Getting There
During thenext few days the kitten started to get bitter that he was chased away. The confusion had been cleared as he resolved to stop worrying as he noticed his stomach growl. He could still not bring himself to be angry with his Mistress, but he was disappointed that his hard work might all be for naught. Not that he wanted anything from her, but her closeness was his reward for his pain, and she was nowhere to be found.
The little feline stopped by a small river with a little cove in it, as looked down and didn't know what he thought, he used to be a graceful well-maintained servant and pet, now he was in jeans and a plaid over shirt a few sized to big with a few new rips. He bathed each and every day, he was not tying to stay primed and proper just clean enough not to let and mice know he was coming, and to avoid the smell himself. As he gazed down into his reflection he noted a few twigs in his fur here and there a few smudges, he also left his shirt unbuttoned. It was odd, the kitten had never really worn shirts until this last while, even in the most formal of events, he was given a thick silk vest to allow his Mistress to still enjoy him.
The kitten was starting to get a little down again as a sunfish jumped through his reflection "Fish!" The kitten clapped to himself as he though about how sick he was of mice, he rarely had had to eat them before, but he but he loved fish. He had only eaten it raw once before. He once met a couple of big well groomed Persian cats before, as they were meeting with his Mistress, he had the pleasure of tending to her as they tried some foods and recipes they had brought back from the East. Some of the fried food tantalized the kitten but he was not to partake in anything so special. Though to his pleasure at the time one of the large felines offered him some... oh, what was the name... "Sushi!" he blushed as he realized he shouted to no one. At the time it seemed wonderful but the Persians and his Mistress thought it would be a interesting lesson to teach, so they put this horridly hot green stuff on it, the kitten shivered at the thought, he thought his nose and mouth would never stop burning. Then they told him not to stare at guest's foods, he dint want them, they just looked interesting.
The little male grinned as he dropped his jeans and shirt in the dirt and waded into the water. He'd only done this once or twice before with his Mistress while she taught him some sports she enjoyed, fishing by hand... oddly enough was one of them. Though the kitten never excelled much, he tried hard to resist the urge to splash he, unlike most cats love to swim and dive in the water. Water was one of the play areas that he liked to have just plain fun in, he mostly tries to entertain or please Azure, but he loved to play in the water.
His first few attempts went woefully bad, scaring all the fish out of the cove, he shouted in frustration not the brightest move likely only frightening more fish away. After a few more tries he managed to snag one on the tip of its tail. He jumped up and down in victory, before almost dropping it back to the water. The kitten then searched around for a bit finding a low sharp limb on a tree, he stuck the fish on it, hanging from its tail so it couldn't get away. He smiled at his good work and splashed back in the water to catch a few more. He pinned his ears back in concentration, his tongue slipping between his fangs just a bit, he wanted another one right away.
A few hours had passed with out too much luck. He had managed to catch a few though, maybe even enough to fill him he thought with a grin, he almost forgot about salt or a lemon. He snickered, though his Mistress would scold him he'd even ruin the perfect fish with ketchup every once in a while. The cook used to sneak some in for him, even though Azure thought ketchup was a waste of good tomatoes and had no place on her table.
The kitten paused for a second as he looked down at the small pile as it dawned on him "how... too cook them?" He entertained the thought of them raw but he didn't like it much, he didn't like raw fish after his last encounter with it. He sighed in resignation as he plunked down on the shore and bit into the first one, they weren't to bad, he could eat raw meats without getting sick but didn't like to anyway.
His ears perked at a noise, he didn't know where it came from this time, and he looked in the bushes as he searched for his pants containing the pocketknife. His hand came down on the rough material as a brass tipped staff slammed into the ground beside his paw, this time holding no reservations about his attacker he turned on his back foot claws out scratching at the empty space "huh...?"
"Stupid cat." The kitten looked up to se a winged red fox sitting in a tree a little ways away. The comment was more of a statement then an insult. "What are you doing out here away from the village?" she was a rather good-looking vixen. "You know your not supposed be alone this far from home." She stepped of the branch floating down to the ground, noticing the feline was now up and holding a blade she reached for her own on her belt.
