Thieves (Chapter 2): Maneki's Capture

Story by midnightwolf777 on SoFurry

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#4 of Thieves

This as the title suggests is a work-in-progress I have been writing off and on for just about a year now. I will post more later, but I am giving a sneak peek to my watchers here on Sofurry. Please enjoy and tell me what you think of it so far. Comments are always welcome be they praise or (Keep it constructive please) critisism.

Maneki was originally designed by: Mingchee

Adopted by me.

All other characters are mine.


The cool night breeze played softly over the calico's fur as she stood against the walls of the castle grounds. She was going to show her partner. She could be in, locate the gem and be out before anyone suspected anything. She stood, focusing as she heard footsteps on the other side of the wall. A guard was passing, and as soon as he was gone there would be a small window for her to slip in undetected. She leapt to the top of the high stone wall and crouched looking down at the grounds. She saw the different routes she could take to enter the castle, but her heart fluttered when she spotted an open window high on the third floor of the tower. Unlike her partner, she preferred heights, and her clothing was magically enchanted to lighten her already lithe figure to make leaping distances and scaling walls almost effortless for the feline. She watched for the next guard and leapt down into the castle grounds. There were ten guards on duty outside. She had to be fast. There was light cloud cover tonight, and that dimmed the moonlight well enough to hide her from easy view. She came to a stop with her back against the castle wall. After taking another glance around to make sure she hadn't been spotted, she turned to face it. Her sharp claws extended as she began to scale the stone structure.

The wind swept past her, her tail flowing beneath her as she closed in on the open window. She listened, but didn't hear anything from the room. Peaking one eye over the windowsill she found it to be a maids dressing chamber. Quickly she moved into the room. The sound of splashing water caught her attention as she turned quickly, the sillohuette of a woman stepping into a bath bin shown behind a curtain. She spied the woman's robes hung on a rail nearby. Silently she crept up on the relaxing maid and removed a small vial from her belt. Popping the cork silently she reached down and grabbed the mare female around her neck, putting the vial right below her nose. The mare panicked, struggling in the splashing water before the smell from the vial registered in her mind. It was sweet. It was making her eyelids get heavy. Not long later she was knocked out as Maneki corked the vial and moved the female's limp body so that her upper body hung over the edge the tub. "Nighty night." said the calico as she looked around, grabbing a few cloth robes that fit her.

Silently Maneki moved through the castle, making sure to avoid eye contact with any passing guards or maids so as not to be noticed. She moved through many rooms in the large castle, her disguise allowing her free roam of the place. She had searched practically every room but the master chamber when she saw it. Sitting on a pedestal all alone in the middle of a pillared room filled with gems. The biggest diamond she'd ever seen. Her eyes sparkled as she watched it glint in the torchlight.

Quickly she moved into the room, careful to watch for any passing guards or maids. The room looked secure. Moving around the room slowly, she sized up the pedestal, watching for any runic traps. She let out a sigh when she found none. "Alright then. Any pressure plates?" she thought as she approached the diamond next cautiously. She stepped next to the pedestal and breathed a second sigh of relief as the tile seemed to be normal. "The plate is probably under the diamond." she thought. Maneki had trained herself to always expect a pressure plate, even though most castles were utilizing magical runic traps now, that didn't mean that mechanical traps were any less effective, and a smart thief knew that and was prepared for it. She glanced at the holster the diamond sat on and once again sighed. "Nope. Nothing here either. I don't get it. This is too easy. Maybe he's just cocky. Well he's about to pay for it." she thought as she reached for the jewel. A loud click echoed around the room as she felt a small snap on her hand. The calico's eyes widened as she looked and saw the once taught wire coming loose, its invisibility enchantment coming undone as it fell to the ground, a small array of thin wires showing itself crisscrossing around the diamond now, a hidden trap.

The tiles in the ceiling came crashing down around her, pressed by metal bars coming out of holes in the ceiling the tiles were covering. They smashed on the ground as the bars hit the ground, locking in place and trapping the calico thief in a cage. "Shit. Magic mixed with a tripwire trap? Just what kind of security am I dealing with here?" asked Maneki to herself as she looked around for a way out of the cage. "Think Maneki. There is ALWAYS a way out of a mechanical trap. The designers always put in a failsafe in case of accidents or emergencies." she thought as she looked around. She spied a differently colored tile still within the cage on the ceiling and took a deep breath. This was not going to be easy. She jumped onto the bars of the cage and then off of it to the bars on the other side. She leapt back and forth a couple of times and found herself holding onto the bars at the top of the cage just below the ceiling, her legs and tail wrapped around one of them as she turned to the tile. She struck the tile with her fist, it crumbling and falling away to reveal an access control panel. Reaching into her pouch, she produced a pair of lockpicks. Focusing all of her strength on her legs she held herself in place on the bars and concentrated her hands on picking the lock on the panel to disarm the trap.

