Post by Kari Muffin on Dec 4, 2008 14:52:43 GMT -5
Still reading? XD Thanks Vynnie.
Chapter six is about Peaches and Xiven, and Chapter Seven is about Conway (again).
Warning: I use curse words. Nasty ones. Don't read either of these chapters if that bothers you.
.... and I would like to comment: Conway stop being emo. *eyeroll* and Xiven is an adorable little kitten.
Also, next chapter will be called "Best Laid Plans" starring the one and only Theofilus! Kudos if you get the reference.
Spying. Maid work. Tea making and serving. Making connections with the help of Warrick. Finding an old friend of the family who gave her "missions" that involved spying. Everything was working out well.
She had joined the courts. Of course she had spied on the entire palace long before she had the pleasure of going there. She needed to know everyone's name and business. Their secrets and their stories. Some were more difficult than others (that horse really did a wonderful job of covering his tracks) but she had managed.
And then Peaches fucked it all up.
How? By getting pregnant.
Of all things.
At the tender age of twenty-one she was pregnant. And when she gave birth things just got worse. Ten times worse.
A Queen, a Six and an ACE.
An Ace. How could something like that come out of her? She could feel the hatred welling up inside her. It was a useless creature that shouldn't exist. And somehow she had managed to give birth to a Queen as well. The six was the only one who stood a chance of being normal.
Covering up the birth of an Ace was difficult. Money, favors and secrets. If she hadn't been her life time goal she would have failed. But the only child that Pravus knew about was Xiven. A little Queen. A Torquehelm.
But Peaches didn't know what it meant to be a mother. It was a complicated process.
"Shit," Peaches said to herself as she looked down the hallways. She had lost her freaking child. And the Ace was currently sitting at her heals crying for her mistress Xiven.
And where the hell had her other one gone?
She kicked the wall. "This was a bad idea. I should have had an abortion!"
She looked down at the tailless Ace, drooping. That thing had popped out of her somehow. It didn't know that. She picked the little cat up by the scruff of the neck and scratched it lightly under the chin. "Fluffy. Quiet. I'll find her. And hopefully Eldy on the way."
Peaches walked down the hallway with the Ace in her arms. It was still shivering and crying, but at least it was well behaved. Unlike the two other kittens running around the palace. Of course the little monsters that had popped out of her had to have a sense of adventure. At least the Ace was trainable. Xiven and her sister were just...next to impossible.
"Mer!" said the Ace.
Peaches stopped walking around.
"She's here isn't she?" Peaches whispered into the Ace's ear. The Ace licked her cheek in response.
Peaches listened to the slight jingling of chains. She slowly turned her head. Around the corner was her daughter, her fluffy face was slightly visible as she was crouched close to the floor, butt wiggling in the air.
Oh yes. This game.
"RAWR!" yelled the Queen as she leaped out of her not so fantastic hiding place.
Peaches side stepped the Fluff ball.
"Merwo!" Xiven said as she tumbled forward, sliding across the floor.
Peaches rolled her eyes as she picked up the girl by the scruff of her neck and deposited her in her arms with Fluffy. "It's your bed time, Missy."
Xiven couldn't speak yet, so she wiggled in protest in her mother's arms. She ended up tapping the ace on the face and biting at Peaches's earring. The woman rolled her eyes and was half tempted to drop the pair of them.
Where was the third? How hard was it to find a kid with a ball and chain?
"Heeeeeeere kitty kitty," She called as she stalked down the hallways with a children in arms.
Freaking hell. Motherhood sucked.
***
Waking up next to a girl with her mouth sewn shut was the start of her troubles. They just got worse as she was older.
But this one topped the cake. She was staring at her brother, who had a rather lovely smirk on his face.
"Did that really happen?" She asked as she looked at the boy with narrow eyes.
"Oh yeah."
"You know this borders on incest."
He shrugged. "It's not like I popped your cherry."
Her ears drooped. "You are such an asshole sometimes."
"I know, but you get a kick out of it and you know it." He said with a purr as he licked her nose. It was something he did when he knew what he had done wrong. Genius that he was he could be annoying and as dumb as a brick.
"If I had front paws I would swipe you one," Peaches growled as the hair on her tail fluffed up.
