Tail of Two Nekos II [NoiselessKnife]

[EmmaliaChan]

Welcome to Tail of Two Nekos II.
This is a private RolePlay between myself and NoiselessKnife.

Nekos weren't considered cute little companions in every world. In this one in particular, they were slaves. Pets. Property. Trash. Considered and treated as less than human and less than cat. Varying opinions were given to the male and female nekos, however - most believed them to be vermin not worth the clothes on their backs, but a rare few treasured their furry-eared friends and treated them as if they were their own children. More often than not, however, they were slaves, only used for labor and the most menial tasks.

This city was especially well known for its poor treatment of nekos. It hustled and it bustled, and the place ran smoothly because of the hundreds of neko slaves being put to work to make it that way. Without them, the city's commerce would fall to pieces and likely be unable to return from ruin. It had been designed around and founded on the principle of forcing nekos to do the tasks no one else wanted or was willing to do, and the pompous types that mostly lived there had little chance of ever changing. Get a speck of dirt on their white silk glove-clad hands? Perish the thought!

Kyouko was a failed 'purebred', a specific line of 'pedigree' bred mainly for appearance and beauty rather than strength or other skills as a standard neko would be. They were expensive status symbols for the wealthy or aristocratic, even though they were generally still used as slaves. Rather than rare traits or a beautiful neko, they got a naturally scruffy and rambunctious little brunette with the very common crimson eye color, and so Kyouko was thus tossed aside to be sold on the streets for a pittance. She and the other nekos were treated like cattle, herded from marketplace to marketplace and hit should they take too long to comply.

Eventually, she was purchased. She'd been with her new master for a few weeks now, but didn't speak to him much; humans, to her, didn't seem trustworthy. They were hurtful and unkind, and looked at her with such disdain. This man seemed different... But the territorial little neko girl was not about to let her guard down.

[NoiselessKnife]

“C’mon, stop pouting” Her “owner” requested as he ran a finger over her coppery colored ear with caring movements. “We’re going to get a visitor today: an old friend, and if you keep putting that face he’ll think I’ve done something terrible to you” The man commented while he finished the caress quickly with a light massage of his fingertips against her head. Like any new owner, he wanted nothing more than to snuggle his new neko, but he had learned in the past few weeks that Kyouko was not really one to welcome anything from him just now. Khajag , as was this man’s name, was trying to be patient and allow her to settle down.
The first days he had permitted her to do as she wished around the house: explore her new home, explore her room, even ignore him and the other members of the manor as she focused only on her food and needs, but after some days he had decided that she would have to get used to the fact that she was not living alone and he had somehow forced his presence near her. After all, he had not bought a neko to have her roaming around and acting as if he didn’t exist. Truth to be told, the white haired man knew himself to be selfish enough to have gotten a neko not only for “saving a life from slavery”, he had wanted someone by his side, someone he could take care of.

At his age he had had plenty of chances to form a family; however he had ignored most of all and those he had taken had not ended well enough for his tastes. Now old and tired of playing society’s games, the man had wanted a kind of company that could not be bought, for he was not interested in carnal fulfilling nor in fake interest, he wanted someone to need him. As low as he thought this desire to be, maybe as low as those people who bought slaves only to satisfy their most twisted pleasures once and over, the blue eyed man had not been able to deny himself this wish.

“So, have you found your new home to your liking?” The white haired man found himself asking, unconsciously trying to make the neko at his side speak so whatever conversation they would have could drown the echo of his own thoughts.

[EmmaliaChan]

Stop pouting? How could she stop pouting? Any moment now he'd grab her by her ear and pull her into the kitchen to tell her to get to work scrubbing the floors, she was sure of it. The few days of free roaming hadn't fooled her! This scruffy neko wasn't about to be roped in by fake kindness sprinkled with some delicious milk on top. Obliging him with a silent sigh, she pushed her palms into her cheeks and let go, keeping her face muscles where her hands had forced them to. The result was a very goofy looking cat girl and a completely fake looking smile.

The thought of a visitor was odd; the place had felt so empty for so long, big and hollow of life - the help didn't count, they felt more like mindless animals to her - since she'd come there. The young brunette wasn't sure how to feel about guests. The only guests she'd ever dealt with were people poking at her and her siblings in wondrance of if they should buy them. Was she supposed to entertain this 'old friend' person with conversation? She sure hoped not.

