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Captivity - Jaye's Story - Chapter 6

The moonlight was glinting across my snout when I opened my eyes. At first, it was nice to not be blinded by the sun, but then I remembered. I shot up to my feet as fast as possible, looking around, listening for any hint of the horrific growls. Nothing. I let out a sigh of relief as some sharp pains sprung up into my back. I winced a little bit, already knowing that sleeping against a tree had not been a good idea. The odd part was that I felt something liquid run underneath my fur and skin right to the painful area. Within seconds, I could feel it wrap around the vertebrae and adjust it, making a loud cracking noise, and then all the pressure stopped, the aching quickly disappearing.

I took a couple steps forward, listening to my surroundings. A couple squirrels were racing through branches and twigs high up in the trees while my feet crackled some dried leaves underneath. I looked over my right shoulder and saw a turtle dip under the murky surface of a small pond. This place was so peaceful, the polar opposite of that village. I couldn't help the tear that rolled down my cheek at the thought of those children. How could I have just let myself become a monster? I know I had needed sustenance, but I should have been better than that. Survival or not, regret racked my brain.

I began letting my wings drag in the dirt and grass as more tears rolled down my face. I hadn't let my emotions go in forever, not since I had to leave him in the United States years ago. I'd had to be tough to run with the militia, especially with Jon's group. None of them had let me show weakness, not even the few females that were in there. Everyone had to just follow orders and not show stupidity. You even had to get over your own body and be naked around others to bathe. There was absolutely no room for emotions to get in your way or else you would get hurt.

It took me so long to learn that though. Whenever I tried to hide my body from others in the rivers and stray from the group, I'd end up falling on the rocks, hit my head, and then would have to be babied whilst having a concussion or some other shit. I couldn't hesitate if Jon gave me an order or else others could be hurt. Roseanne had been killed when I doubted the intentions of a young male lion soldier and wouldn't take the shot when Jon told me to. It had been my fault because I had been weak. So I grew strong, but now I was alone. I was just a lonely killing monster.

I dropped to my knees at this point and couldn't hold it back any longer. I thought about all I had to give up and sobbed. Even after leaving the States, it had been so hard. The harbor men had guided me to the militias, where I couldn't bullshit my way as being a war photographer. I guess it would've helped if I had a legitimate camera on me, but I didn't have the money for one of those. Jon wasn't even close to believing me and recruited me, told me that if I served some time and didn't perish, I'd have a home in his old Russian town. First my parent's didn't want me, then he drove me away and was probably killed in that bombing, and now the first "safe" group that I was in is gone. No, I was abandoned.

I covered myself with the coat, slowly pulling my arms through the sleeves, a stick cracked behind me. I instantly turned my head around, some acidic tears falling to the ground, searing some grass blades as a small feline boy stood there. How long had he been standing there, watching me cry?

"Um, hello there miss," he stuttered. "Are you okay?"

I pulled my paw up and wiped my face off a little bit, half wondering if my eyes looked dark like when I was human and was sad.

"I saw you from across the pond," he continued, pointing at the small source of water, "and you looked hurt whilst you slept, ma'am." Did this child never learn to be wary of strangers, especially in the woods?

I shook my head a little, waking myself up a little more. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired."

He took a couple steps towards me and held out his small orange paw. "Well, you don't have to sleep against a tree, ma'am. We have plenty of beds in my town." Another town? How far had I traveled since the destroyed one? It had been barely dawn when I had left it, and I could see the sun barely peeking from the horizon now.

I looked back at the juvenile cat and took his paw, allowing myself to grin a little bit. His face lit up once he saw me show a glimmer of pleasure. He could only wrap his fingers around three of mine as he led me to a vague path around the pond.

"My name is Russell," He shared with me after hopping over a small log, "What do you call yourself, ma'am?"

"I'm Jaye," I smiled at him, trying my best to button up the lab coat with one paw. Last thing this kitten needed to see was my breasts falling out. Thank goodness, this was a long coat, hopefully doing an effective job of covering my lower parts as well.

"That's a nice name," he looked back at me, smiling. "Have you happened to see my goat out here? He escaped his pen early this morning, and I chased him out here, but then I saw you and kind of lost him," he admitted, blushing a charming little face.

I looked around a little bit and sniffed the air a couple times, but the pond masked the scent. "I'm sorry, Russell. I haven't seen him, and I can't smell him out here." He shrugged and stepped around some small puddles of mud, cheerily suggesting that I should follow the path he was making.