He brushed it off. He knew his twin. She may have talked big, but nine times out of ten she didn't mean a word of what she was saying. To him at the very least. He gave her another lick and nuzzled her. "It was just a kiss."
"Kiss? Dear Suits. Your whole face was practically in my mouth. Not to mention the position we were in." She said, her tail swishing in frustration.
"Better me than some random stranger, you know."
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say. But watch it next time you turn your back to me Basil. I might push you in front of a carriage."
"I'd like to see that. I'm sure you'd be pretty upset over the blood spatter on your pristine white jacket." He said with a wave of his paw, his manacles jingling as he spoke with his paws. "I could just here you complaining about it now to Loreta."
She stuck her tongue out in response. She rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. She was tired and didn't feel like thinking about what her brother had done to violate her personal boundaries. That's what she got for letting him near the boozes. "I heard that Cream is coming to visit."
"Really now? I wonder if he has any secret missions for you," He said with a snicker as he flopped down besides her. He nudged up besides her, feeding off her warmth. She did the very same many occasions before.
"The last one was pretty weird." She said quietly as she stared at the ceiling. "I don't know what those people were really talking about, but he seemed to be pretty interested in the information I brought back. I'm glad Mom and Dad don't know about it."
"If they knew they would take away your money." Basil said, a note of bitterness in his voice. "If they knew that I play the flute for spare change, they would take my money too. That's why I can't wait until we can go to the courts."
"I suppose we could be pretty useful at the Court of Hearts. Someone who is a spy and someone who entertains. Together we could be unstoppable. You could entertain them while I rob them blind." Peaches said with a snort.
"If only you had hands, dear sister!"
"If only!"
They burst into a fit of giggles.
"But sis," Basil said once they had fallen quiet. "Don't leave without me. I don't want you to grow up and have a family, leaving me behind."
Peaches opened her eyes to look at her brother. The look on his face was troubled. It was like he knew something that she didn't and it was slowly killing him. Did it have to do with their troubles in the Wood? She shoved that back into the corner of her mind. Her paws still ached from it. She looked into his troubled eyes that mirrored hers. "I'd never leave you behind. Not even if you died."
Liar.
***
Xiven bounced on her mother's bed. She had met a really cool person with pretty yellow eyes today, and she wanted to tell her Mommy all about it. But she wasn't there. Something had happened that morning and she had wandered off to do something.
The girl got tired of bouncing and quickly rolled onto her back. She watched Fluffy who was sleeping in her cast basket. This was boring. Maybe she should look through her Mommy's things?
Hopping off the bed and stumbling on her bindings (stupid things!) she made it over to one of the locked chests.
She grinned as she put out a claw and fiddled with the lock for a few moments. With a happy pop it opened and she had access to the contents. If her mother had really wanted to protect the stuff she would have hid it like she did with all that weird tea stuff she had.
The chest was flipped open to reveal a series of stuffed things that looked like people.
Her ears perked as she picked up one of the things in her mouth. She set it on the non carpeted part of the floor to inspect it closely.
It looked a lot like Queen Serafino. It even had a little crown and stuff. Her ear twitched as she looked back into the chest. That one looked like Papa Pravus, that one looked like Mommy, that one looked like Mister Bernard. There was just about everyone in the palace in the big chest. She could even recognize some of the servants. They were all hand puppets too.
Mom had weird hobbies.
"What's this?" Xiven said as she noticed a mark in the lining of the chest. She pawed at it for a couple of minutes before pulling away the fabric.
She tilted her head to one side. There was a picture of a human. At first she thought it was Mom, but it was definately someone else. Someone who was male and didn't wear a straight jacket but had hair like Mom's.
It was weird. Why would she keep that behind the fabric of a chest. Then again it was her mother. She did all sorts of weird things.
But who was the man in the picture? The girl's ears drooped as she stared at the picture. It really did look like Mom, but if she had any relatives she was pretty sure that Mommy would have at least said something. She squinted at the image. It wasn't a photograph, it was definitely drawn, which did explain the bright colors. But it looked so terribly real.
Her thoughts were interrupted when her mother walked through the door.