Sweat glistened on her brow as she worked a minute later, tongue protruding from her small mouth. Her ears twitched as she could hear the clicking tumblers on the inside of the lock. Just a little more and she would be free. Then she heard it. A pronounced click, and the bar she was holding onto rumbled before she felt it retracting into the ceiling. She let go of the bar and did a back flip, landing crouched on her feet as she sighed in relief. The sound of light clapping filled the air as she gasped softly and turned to her right. There was a male canine standing there, a wolfox. He wore a noble's suit and an adventurer's fedora. An odd combination to say the least, but she shook it off as she turned to face him. "A minute and fifteen seconds. Not a bad time at all." he said idly after pulling a pocket watch out of his pocket and checking the time. "Who are you?" asked Maneki defensively. "I don't think you need to worry about that. You're not out of the woods yet." he said pointing above her. Maneki looked up to see a magical number floating in the air just below the control panel she'd disarmed. The number was on four, and had just changed to three. She gasped as she jumped back. The last two numbers ticked away and the zero formed an orb. Off of this orb shot a stream of fire suddenly, straight at Maneki. "Whoa!" exclaimed the calico as she leapt out of the way of the flame stream. She looked back and her eyes widened a little as she witnessed the fire stream curve and come after her before it could hit the ground. The canine held a smirk on his face as he saw her dodge the stream again on its second pass.

A drop of sweat rolled down Maneki's cheek as she flipped out of the way of another pass of the fire stream. It was attacking her in the form of a snake, connected to the ceiling, striking in quick attacks. The feline looked over at the canine again. The smirk was still plastered on his face, he holding his pocket watch open. "What is his deal?" she asked. Suddenly an idea sparked in her mind and she stopped on one foot, heading for the male now. The canine continued to look at his watch as she headed right for him, the fire snake right on her tail. She leapt over him and landed right behind him with a smirk. To her surprise he didn't flinch and the fire stream curved to go completely around him. She gasped and continued to run quickly. "Nice try. But you are the thief who disarmed the tripwire trap. It'll only attack you." he said calmly glancing at her.

Maneki was showing her agility and flexibility as she dodged around the room. Her enchanted cloth clothes made her light enough to pull off complicated acrobatic maneuvers easily. More than once she tried to just exit the room, but the flaming snake had blocked off her every exit attempt. She was going to have to take this thing out somehow. Suddenly she saw it, the orb she'd seen before was still there. It was the focal point of the fire snake and the only thing it was physically attached to. She had to somehow destroy it to stop the attack.

She came to a stop behind a pillar in the room and thought over her plan of attack. "You'll never get out of this room unless you beat it. And you'll never beat it by attacking it as you have so far." said the wolfox amused. Maneki panted her exhaustion lightly, wiping her brow softly she looked at the clothes she was wearing, the robes she'd borrowed from the maid's changing chambers. She smirked as she suddenly had an idea. Her ears twitched before she leapt out from behind her cover, the flaming snake swooping around the pillar and barely missing her suddenly. Maneki jumped off of the wall and headed head on for the snake. The male spectator raised an eyebrow as he saw this behavior. Had she given up? The snake opened its flaming jaws and headed right for the calico. Maneki's eyes twinkled as the snake clamped its jaws around her suddenly. "Such speed..." thought the male as he watched this happen with interest. The ball of fire burning in the room fell to ashes as suddenly from the shadows behind another pillar jumped Maneki wearing her normal clothes. She threw two daggers from her sleeves at the orb the snake was connected to just as the magically conjured creature noticed her. The daggers were on target and destroyed the orb on contact. The snake let out a hiss of pain as its body flamed out quickly.