"We have another one back home. Hopefully, Fred can find his way back home like I can," he said. He paused suddenly and asked, "How come you aren't wearing a dress or skirt like most girls around here? I mean, I know it's hard to come across money around here, but doesn't your mommy make you clothes? That white coat you're wearing doesn't look very warm with all its rips in it," he innocently said, cocking his head to the side. How the hell am I supposed to answer that?

"Well, Russell, my mommy hasn't made me a dress in a long time, and I've been just trying to find the right town to find a new one. I've been trying to save what money I do have to buy one, so I couldn't buy myself rides through towns. It's all kind of a mess," I tried explaining, feeling more guilt as I lied to this honest child.

"But traveling through the woods in a thin dress is no way for a lady to get around," he chuckled under his breath. "You're an odd lady, Jaye."

I couldn't help but giggle at his ignorance. "Yeah, I guess I'm a bit odd, but isn't that better than being boring?" He stopped dead in his tracks, flicked his white ringed tail a couple times and nodded.

"I guess you're right, ma'am. I would hate to be boring. I love making my little sister and friends laugh when I make my funny face!" He said, followed by quickly sticking his tongue out at me. I made a small motion to pretend to grab it, and he almost bit it pulling it back into his mouth but went back to his small laugh.

"We're almost back to my town, Jaye. Maybe my mommy will have something better for you to wear," he said as we came to an opening in the trees. A much more visible path was apparent and well used. A sturdy man walked by us, producing a very warm smile for Russell but then quickly changed at the looks of me. Thanks so much Prince Charming. I'd like to see you look decent while being covered in blood.

We strolled into a waking town, the sun finally showing itself as people began to open up their windows while others were going around, putting out the gas lamps. After turning a couple streets, Russell walked up to a small wooden house and opened the door, but then made quite the awkward motion to let me walk in first so he could close the door behind us. The chivalrous efforts were quite amusing that I couldn't help but wonder who was teaching this kitten.

He walked quickly around the house and then came back into the dining room. "I'm going to try to find you a wash cloth so you can wipe that stuff off you," he smiled and went off down a hallway. I didn't know at this point whether he knew it was blood or not.

As I waited, I looked outside at the now bustling town. It was truly in full bloom, but in the weirdest ways. Some of the town seemed to still be in an older era whilst others were progressing. A couple people were riding horses around or pulling carts with mules, while there were a couple cars zipping down the streets. On the sides, there were still some gas lamps for at night while most buildings did have some sort of electricity. I wanted to walk around some of the town, but I couldn't trust myself. The entire time Russell and I had been walking here, I couldn't help but keep noticing the strong and healthy pulse he had. I closed my eyes and tried to think of something else. I should really refrain from those thoughts right now.

"I found a wash cloth and a small towel for you, Jaye!" Russell burst into the room, so excited to hand me the cleaning materials. "I couldn't find any new soap, but I think water can wash you up." He took ahold of my paw again and led me down a hallway and into a small room with a tub of water in it. "I was able to fill it up with water that isn't freezing cold. Is that okay for you, ma'am?"

"Of course it is," I answered the small orange fuzz ball, whose grin got bigger with my satisfaction. I took the washcloth and towel from the boy as he walked towards the door.

"My mommy and sissy should be home soon. I bet she can get you some better clothes!" He exclaimed before practically slamming the door, but he quickly opened it back up, "Sorry about the door, ma'am!" He tried shutting it more softly but I could hear his feet pitter patter quickly across the house.

Such a wonderful child, I thought to myself. I unbuttoned Emily's coat and set it on the back of a chair in the corner of the room. The floorboards creaked as I stepped across the room towards the tub. I put my paw in it, testing to see how warm it actually was. To my surprise, it was quite warm, nicely above room temperature. I put my leg over the side followed by the other and submerged myself into the water, so grateful for that kid. What had been running through his head seeing me by that pond? I couldn't even believe I slept that long. I'd probably flew a couple hours north before settling down against what I thought was going to be a comfortable tree trunk. If I learned anything, I'd never trust a tree again.

I reached down and picked up the tan cloth and let it float along the top of the water before letting it submerge completely. A lot of the dried blood had begun loosening from my fur already and came out without hassle once I ran the terrycloth against it. I took a deep breath and put my face underwater and wiped the cloth across my cheeks and my fangs, followed by tilting my chin up to wash behind my ears which kept flicking at the wetness. When I pulled my face back above water, it felt so much better being rinsed and free of other's bodily fluids necessary for life. I let out a long exhale and leaned back against the back of the tub, swishing my tail around a little, making small waves. I could only sit and hope that Russell's family was as friendly as he was.