"What village?" The kitten asked a little angrily, he had been surprised far more then he should have been, He still wasn't ready for anything, a fact which could make ones life in the outdoors rather... quick. He crouched trying to stay small and kept the blade close "I'm from Mistress Azure's mansion and you are on her land."
The fox laughed now at the mention of the Mistress "so your from that place..." She giggled lightly as though she was in on a joke. "Well one, you've wandered off your owners land, and two, you have no collar, so your on your own. What? That bitch, throw you away?" She laughed loudly this time, her eyes closed, wiping away a tear in her entertainment at the kitten's reaction of anger, and his little snarl. She stopped laughing though when he was on her, his teeth in her shoulder, his sharp claws on her biceps.
The little kitten had the advantage for about three seconds as the vixen realized what had happened. Cursing herself for not being ready even with one little cub. She was one of the nearby village's guardians so to call her weak would result in a fight. She brought her balled paw up and struck the little feline in the side. As he gasped and opened his mouth she brought her other paw up and clenched it around his throat.
"You little bastard!" She held him off he feet for a few seconds, before punching him square in the nose hearing an audible crack he howled in pain. He quickly started to scratch at her arms gouging pretty deep cuts into her forearms. Raging the guardian leaned back and heaved the kitten a good twenty feet into a tree, almost breaking him in half.
Again the kitten found himself at the feet of a female bigger and stronger then himself, though this time she would pay for insulting that which he held dear. He didn't have much left he thought, but he had his Mistress somewhere still and no one would insult her if he could help it. The kitten dragged him self up with the help of the tree bleeding from his snout and mouth, growling as freely as a kitten could a little rattling in his chest. Glaring and hissing as though the vixen were a monster on holy ground he turned to her only to take the staff in the gut and crumple down again, gasping before falling unconscious against the old dead tree.
********
A few days later the kitten arose to a dark smoky building, the scent of cooking in his nose he sat up before mewling loudly in pain, hissing as he lay back down. Clutching his chest he found some big bandaging. At the sound of the shout, a fox a little bigger then Sirus popped her head in the doorway to the room before gasping and running down an unseen hallway shouting for her sister. "SAPPH! Sapph come quick! He's awake!" Sirus heard the bare foots paws run down the hall like there was a demon nipping at her tail, then a sudden crash and then the sound of a small wave of steel falling to the floor.
"Dammit Sheanna, watch where your going, and what's the rush? I hit him good, he wont be up and moving for a while. The little thing bit me, I had to teach him a lesson." The kitten heard larger foot paws walking down the hall, this time towards him. The feline searched for a way to hid in a panic, he could only hide under the covers and shiver as he watched the rather angry looking vixen walk into the room, her wings folded neatly behind her. With a little satisfaction he noticed a few bandages before he hid from view, though he expected to regret it very much in the very near future. The thought only making him shiver more.
He felt the fox sit on the bed "take off the covers cat" she paused to see if he would before sighing and ripping them off of his little form and letting them fall to the ground. He reached for them in a quick movement and again fell back to the bed clutching his burning chest. "See sheen?" She laughed and glanced at the little fox hiding by the doorframe. "He's not going anywhere."
"That little guy hurt you Sapphira?" the kit laughed at her big sister, who then growled and poked the kitten in the chest to vent a bit. "Hey! Don't do that its hurting him." She ran over to the two on the bed the kitten still trying to hide within himself curled in the tightest ball he could manage, the vixen glaring at him then to her little sis.
"Alright... alright, then its your job to take care for him, just... don't pry about how he got out here, I don't think he like's to tell that story." With that she stood and walked to the door, still laughing at the look of sheer horror on the kits face at her new duty. The point that the kitten she now had to take care of, was able to hurt her big sis coming to her.
"Me?" The kit whined in disbelief, wringing her paws together nervously.
"Yup, you wanna protect him, your gonna heal him, and no turning it down now." The vixen laughed before moving into the hall collecting up the steel items and tray, then returning down stairs her foot paws banging loudly, on the steps.