"Very well done. I'm impressed. And it only took you two minutes to get past the magical security." said the wolfox pleased, giving her another round of applause. "Well thanks. Who are you?" she asked a bit annoyed. "I'm just here to collect something." he replies. "Another thief? Well have your pick of the spoils, but if you'll excuse me I'll be taking the diamond and I'll be on my way." said Maneki before the male disappeared. "I don't think so. You've still got one more obstacle to overcome." he said reappearing in between her and the pedestal. "That would be you? Nice try but I don't scare easily. Nor am I intimidated by illusions." replied the calico seriously. "Oh really?" he asked intrigued. "That's right. I noticed while the snake attacked me, shadows were all over the walls from the light of the flames. All except yours. You have no shadow. And one of the rules for using illusions, never use them alongside fire. It makes the illusion easier to see through." she said as she walked forward. "Beautiful to look at, incredible skills, and a good head on your shoulders. I like you already. There is however one little detail that you did get incorrect." he said as Maneki stopped short of walking through him, feeling something wrapping itself around her right ankle. She looked down to see a shadowy mass holding her by the ankle. "My shadow is present. It's just not connected to me at the moment." he smirked as the shadow began to creep around her. Maneki gasped and struggled against the dark mass as it quickly overtook her, moving up and over her body and pulling her arms behind her, holding them there. The calico stared back at him in shock as he stepped around her. "You assumed I was a thief. I only told you I was here to collect something. That something is you. And I'm no illusion. I'm just as flesh and blood as you." he said as he brushed a hand over her cheek softly to illustrate his point. Maneki's eyes were wide with fear now. Who was this male, and how could he do this? She was barely keeping herself from screaming, but her previous battle had left her a little more than worn out. And her struggling proved useless as the shadow pressed down on her, bending her knees and forcing her to kneel before him. "Calm down. You've done enough struggling this eve." he said as he reached her right side. Maneki gasped as the shadow moved her head to the left, leaving the side of her neck open for him. She watched him through the corner of her eye as he took off his hat and removed a small syringe filled with clear liquid from beneath it. The shadow moved over and covered her mouth just as the urge to scream overpowered her concentration not to but it all came out muffled. She jerked as she felt the prick of the needle on her skin and could feel him slowly injecting her with the unknown liquid. Her eyes began to get heavy seconds later as he removed the needle. All of her remaining strength seemed to have been zapped from her suddenly as she felt herself very sleepy. Her struggles died down quickly as she began to lose her grip on consciousness. "Sleep now. We have much to discuss when you wake...Maneki..." she heard him say as her eyes closed and her field of vision faded to black, sleep overtaking her seconds later.

The light clinking sound of metal chains could be heard slowly echoing around the darkened room. Maneki's ears twitched as the sound came into her recognition. The calico female groaned softly as she slowly awoke. She opened one eye first, trying to take in her surroundings quietly, but the pain in her head betrayed her and she let out a loud groan at the headache she experienced upon waking fully. "Ah so we're finally awake." came a familiar voice from her right. Maneki opened her eyes fully and realized that she was on the floor of a dungeon of some type. The room was dark, barely lit by torches on the walls, affording many shadowy areas. Shadows she could use to hide in easily. She looked over to see the male wolfox from before emerging from one of said shadows wearing a simple shirt and pants with his hat, a smug smile on his face. Maneki instantly moved to attack him, her claws extended, only to gasp as she found herself suddenly stopped from moving her arms forward a few feet in front of the male. She looked at them to find that they were held by metal cuffs on her wrists attached by shadowy chains to the darkness of the ceiling. "I figured you'd try that. So I took precautions to prevent it." he explained. Maneki glared at him as he turned around, heading toward a chair set up in the room. She reached around behind herself for her pouch, only to find it missing. "Looking for these?" he asked, drawing her attention as he held up not only her pouch, but the clothes she was wearing before. The calico gasped again as she realized that she was nude, the feeling of the cool dungeon air now making itself known on her bare fur. There were four cuffs, two on her wrists and two on her ankles. The chains on her limbs were slack as long as she stayed close to the wall behind her. The ones connected to her ankles went into pools of shadow on the floor beside her. She covered her chest quickly as she pulled her legs up to cover her slit instinctively, sitting on her knees now, a bright blush on her face. "You are indeed beautiful if I may say so." he said with the same smirk at her embarrassment. Maneki growled at him quickly. It was time she got some answers. She moved to speak but her words only came out as incoherent garbled muffled words. She gasped a third time and shook her head as she realized that there was a ball gag firmly between her jaws as well. She reached up with one hand to feel the device, looking for the release, but only finding what felt like a keyhole. "You'll need this to do that." said her captor, holding up a small key. She tried to growl at him again as he stepped forward with the chair, but the sudden rush of fear at the situation made it come out as a whimper instead. "Finally realizing how serious your situation is? As you've probably already figured, my name is Sly. I am the owner of the diamond you tried to steal. And as of last night, you are a captive in my dungeon Maneki." he said to her surprise. "You look shocked. Yes I know your name. I know all about you. Your style, your intellect, your proficiency with disarming mechanical traps, your natural agility and flexibility combined with clothes enchanted to make you lighter, all make being a thief easier for you. By the way I was impressed with how you got past my magical security, but in the end, my security did beat you." he said dismissively. Maneki glared at him as if to challenge that statement. "Don't think so? Let me put it this way. You got past my mechanical and magical traps its true. I had you clocked at three minutes and fifteen seconds. But had I not told my guards to stand down and ignore the alarm that went off in their barracks as soon as the mechanical trap was activated, you'd have been swarmed with guards before you could have defeated the snake. Didn't calculate that did you?" he asked, staring her in the eyes triumphantly. Maneki only stared back defiantly into his eyes. You still think you hold a few cards here. I admire that you haven't given up. But you need to realize that you are at my mercy. You need to know just what you've gotten yourself into." said the male turning away from her now.