*****

I hadn't even realized that I had dozed off for half an hour until Russell was frantically beating at the bathroom door. I jolted awake and looked around before noticing he was just about shouting. The water was tinted red as I stood up and grabbed the towel to wrap it around my body.

"Jaye! Jaye! Jaye!"

"Okay, Russell, I'm awake now. I can hear you," I replied, drying myself off.

"Mommy is home, and she wants to meet you!" He said excitedly as another pair of footsteps approached.

"Alright, little guy, just let me get out of this tub," I stuttered, trying not to slip as I got one foot over the side of the tub. The door then swung open with Russell, standing there with his paws over his eyes, as a lady walked past him into the room.

"Pardon me, but I thought you might want some fresh clothing," a creamy white feline spoke while handing me a handful of clothing. "It isn't the nicest in the world, but it'll keep you warm," she carried on, slightly eyeing the tinted tub.

"Much appreciation Mrs..." I waited for her to tell me.

"Call me Lillian," she smiled gently. "There's no need to be all fancy about it. Russell here told me you needed some help, and I figured we could take some hours do help a traveler."

All I could do was to smile, but I noticed her small concern once she saw my fangs. They obviously were larger than any normal canine just by seeing her reaction. She took a couple steps backwards before turning and walking out of the room, grabbing Russell by the shoulder to have him leave as well. I couldn't help but smell another being standing there that wasn't feline. I took a couple strides to the door to find a small beagle girl looking up at me from behind the wall.

"Well, hello there, little one," I said as I held out my paw, but I couldn't help it. Her blood was coursing so well through her body from her blushing at being caught. She suddenly frowned and ran down the hallway towards Lillian, and I looked down at my paw to see extended claws. Damn it.

I stood up and tried to walk around the room taking deep breaths, but nothing was helping. I felt my fangs scrape against my other teeth as they grew slightly longer and sharper. Come on, control yourself, don't hurt these people. I walked over to the clothes and found that they were floor length dresses. She had given me the option of red, blue, or black thick cotton dresses with some long white stockings to put on with them. I lifted the black dress up and even found fresh underwear underneath it. I wondered if I could've found kindness like this in that last village. I set the black dress to the side as the blue one was catching my eye. It was slightly lighter than a navy blue but not too bright that I would stand out.

I pulled it onto me and found that it was slightly large on me. I figured I should try to hide my wings as Lillian already knew something was up about me. I was able to manipulate my wings just enough to slip into the dress and hide quite well since they didn't fall out of the bottom of it. I looked in the mirror and turned around in front of it to see if I looked awkward in it or not, but found a decent size hole in the back of the dress, right where my tail pushed against the fabric. I leaned back a little and pulled it through the hole and found that it fit quite well. I hoped that's what it was for. I grabbed the stockings off of the pile and tried my best at pulling them on. I hadn't worn these type of girly clothes in a very long time.

After making myself look presentable and drying my hair out mostly, I walked down the hallway, finding Russell and the beagle girl sitting at a table while Lillian was at the stove.

"It seems to fit you nicely, Jaye! Much better than that white ripped one you had on earlier," Russell said excitedly.

"Don't be rude about she chooses to wear, Russ. Be nice to guests," Lillian corrected him, flipping some meat on her pan. "Now how many sausages do you want, young man?"

"I think I'd like four!"

"Are you too big for just three now?"

"Yup!!" He said eagerly. I walked into the room farther and sat down in a chair across from Russell and the younger girl. The minute I had eye contact with him again, he went off talking again. "This is my little sister, Anita. She's like my Pa, instead of Mommy. Say 'hi', Anita," he said, getting her attention and playfully pointing at me. She followed through by just waving her small paw. "She doesn't really talk much, if not at all, but I still love her," he said while he gave her a big hug.

"Hello there, Anita," I tried again, holding out my paw, palms upwards. She leaned up and inspected my paw a little bit, finally putting her little paw in mine and giving it a little shake. "It's very nice to meet you."

"What Russ meant about her being like her Pa is that he is a beagle as well," Lillian explained. "I don't really know how it worked out considering all the children in this town come out the same breed as their mother, but it doesn't matter. We are just glad she lived through the complicated birth."

"I would be curious as to why she isn't like you as well if it was the social norm," I replied.

"Well, it's also going against social norms taking in a stranger from the swamps, but we aren't exactly question that either." she said quietly, almost in a warning tone. I couldn't tell if she was upset or just worried. If she knew what I was, I wouldn't want anything like me near my children either.