Kyouko liked the place fine. She was, however, an obstinate girl. "No," She said, crossing her arms. Why should she give him the satisfaction of thinking he'd fooled her? It didn't seem beneficial in any way. He was just some weird, wrinkly old dude. A wrinkly old dude whose gentle touches felt wonderful on her head and ears, but a wrinkly old dude just the same.

[NoiselessKnife]

“Oh?” The man asked, a bit surprised by her answer but knowing that he should have seen it coming. “And what would make it be more to your taste?” Khajag wondered out loud as he smiled towards her obviously fake smile. Whenever he smiled there was a hint of tiredness in his features, however, his gestures were never untrue. As said, he was sick and tired of playing along the rules of “being civil” and making others believe that he was feeling as he was not, still, even if he tried to get rid of that lifelong habit that he had learned ever since he was a toddler. Khajag found himself doing it over and over, more than anything, to himself whenever he denied his real reasons to do the things he wanted, no longer fearing the judgment of others but his own: The only judgment from which he would never be able to escape.

“Is the food not to your liking? Or is your room too small?” He asked, venturing yet another quick caress to the neko’s ear, liking how velvety it felt against his old skin.

---


In the streets, not so far away from there, a man and his neko were making their way to the Bardulf’s manor, which was were Khajag and Kyouko lived. The streets were mostly empty due to the recent storm that had just passed, still, the merchants, trying not to waste any time (which would mean wasting money) were starting to leave their temporary refuges while they urged, with shouts and hits, to their nekos to put back their selling places.

The nekos, of course, were trying to get away from the hit and get the things done, however, every now and then one would turn up to see the people passing by and hiss at those that had non-slave nekos with them, like was Robert’s case. It wasn’t very difficult to know why the slaves hated those who were not forced to live a life lower than that of cattle, for they had mostly been just lucky to escape the hell most nekos lived through every day.

Midori, Robert’s own neko, would hiss and growl back at them as she walked nearer to her master; she was a scruffy neko around Kyouko’s age. Like the other neko, Midori had had troubles due to her fur and eye color. In those times a dark neko with green eyes was not liked by many, as they were said to be whisperers that informed the demons of the weakness of their owners, so said demons could take over their bodies. It was a rumor mostly believed by old women but, still, the fame of a dark neko meaning bad luck was also in place. Hence, the dark haired one had fallen first into cattle work, then, blamed about the loss of money, she had been sold to a man who loved to organize fighting spectacles.

The neko girl had not done so well and, soon enough, one of the older neko females had bit part of her tail off, which, due to the lack of care, had gotten infected and she had been sold, sick and feverish, to her actual master. She had yet to learn to really trust the man, but Midori had learn that his presence was maybe the only thing separating her from death or slavery, hence she respected him and even tried to protect him against others.

[EmmaliaChan]

"A whole barrel o' milk," Kyouko replied decidedly, reflexively pushing into his touch. Her tail wagged happily at the mere thought of such a delicious treat, quite sure of herself that she could drink it all - stomachache be damned. Mmm, she could live in there. Milk had always been such a rare commodity; it was fattening and didn't encourage strength and growth like meats did, so most slaveholders, whether owners or sellers, didn't bother to spend the extra money. Meat would always be cheaper.

One of her ears twitched. She actually loved her room. "No... The food's good... My room's great," But she wasn't about to admit that she was just being stubborn. In fact, she was contented, even if she knew it wouldn't last for long - she was just on edge all the time. The bratling almost wished he'd get it over with and show his true colors with a beating just so she could know more of what to expect. Being hit with a stick was something she could deal with. All of this uncertainty was kind of stressful.

---

Robert Fuhlman was a kind man, if impatient most of the time. No matter whether he was going for a leisurely stroll or headed to the marketplace, he tended to act as if he could be late if he didn't rush, rush, rush. Hoping that having something - or someone - to take care of would help him relax a bit now that he'd earned enough to slow down his business, he decided that, as he had never felt the desire to produce any kin, perhaps adopting a neko would be a beneficial course of action.

Midori was... An accident. He'd never desired to take on a project, but he wasn't a cold hearted man - he knew the likelihood of a sick neko surviving in this city, and had he walked away that day his conscience would've eaten away at him until the day they put him in the ground. The last thing the superstitious old man would ever have wanted was a dark-colored neko, and he'd actually hoped for a male who could eventually help him with the harder chores that came with his job in constructing (which were steadily becoming harder and harder for his old bones to handle), but Midori was still a good choice. She was a sweet, quiet little neko, even if he found his superstitious nature made it hard for him to connect with her. There was always that niggling feeling in the back of his mind that even talking to her might bring him poor luck or harm.