The male stepped backward and snapped his fingers. "Bring her in." he said loudly. Maneki's ear twitched as she heard a heavy metal door open and a yelp of pain as a female was pushed roughly into the dungeon. She looked up and recognized the blindfolded and nude female to be the mare maid she had put to sleep earlier. "What's g-going on?" asked the frightened equine as her ears twitched, trying to listen for clues as to what was happening. "Kara..." came a familiar voice from in front of her. She quickly straightened up, standing at attention at the sound of his voice. "Master Sly..." she said quickly. "Kara...Kara...Kara...You've disappointed me this evening." he said walking around her. The mare whimpered at his words quickly. "H-How so Master?" she asked hesitantly. "Do you recognize this female?" he asked as the blindfold was pulled from her face. The mare stared at the calico before her and shook her head no. "N-No. I don't Master." she said truthfully. "Pity...This is the thief that got into my castle past you. The fact that you don't even recognize her tells me that she got past you with no problems, without you even knowing she was there." he said as he walked around behind her. Kara closed her eyes and whimpered further. She could already tell where this was heading. "What do you think should happen now Kara?" he asked sternly. "I...I should be punished Master..." she said timidly. "Correct. And I will be the one to mete out that punishment." he said as a pulse came off of his body, causing both females to shiver for a second. Kara's eyes shrank as she realized what that meant. Maneki looked at the frightened look in the mare's eyes, then at Sly confused and slightly curious. He seemed to feel this as he suddenly shot a look at the calico over his shoulder. Maneki gasped again as she realized his eyes were no longer the yellow they had been previously. They were now blood red with slitted yellow pupils. "Outstretch your arms to your sides Kara." he ordered. Kara closed her eyes and did as she was told. She didn't know exactly what the wolfox had in mind, but she knew that it wasn't going to be good. Sly walked to the right where a purple colored runic symbol situated on the wall began to glow at his approach. He placed his hand over the symbol and turned to watch as three metal cuffs descended from the darkness of the ceiling, connected to the darkness by what looked to be shadows. Two of the cuffs were normal sized, the other was three times as big. The Two normal cuffs stopped at her arms height, the other continued a few feet, stopping at her waist. Sly moved over to behind the almost shivering mare. "Place your wrists in the cuffs as they are held out to you." he ordered, taking the cuff on her left side. Kara swallowed hard as she felt the iron encircle her wrist before snapping shut, trapping her limb. A few seconds later and her right wrist was secured as well. "Lift your right leg. He instructed next. The mare felt him bend her leg at the knee and place the cuff around both her thigh and calf together, keeping it bent and her standing on her left leg. "Good girl." he said, pulling the blindfold back over the equine's eyes and running his right hand under the mare's chin and rubbing the side of her face as he moved over to the rune symbols again. Kara sighed, there was nothing she could do to avoid her punishment now, not that there was much she could do before either. She gasped sharply as the cuffs began to retract upwards to the ceiling. The cuff on her leg stayed put as her arms were forcefully pulled up above her head. Maneki watched with a facination she couldn't quite explain. Here was this mare who had submissively accepted that her failure warranted an unknown punishment and had let herself be put into this situation where she was now helpless to fight against anything the male could think of to do to her. What drove her to do this? Did she trust him that much? Did he have some sort of control over her? Was she a slave?" different questions swam in the calico's mind before another pulse snapped her attention to the male again. Sly stood near the rune, a dark aura was now lightly flowing around him. Maneki stared, her eyes shrinking a little as she witnessed him begin to change suddenly. His gray fur turned jet black as his white fur turned gray. The lightning shapped markings on his muzzle and the fountain pen marking on his tail turned blood red to match his eyes. His hat came off as black and red hair grew from his head, intertwining itself into a long braid behind him. He smirked as two dark horns grew from his head last, his transformation complete.

He turned to Maneki now, noting the frightened and confused look on her face now. "Surprised? No I am not a normal person." he said as his tail began to swish side to side behind him. "My mother was a demoness of lust. That lineage has afforded me certain special...abilities...and affinities." he explained, turning to face Kara again, but Maneki wasn't focused on what he was saying anymore. She stared at his tails now. Sometime since he began talking he'd gained a second one. She continued staring as his second tail split in half forming a third. Slowly, each time his tail swished to the other side, a new tail was split off. He had ten now, but that wasn't what had her heart beating faster now. It was the fact that they were slicking down to resemble tendrils. He turned to a small table and picked up a circular object from it, approaching the mare with it now.