The rest of the morning held a small breakfast that I skipped out on with no stress of declining actual food. Lillian's cool composure kept making me contemplate whether or not she knew what I was. I helped her with the dishes and put away the leftovers into the icebox in their backyard. Russ was able to catch Fred the goat when he came moseying into town by the tailor's shop. The owner of the candy shop next door lent him a small rope for him to wrangle Fred and take him home.

This small town would be so nice to stay in, but I still didn't belong. I had to get out of here before I ended up hurting someone by accident. Throughout the day's events, I could always feel my fangs trying to sharpen or even drool a little when we passed through large groups of people and other furries. Most of the furries here were quiet ones that seemed to be centered around house animals. There were many felines and canines. We did run into an older, tortoise gentleman, however, who was selling some newspapers on a street corner, casually sitting back in a rocking chair, smoking a pipe.

I had decided that I was going to be leaving once the sun had been set for an hour or two. The beagle father had come home just in time for Lillian's dinner of mashed potatoes and a pork steak. I decided to sit out on their porch and watch the community calm down for the evening.

I heard the dishes begin to be washed and I figured I could help, but as I got up, Lillian walked out of the thin, porch door.

"Oh, please, sit back down, Ms. Jaye. The children can handle a couple plates and silverware," she said holding out her paws. I fulfilled her request and sat back down while she pulled a seat from the corner of the porch and sat next to me.

"It's a good thing Fred came today. I was glad Russell was able to catch him," I tried making some small talk.

"It sure was," she said, pausing for a couple minutes. "I hope you don't mind me prying, but I know you aren't a normal furry," she admitted, looking away from me. "Decent girls like you don't come out of the swampy forest wearing a tattered doctor's coat and say they are just travelling the country side." I gave her a curious look as to what she had known, but let her continue. "To add on top of that, I haven't seen a winged wolf in about ten years, let alone seen one that wasn't feathered. I don't even know what yours made of. Good decision of picking the larger dress to hide them though," she gave me a nod.

"I don't really know what they are made of either," I had to say something. This woman was too nice to try lying to. She was skeptical enough to make her own opinions and choices. She gave me a funny look when I told her this. She took a minute for herself and looked back at me.

"Are you new to your own body?"

"Excuse me?"

"You always look like you're slightly in pain, like you aren't comfortable. Either you have some funny spinal problems or you're new to your body if you don't know what your wings are by your age." Her logic made too much sense for me to try to change it.

"Well, I don't really know what I am exactly, besides some sort of hybrid, I think," I sighed.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me if it causes you more pain, miss," she stopped me. "No matter how friendly anyone can seem, something can always be there to bother your mind, but that doesn't mean you have to tell people if it makes it hurt more. Especially since you haven't met me and my family before." She leaned over a little and patted my shoulder a little, and I could hear her pulse in her wrist. I shook my head a little bit.

"I'm sorry Lillian. I don't want to harm you or your lovely family," I stood up and faced away from her. I had to get my snout away from her veins. I heard her stand up after me and take a couple steps towards me. "I couldn't stand myself if I hurt Russell. He found me and wasn't even scared to approach me. I don't even know if he realized how much blood I had splattered on me."

"The darn kid probably didn't," she sighed. "I don't know what you did other besides hurt something, but I think you should move onto whatever you're looking for." She rubbed her arm a little bit, nervous. "I hate being rude but I saw your eyes change colors a couple times around Anita, and I'm so scared with her being mute that I wouldn't even know if she got hurt." I couldn't help the tear roll down my face. I knew I could harm her so easily, and now I was scaring this poor mother, with the chance of harming her miracle child. I reached up, pretending I was wiping my forehead, catching the lone drop that was on its way into my fur. "I can help you gather some supplies, but I wish you will have a safe journey soon." I turned around and found that she was quietly sobbing under her breath. I stepped forward and gave her a light hug.

"I'll be gone within an hour or two, Lillian," I replied, feeling her shake in my arms, so I let go. I had probably made it worse - wrapping her in a monster's arms. We took a couple steps towards the house's doors, and I heard some children laugh next door. What Lillian would give to hear her own daughter laugh one day. I needed to leave her and her peaceful life here in this cozy town. Just 24 hours ago, I was feasting on innocent men's blood. I needed to get far away from here, and head in the direction of Headquarters.

As we stepped inside, I had to ask, "Hey Lillian?"

"Yes Jaye?" She turned to face me, wiping off her own tears.

"Do you have a map?"