Master & Slave: Lost and Found
#5 of The Master & Slave Chronicles
:: When we last saw our lemurfox, we had the pleasure of a delving into her mind to a dearly held memory of her Master â€" their first time together after she passed her final tests, on vacation to celebrate. Much time has passed since that visit, and much has changed... not all of it for the better. Or, maybe it is? ::
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She'd left three nights ago. Her Master was gone.
Had the little one's Master known he would fall deathly ill not long after they had bonded so closely, would he have taken her? Would it have mattered? She still loved him the same, and the days since they'd found out had been a trial she hadn't been prepared for. The news had been hard enough to take, but her Master's insistence that she be released to find a new home with someone that could take care of her forever near shattered her heart. It wasn't until a kindly human nurse promised the lemurfox that her Master would be well taken care of that she had finally handed over her collar. One last embrace and she'd fled, suddenly afraid.
Now, she sat huddled under a store awning, shivering. She'd been able to function before her Master had taken her home and trained her to serve him; she'd known places to find shelter and food where she came from. This new world was unfamiliar and frightening, and she had no idea how she'd be able to survive much longer without a home. She'd been approached once or twice already, but her instinct had shown her instantly that they only meant her harm and she'd fled in terror. Every street smelled sickly and damp, and the shadows of the alleys held no warmth or welcome. Worse, the storm that had rolled in the night before showed no sign of letting up and she was drenched, fur matted flat against her body as the first chill of the night began to settle.
She'd pulled her tail around herself to try and keep some warmth in her, hugging her knees and resting her forehead against them. It was this position that kept her from seeing the male stop beside her, turning and standing over her as the rain pattered against his umbrella. That sound was what called her attention to him, her tail quivering as her ears folded back against her head, her face turning up apprehensively. "Y... yes?"
"Are you alright? You're drenched... what happened? Why are you out here hiding instead of inside and warm?" He crouched down beside her, bright blue eyes wide with concern. About six foot, the anthro skunk was of medium build, his muzzle a spot of white in the fine black fur that covered the remainder of his face. His hair was done in a relatively short crew cut style, twin stripes meeting in the center of his forehead at the hairline and extending back through his hair to vanish down the back of his shirt. His tail, curled around him to keep it from getting wet, bore twin white stripes down it as well, meeting at the tip in another point. He was dressed casually in a black t-shirt, baggy blue-hued camouflage pants and black leather boots, a pair of scuffed dog tags dangling around his neck. A regular army boy, from the looks of it.
He smiled softly at her when her eyes widened at the military-esque getup, holding a paw up and leaning back slightly. "Relax, I'm not gonna hurt you. If anything, I want to get you out of the rain and dry. You're gonna catch your death out here if you stay much longer..." He trailed off when his mention of catching death from the cold elicited a startled squeak, her eyes going wide before her muzzle quivered and she began to cry, lowering her head and hugging her knees. It wasn't until her head was bowed that he saw where her collar had worn against her fur, a band of bare skin clearly visible. Suddenly all was clear â€" here was a slave that had loved the one that kept her, and from her reaction, her Owner had likely passed away and left her lost and alone.
His chest heaved as he sighed, leaning forward and handing her the umbrella as he moved under the awning. "You're coming home with me, little one. You need in out of the cold and into something warm and dry, and I'll fix you some food so you get your strength up." She trembled when he lifted her, and he cradled her close and murmured in her ear gently until she relaxed, assuring her that he wasn't going to hurt her. Eventually she stopped shivering, his soft voice and steady arms inviting and comfortable. She wriggled and settled against his chest, holding the umbrella over them both as she clung to him. "Alright then, little one, it's time for us to go home now."
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She set the bowl down and looked up at him from the massive and fluffy blanket he'd wrapped her in, snuggling deeper down into the armchair and sighing softly. "And that's when you found me..." Her tail flicked lazily along the floor, the tip curling gently as she pulled the blanket tighter around her.
He nodded softly, tapping a finger against his lips as he looked away from her, lost in thought. "Alright, here's what we're going to do. While you get adjusted to life away from your Master, you'll stay here with me. I won't make you go find a job, but I'll ask you to keep the place in order. Think of it as you being a live-in maid of sorts in exchange. From what you've said, I figure it's a good arrangement and I hope that I haven't overstepped your comfort by assuming anything."
She blushed, pulling her tail into her lap to work a tangle out of her fur. "You're not. I mean... it's a good feeling for me, comfortable somehow. Anything I can do for you while I'm here, please tell me and consider it done if I'm able to do it." She suddenly seemed to realize the implication of what she'd said, and she giggled as she blushed. (He, meanwhile, was thankful his own blush was hidden by the dark color of his fur.) "I mean... thank you. You've been most generous."
"Well, don't you worry yourself too much about it tonight, at any rate. It's the weekend and I'd like to consider you my guest here until it's over. Gives us a chance to sit and get to know each other a bit better and figure out an arrangement that works best while you get accustomed to the city." He pulled some pillows and a blanket out of the closet, settling them on the couch and chuckling gently as she started to move toward the makeshift bed. "And what makes you think you're sleeping here, missy? You're my guest and you've had a rough time of things recently. I won't see you sleeping on the couch after all that." She flushed a bright red as he approached, laying a hand on her shoulder gently. "I just think you should enjoy having a nice soft bed to sleep in tonight."
She smiled and nodded softly at that, patting his paw gently with hers and pulling the blanket tight around her again before shuffling off to the bedroom. As she walked, he'd pull off his t-shirt, revealing white fur over his chest and stomach and the dual lines of white along his spine that would disappear into the waist of his pants. He stood up suddenly as his arms lowered to his waist, his upper body turning towards the bedroom door. "Hey... I just realized. I don't know your name."
The lemurfox stopped suddenly, one paw resting on the doorframe as her head lowered. "I... I don't have one. Master used to call me pet... he never got around to naming me. He was going to after we got back from our vacation, when he formally collared me, but we found out he was sick shortly after we came back. Now..." Her shoulders slumped slightly as a long shaky sigh came from her throat.
The skunk paused, frowning and looking her over. Suddenly, his face lit up. "Shayde. Your name from now on is Shayde." He stopped, laughing and shaking his head. "And here I am, realizing now that I haven't told you my name either." He walked around the couch, dropping his shirt on the arm as he passed it and going to give her a gentle hug. "I'm Dizzles, and I'm very happy to make your acquaintance, Shayde. Can I do something more to help you feel as comfortable as you can?"
The newly-christened Shayde turned up to her host, blushing and shaking her head. "I'm fine, Master Dizzles. Thank you." They both blinked at her words, eyes meeting before they both laughed quietly. A final goodnight was given and the lemurfox shut the bedroom door a moment later, hoping that the skunk wouldn't realize she'd blushed because she'd suddenly realized how attractive he was...
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:: And so begins a new chapter in Shayde's life. Should prove to be an interesting ride, seeing where this new path takes her. ::