"Kara...Your punishment will be 15 lashes. But to make things interesting you will be wearing one of my specially made collars for the duration. Are we clear?" he asked, laying out the mare's punishment. "Y-Yes Master. May I ask what the collar will do?" she replied. "I think the effect will make itself known very quickly." he said as he moved behind her. Kara sighed at his answer. She stretched her neck out so that he could easily place the collar on her neck before whining loudly as one of his tail tendrils surged down and left a lash on her back. "B-But Master...I thought you said..." "Indeed I did. I just want you to be in the proper mood to receive the collar." he said with a smirk as another of his tentacles surged down on her left shoulder. Kara let out another whine, and whimpered after. Sly stared at Maneki for a second. The look of bewildered fear on her face brought great satisfaction to him. A third lash found its mark on Kara's right flank, bringing more pain to the bound mare. Suddenly the feeling of leather encircled the mare's neck and she knew that the collar was now in place. From the collar hung a tag resembling a whip with a heart shape on its handle. Behind the mask the mare's eyes opened wide as a loud moan left her mouth now. Maneki stared confused as she watched the female pant, a blush on her face now. But nothing could have prepared her for what she heard next. "Please...Master...Again..." she heard Kara whimper and couldn't believe her ears. Sly smirked behind the bound horse female and obliged her request, lashing her across her back now. Another moan of pleasure came from the captive mare. A fifth lash landed on her right shoulder and a whinny of pleasure emanated from Kara. "That was five. I should also mention that every five lashes, I will add something special to your punishment." he said, cupping her chin from behind. "Yes Master..." replied Kara panting. Two of the male's tendrils snaked forward, spiraling up her legs. She gasped as she felt the two tentacles come to her pussy, prodding her softly. The two each dug into one side of her pussy softly, pushing outward and holding her labia open wide. Maneki gasped as she saw a third tendril making a beeline for Kara's pussy. Kara moaned deeply, her tongue hanging out as the intruder pushed its way into her love tunnel next. The tendrils holding her legs continued their grip, rhythmically squeezing her legs as the intruder in her pussy pumped her softly. "Are we ready to continue?" she heard Sly ask in a whisper. "Yes Master...Please continue...Please... Give me more!" she moaned in pleasure. Five more lashes followed as Maneki stared at the scene before her. The tendril in her pussy continuously pumped her as she moaned, occasionally begging the male to whip her again. Who was this male? How could he change her perception of pain to pleasure? She stared as the tenth lash was delivered, three more tendrils snaking their way around the mare's upper body now. Two wrapped themselves around her breasts, squeezing tightly. The third moved up between her breasts and into her open moaning mouth, where it was eagerly received and suckled on, a dark blush across the mare's face now. Maneki's face was red as well witnessing this.

The final five lashes echoed around the room, ushering in another addition to her treatment. Kara almost fainted as she felt the tendril push its way into her ass. All of the sensations racking her brain were beginning to be too much for her. But she resolved to hold out as long as it took. Her climax was within reach. Maneki tried not to focus on the whimpering moans coming from the bound mare, but sitting there in front of her made it impossible to ignore. "Well Kara. Your fifteen lashes were delivered as agreed. Would you like me to stop?" asked Sly still standing behind her as the tendril in her mouth pulled out, allowing her to speak again. "No! Please don't Master! I'm so close!" she exclaimed through ragged pants. "Very well." replied the male as the tendril pushed back into her mouth, silencing a new moan before it could escape. The tentacle treatment continued nonstop for a moment later and a deafening scream/whinny echoed through the dungeon as a powerful climax ripped its way through the mare's body. All motions slowed to a stop as Kara stayed frozen in place, still on her climatic high. Sly retracted his tendrils from her body and quickly moved over to the rune symbol on the wall. As he moved his hand over it again the cuffs holding the mare lowered to the floor. Gently they set her down before clicking open and retracting to the ceiling again, leaving her a quivering writhing mass on the floor. Sly reached down and took the collar from her neck before snapping his fingers again, the same metal door from before creaking open again and producing a guard just long enough to retrieve the mare before closing again.