The kit still shocked turned to look at the shivering kitten looking at her with his ears pinned back trying to look small, not sure whether the vixen was coming back. He was looking at the blanked wanting it more for the sense of security then the cold, the house was in fact quite warm. She pulled it off the floor and draped it over him. "Alright I'll be back in a bit with some hot water and some bread. I'm sure you could use it." With that the little male fell back asleep, and the kit bounded down the stairs shouting for her sis to help with a meal for their "guest".
As the days past the kitten started to look a little more confident and started to trust the foxes. It was the two sisters house, in a small village named "Than". Sirus had been here once or twice on a trip with Krack the Mansions handyman. This town was built close to a mine and the iron and steel here were cheap, and smithies a plenty.
He was walking again now, though still a little stiff from being bed ridden, a local doctor who came to see him told him that he had two fractured ribs from the blow from either the tree or the staff he wasn't quite sure. The kit was very kind but the vixen didn't trust him too much and he felt guilty about it, even though he was here on her account. She also bore some bandages still so he couldn't totally blame her.
Soon he was even helping round the house since he was from the mansion he didn't know to much about the outside world but was great around the house. "Sapphira" the vixen said he was not to go anywhere without "Sheanna" the little kit. Sapph was one of the town guardians or "guards" they were mostly for organization now though, there was few wars nowadays anywhere near here. That's why she approached the kitten in the first place.
Now, one more thing that was new to the little feline was other young, he had never played or even dealt with other kids he was always with or serving older furs. It took him a while to get over that he wasn't being watched for mistakes or would be hurt if one was made, this was a weird feeing for him, so he just continued to be as well behaved as possible. Now this wasn't to say he didn't love every second of it. He loved being around new people and getting to talk to them. He wasn't being stared at because of his collar or silks he almost looked normal accept for a few, almost hidden scars and the bandages, he still wore his shirt open at the front, he liked it more that way, he liked the look of his chest, he was always comfortable with his body, used to it being seen.
The kitten and kit started to play; he discovered that he could have fun with out pleasing some one in one way or another. He learned that him being happy is important to. He used to get his joy from his Mistress's pleasure, but now he had to make his own, he found he was quite creative. He and the kit painted a bit, he loved it though he hated getting it out of his fur, his eternal fits over his look returning with vengeance, he was sure his keepers would be embarrassed to have a filthy guest.
The kit and her sister were rather well off as far as the village folk went. The vixen, being the town guardian meant the state paid them. The vixen still kept an eye on the kitten but she had figured prodding a hungry, heart broken mess of a fur in the woods wasn't the best way to meet him. She decided to make him share his history a bit with them.
"So, what's with you cat?" She had dragged him into her room by the scruff of his neck tossing him not violently but firmly into a cushy chair. Then pressing him into it by his shoulder her muzzle almost touching his. "Why where you tossed out on your ass?"
The kitten squirmed a little in his seat, he felt his ears go red as he pinned them back in embarrassment. "I... I... I embarrassed my Mistress." The kitten wasn't crying but he felt like it, he was almost enjoying himself with out his Mistress, for the first time in his life that he could remember and he was sure the vixen was going to insult her again. "I shamed her in front of one of her most venerated guests, then I didn't stand still why she punished me, I... cried out, and I ran... as fast as I could."
The vixen stood letting go of the kitten, her hands on her hips looking at him in some kind of amazement. "You got booted out for having an accident?" she covered her muzzle with her paw as she coughed covering her wince. "What could you have possibly done to deserve that? Did you... I... can't even think of why you would need to be punished so badly you ran from her punishment."
The male squirmed again as though he was holding back something terrible. "I was late with the refreshments, and interrupted my Mistress when she was busy with a male... and then I spilled them and ran" the kitten dropped his face into his paws as though to hide from the shame. "I can't believe I did that." He sniffled but would not let himself cry.
"That's it? you walked in and spilled some drinks and you were so worried about the beating that you ran from your home?"
"No... I didn't run from home, she caught me, I don't remember much after that until I woke up out front of the mansion, and she had her guards chase me away... she... she took my collar" with this the little feline couldn't take any more and broke down into tears "I... I was so stupid miss Sapphira." For the first time in their time together did the vixen feel for him, he was driven from home for being a young kitten...