But he wasn't cruel. He fed her and took good care of her, and still fussed over her tail, checking it almost nightly despite it having been over a month and a half since he purchased the sick girl. Reaching out and giving her head a tiny ruffle, he softly instructed, "I'd like you to be on your best behavior today, Midori," Robert smiled gently. "I don't wish for my old friend Khajag to think I'm raising you poorly."

[NoiselessKnife]

“A whole barrel?” Khajag asked, glad that she was opening a bit towards him, his touch became a bit firmer as he ventured to scratch her behind her ears. When he had left his home and walked to the market he had been desperate and it was a stroke of luck that he had found Kyouko being sold that day, but, only now, after two weeks of ‘owning’ her, he felt the relief of having someone besides him. The neko was starting to accept him and he was extremely happy because of that, as if the chocking weight of loneliness was starting to be lifted, even if just a bit.

“I fear that you’d drown on it, how about half a gallon of milk?” He proposed with a grin. “That way you wouldn’t have to shower after drinking it all” Khajag made a mental note to supervise her alimentation better, if well he didn’t want her to get sick he was quite conscious that a neko like her would need the calcium, and maybe the diet she was currently getting was not proportionating enough of it. Damn, he would have to consult a healer or something about the perfect diet for a home-neko, maybe a fancy breeder, given how anyone would just suggest simple and cheap meals that would not expire soon.

His thoughts were shattered and he became conscious that his whole hand was caressing Kyouko’s head when his butler, Jeremiahs, informed him of his visitors having arrived. “Thank you, attend them while we get there” He sighed, now it came the hard part: To see how Kyouko would react to Robert and his scrawny bag of bad luck.

“Come on” He called while getting up and offering his hand for Kyouko to take, whereas she took it or not would be up to her, he would not force her. “Let’s meet my friend”

---

The dark neko stopped hissing at the other slaves and focused on the caress given to her. Until now she had had no complains about how she was treated, this man cared more for her than anyone in the world and she would make sure that no harm came to him, that was all she cared about. She was now missing the end of her tail but it was scarring pretty well, soon it would be just a stubby tail with no signs of damage, all other scratches were perfectly scarred and, thanks to her owner’s care, even said scars were fading.

They arrived to a somehow big, white house and were received by a strange and balding man who had guided them to an spacious living room furnished with wine colored couches and some small wooden tables, they were then offered drinks and, after a while, Midori began to sniff the air, another neko was coming.

---


“There you are, Robert, my old bastard friend” Khajag greeted the man without malice as he walked towards them. “Finally you visit; it seems that you tend to forget that we live in the same darned city”

[EmmaliaChan]

"Yeah!" She replied enthusiastically, truly meaning she wanted the whole barrel! A whole keg of it - no, a wagon full of kegs! Kyouko would guzzle it all down, in minutes flat! When he said they could settle for a half gallon, she pouted. "S'not as good as a barrel... But it'd still be good," She did suppose it would be much nicer not to have to shower after, though, even if a milk bath sounded fun and tasty - Kyouko hated water, and especially hated baths and showers. Getting wet was just dreadful.

Before long, their conversation was interrupted by the butler she knew to be called Jeremiahs. His visitors had arrived already... She was hesitant, but after a brief pause took his offered hand and followed alongside him to the door of the living room. His guests were already there, seated and served drinks. The wiry brunette remained behind while he approached the dark-skinned man.

---

Robert gracefully accepted the invitation inside, gently ushering in his little neko with a hand on her back. Khajag's home was nothing if not beautiful; spacious and well-decorated, warm and homey, he didn't know why he didn't come for visits more often. Robbie? He always had to have his hands busy. While his house wasn't a tiny cabin, it's five bedrooms, sitting room, kitchen, and two bathrooms were modest in size, and all he could manage to maintain on his own. He couldn't see paying for maids or other help when he couldn't tolerate not having his hands busy, anyway - he'd just end up doing their work for them.

