurui...." Kris asked again while leaning against a wall.
"She's to be my new mate to join the clans." Zurui said simply.
"What's so bad about that?" Kris pressed.
"I didn't pick her." Zurui said softly. "I don't want her. Vipers tend to be aggressive with prey and mates. I wanted to be able to pick my own life mate." Zurui admitted with a small sigh.
"And if you don't do this?" Kris asked while slipping his arms around the cobra.
"I'll be exiled and most likely killed." Zurui murmured as he coiled around the bunny.
"I see..." Kris said softly.
"Problems for another time bunny. She isn't due to arrive for a week." Zurui added while ruffling the bunny's ears. "Now go get our bed. I've cleared it with Kyuushi and you'll be staying with me until Kael is on his feet again." Zurui said while uncoiling himself slowly. Kris nodded and slipped off to carry out the cobra's orders as the snake slipped back into his room. Things were about to get busy around the clan's grounds, that much he was sure of.