"Hi mom!" Xiven said with a squeak as she scrambled to slam the chest shut.
Her mothers food made contact with the edge of the chest, preventing the lid from slamming shut. She raised an eyebrow as she flipped it back open. She noticed that the lining was missing....
"Xiven." Peaches said, her voice was almost a dangerous growl."What did you do?"
"Nothing," she said with a small whimper. Her tail tucked between her legs and her ears pinned against her skull. Angry Mommy was terrifying.
"How many times do I have to tell you NOT to go through my things without my permission. Not to mention that you ruined the lining, and... you better not have touched that picture." She hissed.
"I didn't. I swear."
She glared at the girl before readjusting the lining and shutting the trunk. She sat on it and pointed to the bed. "You sit over there."
Xiven did what her mother said. She struggled for a moment to hop on the bed, but managed somehow. She turned around to look at her mother, a rather embarrassed look on her face.
"So I imagine you're wondering about that picture."
Xiven nodded sheepishly.
"That's my brother."
Xiven blinked. "I have an uncle?"
"Had."
"Oh...."
"Don't say sorry either." Peaches said as she crossed her legs to look at the girl. "Let me explain to you. My brother, Basil, was a very bright boy. When it came down to it, however, he went into the Wood and pissed off the wrong person. He murder my brother in cold blood and threatened my life. If I ever see him again I hope to kill him, but I highly doubt I could ever be strong enough physically or mentally to over come that hurdle." She sighed and shook her head before getting up. She sat down next to her daughter and kissed her on the forehead. Xiven wasn't fond of her mother licking her, so Peaches had actually caved and got into the habit of kissing.
Xiven looked up at her mother, a worried expression painted on her young face. "But Mom... I think you'd be strong enough to defeat him."
"Sweetie. Half the palace could snap my neck. I don't think someone as terrifying as the man in my pass could be easily defeated." She picked up the girl and put her on her lap.
She didn't protest, she just continued to look up at her mother. "So one day, if I get stronger can you tell me the whole story so I can defeat him."
Peaches patted her daughter on the head. "I wouldn't want you to get hurt. But one day, if you really want, I can tell you the story. Just promise me you won't tell another living person about my brother."
"Okay Mommy, I promise!" Xiven said as she rolled onto her back to stare at her mother properly. "Can I tell you a story while you comb my fur?"
Peaches smiled. "Sounds like a plan."
She really hoped that Xiven would forget about this conversation. It would only bring trouble in the future if she remembered.
Trouble Maker
+A boy becomes less than a man
He was in a bar. This wasn't entirely new for him since he had left the "protection" of Tabby's family. He had suffered quite a bit with his departure. Somehow he had manged to make it down alive. Some random stranger had been kind enough to reset all of his broken bones and nurse him back to health. Then he was kicked out on his ass. Still he found himself in the Range.
So he had to make a living by stealing. It wasn't that difficult when you could change your general appearance, but it wasn't his ideal. People thought he was odd, so they stayed away. Today he had manged to make his way to a small village pass. Plenty of strangers roamed the streets. With the bit of money he had made today by picking pockets, he wandered into the bar.
A drink would have been wonderful.
The boy sat down at a table by himself. He watched the people pass by. There was a legal drinking age here, but in this part of town people didn't care as much, but he didn't want to make his move in front of the wrong people.
His thoughts were interrupted by a woman. A heavily built woman who was a cross between a feline of some sort and a bird. She had walked over to his table, pulled out a chair and sat down without a word. She set her ale down and gave the boy a smirk. "What's a littl' kid like ya doing here?"
Conway raised an eyebrow. If he spoke in a room full of people he might be screwed over completely. Instead he made a motion to his throat and made a few hand signs. He figured she wouldn't understand. Not many people knew sign language.
"Oi, so ya can't talk. Pity. Ya're a cute one." She said as she took another sip of her drink. It was strange watching some a burly woman take delicate and flowery sips.
"What are you doing to that poor boy?" said a voice. It had a certain uppity quality to it. Conway searched for the source and saw a Jack of Spades. He was a strange combination of a bird and a snake. He had a smooth scaly body of purple with words of pink and blue. His cold blue eyes didn't seem to match, along with the feathery wings and the feathers along his tail.