Once he sat, he patted his lap as an invitation for her to sit there if she liked, then leaned comfortably back in the chair, thanking the butler and requesting a water when offered. It took very little time for the man to return with what he'd asked for, and he'd barely taken a sip when his host appeared with a grumpy looking neko. "Why you haven't changed a bit, have you? Except for all those extra wrinkles I see on that face of yours," He replied cheerfully, standing from his seat and shaking the man's hand before pulling him into a brief brotherly hug. "This city's so big we don't even run into each other anymore," Grinning, he asked, "How've you been?"

[NoiselessKnife]

Khajag smiled at his friend’s words while he shook his hand back before hugging him gruffly, once their usual greeting was over he gave Midori a light greeting nod and, keeping Kyouko close, he shrugged. “Yeah, yeah, make fun of the old man, sure, let’s see how long it takes you to get to look like a raisin” The man replied. “I’ve been well, could be better, I guess, but things are going, for the first time in a while, as planned. I followed your example by the way.” The white haired man said while he put a gentle hand over his neko’s head. “May I present your my neko, Kyouko. She has agreed to be with me for the past weeks”

With another light caress to Kyouko’s head, the man let go of her and shrugged. “Well, with all your mountains of work, your eternal refusal to get help and your new ward, I doubt you have time to even breathe, I could swear that your head is whiter now than it was before, and is that a bald spot I see?” He half teased, knowing that Robert would rather die before seeing other people doing his work.


---


Midori leaned against her owner’s leg as she looked at the other neko briefly before pressing more against Robert’s pants, she still didn’t trust him enough as to simply jump on his lap without a verbal invitation, but she wouldn’t leave his side unless ordered to. Her green gaze found Khajag’s blue one and she looked away quickly, not knowing what the man’s reaction would be to a dark neko and not really wanting to find out.

[EmmaliaChan]

"Hey... That bald spot's not so bad, is it?" He asked, faking self-consciousness, running a hand through his hair with a smirk.His gaze followed his old pal's to the crimson-eyed neko staring out from behind Khajag's leg, not looking too pleased to have guests. A thick laugh resonated from deep in Robert's chest. "What a generous little neko, if she can agree to tolerate you for any length of time!" Eyes sparkling with mischief, he crouched down so he was eye level with her and held out his hand. When she didn't take it, seeming more interested in hiding herself even more behind her 'owner', he stood, unable to help but chuckle at her apparent shyness.

"This here is Midori," He said to Kyouko, gesturing to his dark-haired neko. "I hope you two can become friends in the future." Standing straight again - and trying to ignore the embarrassing cracking of his knees as he did so - Robert grinned. "I'm sure they'll be inseparable before we know it," Putting his hands on his hips in an almost accusatory and challenging way, he added, "So, should we break out the chess set and I can whup you at it as I always used to?" His friend was actually quite a lot better than he was, but he could hold his own on occasion!

[NoiselessKnife]

“Of course it’s not bad, you could use its reflection to send signs to the other side of town and it would not be so bad, it would be… useful, in fact” Khajag half mocked as he moved both the table nearer to Robert and a couch nearer to the table, then he advanced towards a nearby chest where a heavy package was stored, making sure that Kyouko was still close so she wouldn’t feel threatened by the ‘strangers’. “You asked for it Fuhlman, don’t start complaining later about me cheating nor any of that crap” He puffed as he carried a heavy package towards the table and put it over said furniture before sitting down on his couch, all his motions accompanied by a brief concert of cracks. He looked at Kyouko and patted her head lightly before turning his attention to the game. If she wanted to sit with him or leave it would be her choice.

“Damn it, soon I’ll have to have the chess glued to the table” The man grumbled as he opened the package and began to accommodate both the bard and the figures. “The older we get, the crunchier we sound, we’re just like good bread, now, whites first so let’s see…” He moved the knight in an L shaped movement and looked at Robert. “And dark’s next” He said with a grin. “While you take your eternity to make your move, should I order some milk for our nekos, or some snacks for ourselves?”

---

Midori, meanwhile, remained pressed against Robert’s leg, even though, every now and then, she would sniff the air and look briefly at Kyouko before pressing against her owner’s leg again. She wasn’t particularly fond of other nekos, but she wasn’t about picking fights where there were none. She had had enough trouble in her life as to know that the best moment to hiss or unsheathe your claws was only when someone was menacing you or, now, you owner. She was curious about the other neko but that was due the fact that she was the first neko she saw that wasn’t in cattle work, in fighting spectacles or being sold.