The door creaked closed again, leaving Maneki alone with the wolfox demon again. Her heartbeat was racing as he turned his attention to her again. What had he planned for her? He continued stepping toward her and came within her range from what she could remember of the chain's reach. Instantly her claws extended as she readied to attack him again. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Kill me and you'll never leave this dungeon. The key to your cuffs isn't physical, meaning that I do not have it on me. That rune you saw me use earlier on Kara's cuffs controls your bondage as well. I find it much easier to deal with and control prisoners when the temptation of escape is far out of their reach." he continued as he pulled the small key from before out. Maneki half growled as he took hold of her chin lightly and unlocked her ball gag, staring her in the eyes as he removed it from her maw slowly. He stepped back in silence as they continued to stare at each other for a minute. "So did you enjoy the show?" he asked. "Forgive me for my bluntness, but that didn't exactly look like a punishment to me." said Maneki truthfully. "Oh she may have felt pleasure right now. But there's more going on than you realize." he replied. "And how did you manage to change her perception of pain into pleasure?" asked Maneki curiously. "You didn't do much research into the owner of the Twilight Diamond before coming after it did you?" he asked with a smirk. "I didn't feel I needed to. All that mattered was that the newspaper said that you were wealthy, and since it listed your guard numbers I came to the conclusion that you were overconfident and stupid. That and you had a sparkly gem that I wanted." she replied. "Ah but with the right connections, newspaper articles can be fabricated quite easily." he said smugly. Maneki only scoffed at the statement. "While it is true that I am wealthy, I am far from ignorant. I made my fortune selling custom runes. I specialize in control and security runes. They are small enough to be placed on almost anything. Including items as small as this collar." he said as held up the collar he'd made Kara wear during her punishment. Maneki stared at the collar, sure enough there was a rune mark engraved on the inside of the leather strip. "The actual effect of this particular rune is a twofold one. Part one is that it takes the pain felt by the wearer and transforms it into pleasure felt by them at the moment. But as soon as orgasm is achieved, the second effect kicks in. It records the amount of pleasure felt, and converts it back to pain, sending it slowly back to the body over the course of a few days. So fifteen minutes of pain is transformed into three days of pain spread over that time." he said with a smirk at her reaction. "H-How does your rune work with the collar removed?" she asked a little hesitantly. "The rune acts as a magical brand of sorts that places itself on the wearer of the collar for the duration of the process. It will fade once all of the converted pain is returned." he explained. Maneki stared at the male, half in disbelief of what she'd just heard. "You said that you fabricated the newspaper article. Why? Why go through all the trouble to catch a simple thief? And why am I here? Why not just kill me and get it over with?" she asked, shaking off her fear to ask her questions. "From what I have heard and seen firsthand, you are far from a simple thief. You are still here because I need information. I need to know everything you know about your partner and her current whereabouts." he said cryptically. "What partner? I work alone. You can't rely on anyone but yourself in this world. You may as well kill me and be done with this." she said quickly. "Nice bluff. You said that with such seriousness that had I not already been informed of her I might have believed you. There's no use lying. I know you have a partner, and that you two have been moving around, holing up in caves in the northern mountains. It won't take long for a small task force to find her, especially if I spearhead it. I believe my contact said that her name was Luck. Looks like you both pressed yours too far. Or maybe you did Maneki. And you'll both pay the price for it." he said to her shock, the calico feline's eyes widening in alarm. "No...Please...Don't hurt Luck...Please..." said Maneki softly, causing the wolfox to raise an eyebrow quickly. One of his tendrils extended over to the runic symbol on the wall from before as the cuffs holding her wrists began to retract to the ceiling, forcing her arms above her head and exposing her breasts to him. Maneki looked away from him as the cuffs continued to pull her up, forcing her to her feet now. "And why should I not go after her?" he asked, seemingly intrigued by this turn of events. It seemed he may have broken the feisty feline's spirit. Maneki's thoughts were swimming. This was all her fault. If she hadn't been so headstrong and determined to do this job alone, they'd have stood a much better chance of escape. Now he was going to torture and kill her, and Luck would be taken by surprise as well. "I'll...Do anything...But please...Spare her..." she said softly. "You'll do anything huh? Well my contract did only say that I only had to take one of you out of the picture. If I could get you both I would get a bonus. I may be willing to overlook the bonus and let her go free if you can change my mind. But the question is this, what can you offer me that would be worth more than a bonus of gems? You don't have much in the way of bargaining chips right now." he said thoughtfully. Maneki's ear's had twitched, she looking at him with hope as he talked, but that hope faded a bit when he'd reminded her that she had nothing physical to offer in return. Her thoughts drifted back to the mare. How she'd been submissive to him. He seemed to enjoy the control over her he had. Maybe she could use that. "M-My life..." she said hesitantly. "What was that?" he asked quickly. "I'll trade my life...My freedom to you in exchange for Luck's." she said seriously. "You'd trade your freedom to me?" he asked to be clear. "Well you are going to kill me anyway. My life was over as soon as I was caught. Every thief knows this. At least this way I can continue to live, Luck goes free, and you gain a new servant. How does that sound? Fair?" asked Maneki impatiently. Sly smirked to himself at the notion of having the calico as a servant. She was an excellent thief, a little headstrong maybe, but resourceful, intelligent, and capable. "You have yourself a deal." he said. "I want more than your word. I want a contract stating that you will not go after Luck." she said quickly. "I am a man of my word. But if that's what you want..." he said stepping over to a shelf in the corner. "...I usually keep magical parchment for contracts with my prisoners once they get into the mood to bargain with me." he said as he returned with a rolled up scroll. He unfurled it before Maneki so that she could see the writing there. "I ____ do hearby solemnly swear to uphold this magic-clad contract with my life." were the only words written on the parchment. He filled out the rest quickly enough and held it out for her to see. "Does this look okay to you?" he asked after she'd gone over it silently. Maneki nodded to him in agreement. "Good. Then all that remains is for you to sign it." he said. Maneki made a motion with her head to her bound hands, reminding him that she was still bound. "This is a magic contract. You sign it with your voice. Read the contract out loud and say at the end, 'Signed, Maneki'." he explained. Maneki took a deep breath and resigned herself to the fate she's chosen for herself. "I Maneki, do hearby solemnly swear to uphold this magic-clad contract with my life. I will never again steal anything from the citizens of Locke Village. I recognize and accept Sly as my new Master, and will serve him with all of the skills I possess now, and new skills I may learn in any way he desires for as long as I live. My life and body are his so long as he does not go to track down my partner Luck with any malicious intent. Signed...Maneki..." she recited, her name appearing in a magical ink on the underlined area on the contract. Sly released the parchment and it rolled itself up in the air before a magical lock appeared around it, sealing it. "Just in case you are unfamiliar with the concept, this is a magic clad contract. It's fully legal, and upheld by both the legal and magical council. The scroll itself is protected by magic and cannot be damaged or altered now that it has been sealed. Your life and body belong to me now Maneki." he said seriously, letting the implication of what she'd just done sink in. "I don't care. As long as I know that Luck is safe." she replied. "Good." he said as he stepped up closer to her. Maneki tried to retreat backwards but was held fast by the shadowy chains on her wrist cuffs. "W-What are you doing?" she asked hesitantly as he approached. He lightly gripped her chin and pulled her into a kiss on the lips. Maneki froze at the feeling. She hadn't expected this from him. He stepped into the kiss, pulling her midsection closer. Maneki moaned softly and tried to step back again as she felt his hand move down and grope her ass softly. The kiss was broken a moment later and she stared at him half in confusion. "Better get used to it Kitty. You signed your life and your body over in service of me. And I plan to have you service me in every way." he said smugly at the blush on her face as his form returned to normal, he assuming the look she had first seen him as, his demonic features disappearing. He turned to pick up his hat before heading for the exit door quickly. "Wh-What about me?" she asked, seeing him leaving. "I'll be back in a little while once I've crafted your new collar. You'll need one now that you will be living here as my pet...Unless you'd like this one?" he asked, holding the collar up teasingly. "N-No. I don't want that one." she replied quickly. "I didn't think so. And you might want to add the word Master to your vocabulary as it's the only thing you're allowed to address me as from this point forward." he said as the door closed, leaving the calico alone in the room to her thoughts. Sly smirked to himself as he walked down the hall to his crafting laboratory. He chuckled to himself as all of the previous events lined up and replayed in his mind. Everything was going exactly how he'd planned it to.