The bird-feline mix didn't seem as elegant. Her brown spotted fur was a wonderful sight to see, mixed with the scales and bright blue claws. Her hair was a mess and didn't seem to make it to the status of "mohawk" like a few of the others of the region that Conway had seen. Her eyes were terrifying... but that was another story entirely.
"Nothin' much. Just asking him what he was doin' in this hell hole."
The snake mix narrowed his eyes. "Sibylle, I'm sure he doesn't appreciate being bothered by you. Anyway, we have business to talk about."
"Eh. It's not like we're killin' anyone, so we can talk about it in front of him. He can't talk anyways, Leith."
This was stupid. Conway decided to tempt fate. He hadn't been in a good mood to begin with. He had wanted to curl up in a ball and die since the moment he had met Tabby to this very moment. All he wanted to do was see his sister again. He didn't want to listen to someone's drama.
"Go away you dirty whore," Conway said. Only she could hear it, of course.
The woman's ears flicked. She turned to look at the boy with narrowed eyes. "Did you just say something?"
"Siby. You're drunk. He didn't say a word."
"Yes I did. I said you should go away you dirty whore." Conway said again. The man gave a confused look when "Siby" began to growl. Conway smirked. "What? Are you just going to sit there you stupid cunt, or are you going to leave?"
Apparently that was the breaking point.
Before Conway could react the table in front of him had disappeared. He had no time to react as the woman slashed her claws across his neck. He had manage to move away just enough that only her longest claw nicked him.
The nick was deep. He slapped his hand across his throat, holding on tightly to try and stop the bleeding. He had somehow managed to get on to his feet and back up to the wall. The woman was still approaching him as the blood dripped on the floor.
So he was finally going to die?
A wicked grin crept its way onto his face as he slid down the wall. He gurgled a bit of blood, starting to cough. He watched as people tried to hold the raging woman back. Broken jaws, broken chairs, broken tables. Blood.
He laughed.
Then everything was dark.
***
Conway felt something warm on his face. It was soft, and something he hadn't felt in a long while. Fur? His eyes opened, expecting to see someone else entirely. Instead the image of a small mouse greeted him. She was much younger than him, and yet she was cradling his head with a smile on her face.
Was he dead?
He opened his mouth to speak, and found himself coughing. The girl frowned and brushed the hair out of his eyes.
Conway didn't try to move when he heard sounds that were outside of his vision. The light padding on the floor was all he could really here. "He's awake then?" said a small masculine voice. "I'll get mother. You stay here, Natsuki."
The padding faded out of the room. A door slid open and shut. Conway continued to stare at the girl looking down at him. She didn't say a word. It was strange. Most people he had met had words of wisdom or worry. They mentioned what had happened to him. She just stared at him.
At least he wasn't dead, he supposed. He might as well be. He missed his sister. He hadn't seen her in such a long time.
Tears. He could feel them welling up and dripping down his face.
Had he been hoping to meet his mother when he woke up? That was stupid. Stupid. Stupid! Why would he meet his mother? He was a sinner. A bad person. He could have never gone to the same place as his mother. Monsters weren't allowed. He needed to be punished, and this was just another way of denying something that he wanted.
He sat up, struggling by himself. The girl remained silent. And watched him. He didn't like it. What if they found out about him too. He stood up and straightened his clothing. His neck hurt like hell. The pain was mind numbing. How had he managed to make it out alive? Had this really happened?
His heart was pounding. He was in a flurry of anger and confusion. It had happened once when he was little. He had broken things when it happened. He could remember his mother scolding him for doing something so stupid.
His mother. Conway reached up to feel his neck. Why hadn't that woman killed him?
He brushed his fingers through his hair. An old panic was welling up inside of him. He needed to do something to fix this, but there was nothing here for him to do. He made an awkward sound. Something that was a cross between a whimper and a growl.
He moved towards the door.
"You shouldn't leave. You're still injured," said a quiet voice.
Conway's heart skipped a beat. That voice was almost like June's. He turned to look at the girl. What was her name? Natsuki? Had that really come from her?