The shaft of moonlight had moved across the dark room a fair bit when Maneki's right ear twitched. She could feel Sly's warm breath flowing across her ear and it had woken her lightly from her slumber. She opened one eye and took a look around the dark room. She had trained herself to do this whenever she awoke so as not to wake up in a bad situation with no clue as to what was happening. Everything was just as it was when she'd gone to sleep, much to her dismay. "So all of that really did happen." she thought to herself with a sigh, the feeling of the red collar around her neck and the cuff on her tail was a constant reminder of the position she'd put herself in. "He came back about an hour later with these things and placed them on me before unchaining me from the dungeon." she thought as she turned to see Sly still mired in deep sleep. She slowly and silently slid out of the bed away from his loosened spooning position and moved to the open window next. The white of her fur almost seemed to glow in the pale moonlight. "But my bondage didn't end there. From then on I was to be always at his side if I wasn't asleep in the room he'd given me. And I was always bound in some way, a leash always attached to this thing like I was some kind of feral pet." she thought as she felt the collar around her neck, and the gold coin tag hanging from it. "I'm his property now. And Luck soon will be too. It was all a setup." she thought to herself as she gripped the tag tightly, angrily. How dare he? What gave him the right? Her thoughts were a sea of emotions, from anger, to sadness, to pure desperation. She looked out the window and noted the height. They were on the fifth floor of the castle. There wasn't an easy way for her to climb down. She didn't even have her enchanted clothing, or any clothing for that matter. She looked at her hands and then to the arm binder on the table. He'd left her unbound for the first time since she was caught. A malicious thought crept like a thief into her mind for just a moment, a sweet lingering moment. "What if I...No I can't...It's too risky...But if I could do it quickly...silently...I could...But no...What about Lucky?" she reasoned with herself. Her thoughts all a jumble. "I could wing it...No plan...Make it up as I go along..." she continued before her eyes flashed in the light, her mind set on what she was going to do.

A dark shadow fell over Sly's sleeping form a moment later, a pair of glowing yellow eyes in the darkness above him. Maneki stood there, pillow in hand. It would be so easy to smother him right now. She readied her pillow before another stray thought crossed her mind. "While it is true that I am wealthy, I am far from ignorant. I made my fortune selling custom runes. I specialize in control and security runes. They are small enough to be placed on almost anything. Including items as small as this collar." his voice sounded in her memory. "My collar. He hasn't told me anything about any special runes on it. But that doesn't mean they aren't there. Dammit..." she thought. The only thing she knew for a fact about her collar was that she couldn't remove it. She had tried countless times but was unable to. How did she know he hadn't put a failsafe rune on the collar in case she killed him in his sleep? He'd left her unbound, but he'd already proven he wasn't stupid. She refused to believe he'd just leave himself that vulnerable to her knowing what she was capable of. A tear rolled down her cheeks as she dropped the pillow to the floor. She was going to have to accept it. He was in control. Because of her mistake, both she and Luck were going to be his servants for the rest of their lives. "You made a smart move in choosing to not try to kill me Kitty." came the male's voice below her. Maneki looked at him unsurprised. "So you were awake then Master?" she asked, wiping her eyes. "I know it has to be hard to accept. But it is what it is. I am proud of you though. What made you decide not to go through with it?" he asked curiously. "My collar. You are a rune master and you haven't told me what rune you've placed on my collar. I can only assume that there is one. Why else would you leave me unbound with the window open?" she asked. "Very observant. Yes. I left everything open and out on purpose tonight partially to see what you would do. And you didn't disappoint me." he said sitting up in the bed. "So you only left me unbound to test me then?" she asked. "Not necessarily. You have been an obedient pet these last two days, and I felt you'd earned an evening bondage free. But I needed to test you as well so I put both elements together." he replied. "I see..." she replied. "I am really proud of you for making the right decision tonight Kitty." he said, patting the bed next to himself. Maneki took a seat slowly next to him. "I wanted to do it. I really wanted to. But the risk of the unknown was too great." she said truthfully. "You made a clear and levelheaded decision. You are learning from your past headstrong mistakes. Good girl." he said pulling her head onto his shoulder. "You're not mad?" she asked a bit hesitantly. "No I'm not. I expected you to harbor some hatred towards me for what I've done. It doesn't change how things have gone however, and you seem to be slowly accepting that. I don't hold it against you for being tempted to get rid of me. That being said, having passed the test tonight, I cannot have you trying again. Try to kill me, or escape and you will be punished. Do you understand?" he asked seriously. "Yes Master." she replied solemnly. A minute passes as they sit, Maneki's curiosity begging her to ask a question. "Master...Please level with me...Is...Is there a rune on my collar to prevent me from escaping?" she asked seriously. "Yes Kitty. There is a very special rune on your collar that I handcrafted myself." he answered truthfully. "I knew it. It probably will electrocute or incinerate me if I try anything." she said dejectedly. "Although I have crafted those specific runed collars on commission for prisons, I am not a cruel person. I wouldn't set a rune that bad on you." he replied with a small chuckle. "Then what is the security you've placed on my collar?" she asked. "If you're not going to try anything, you don't have anything to worry about do you?" he asked in reply with a smirk. "No Master...Were you really contracted to capture or kill us?" she asked next. "Yes I was. I didn't lie about that. I was contacted by messenger and given a contract stating that I would earn a large payment for getting rid of you both. Or at the very least split you up. The mayor of the village didn't care how. I could have killed one of you or both if possible, or I could have captured you and sold you at an auction in another town far away as far as he was concerned." Sly explained. "And now we're both going to be your servants for the rest of our lives aren't we?" she asked a bit dejectedly. "You're still looking at the glass half empty. I promise things aren't as bleak for you and Luck as you think they are. As for the rune on your collar, don't worry about it for now. I'll tell you soon. You'll need to know. But for now get some shut eye. You'll need it for tomorrow." he said as he draped the covers over her and laid her back on the bed. Maneki didn't really know what to think. She had signed a contract stating that she would be Sly's obedient pet. She was going to have to live up to that contract, a contract of servitude that Luck was no doubt going to be forced to sign as well. She had put herself in the situation set up by the male, outsmarted and outmaneuvered. And on some deep level she had to admit, as much as she hated him for doing it, she respected him for having done so. She stared at the wolfox's face as he drifted off to sleep, he lying facing her, and couldn't help but crack a very small smile. Sly just may have been the most formidable thief she'd ever come across. He'd managed to steal away from her the most precious thing she held, her life. Not in the physical sense, but all the same her life was now his. What did that mean for her? She would just have to wait and see.