The door behind her opened. An older woman appeared, another mouse from the Mid-Range. She was older and more motherly looking than the young girl with soft blue eyes. She walked over to Conway, barely the same height as he was, and didn't hesitate to invade his personal space.
"You got in a rather nasty fight." The woman said. It wasn't the same voice as before so... the girl really had spoken. "If my husband hadn't been passing by that bar you would have died. He took you too a medic back at the crossroads. Somehow you slept all the way through the trip back."
Conway tried to edge away, but the woman grabbed him by the ear. She led him to a seat next to the young girl in the room. So. He was being manhandled by a midget mouse. This day couldn't get any weirder.
Then a man walked into the room, with a small mouse besides him. This man was something that Conway had never had the pleasure of seeing before. His eyes widened as he seemed to shrink. The man was a alligator or some other monstrous lizard with sharp pointy teeth.
He gave Conway a look, but focused his attention on his wife. "Is he going to be a problem?"
She continued to look him over while he was sitting. "No, sir. He just needs a bit more rest before we send him on his way."
"Very well then. I need to practice with Ichigo. Have dinner ready by five." With that he left. The small male mouse trailing after him.
The older woman sighed. "I apologize for my husband. He's not the one for small talk. We'll send you on your way once your neck has healed. Until then it would be advised that you mind your manners around the master of this house. Natsuki will take care of you."
The woman bowed before she left.
This was a strange place. Conway furrowed his brow as he looked at the mouse sitting besides him. He hadn't seen many bipeds with clothing like hers. It was almost like a dress but... different?
She blushed a bit under his gaze. He turned away as soon as he noticed. He would have said sorry, but he wasn't going to push talking when his neck hurt so much.
"I... It's nice to meet you." She said quietly to Conway's back. "I never met anyone from outside the Mid-Range... and you're very strange."
Conway turned to look at her. She was staring down at her lap. Her hands folded on them. She really did remind him of his sister.
"Your bracelet is very peculiar."
Conway looked down at his bracelet. He had never thought anything of it. He had had it for as long as he could remember. It had always been attached to his spine—however inconvenient that was. Why did people find it strange? People didn't make much sense. Saving him and sending him off.
They were only saving a monster.
***
Everything had been going smoothly. Conway was healing nicely and was almost ready to be sent on his way.
Natsuki had been happier than ever. Her brother had even commented to Conway that he must have been a godsend. It was funny to have people praise him for doing nothing. They didn't even know his name, but Natsuki seemed to enjoy his company.
Conway found himself in the kitchen. He looked down at the knife in his hand.
He didn't deserve to live. He didn't deserve to be praised. He had hurt so many people just by existing. Worst of all he head hurt the people who had mattered. His mother. His sister. The people he truly cared about.
He placed the tip of the knife below where he had been attacked. She had missed, only barely. Of course, now that he was at point blank range, there was no way he could avoid this. He pressed the tip of the knife into his skin.
In a slicing motion he pulled the knife across his neck.
But it didn't go as planned.
He fell to his knees, blood spilling out of his neck. He heard foot steps come up next to him. A scream. Someone had pressed their hand against the wound. He protested but found that he couldn't.
Why wouldn't they just let him die?
June. He heard June's voice?
Darkness.
***
He hard a melody. It was a song he had never heard before, in a language he was completely unfamiliar with. But it still sounded soft and kind.
His eyes fluttered open to see the young mouse in a brightly colored kimono. It was her again.
"She saved your life, you know," said a male voice. Conway tried to turn his head, but he didn't get very far when Natsuki scolded him. Ichigo, her brother, came into view so Conway didn't have to move. "My sister is terribly fond of you, you know. You're the only one who she could consider a friend. Hell. She screamed for you, and Natsuki never raises her voice."
'Friend?' Conway mouthed.
"Friend," Ichigo repeated. "And friends don't say goodbye so harshly. What were you thinking?"
Conway was a little more than confused. The mouse wasn't making any sense. He couldn't be a friend to anyone. He was just something that people ended up owning. He was just a monster that didn't deserve to live. And now he was being called a friend by someone like her? It didn't make any sense. Not at all.
Tears were welling up in the corner of Conway's eyes.
And then there was a light kiss on his forehead, a whisper in his ear. "We'll never say good-bye, okay?"
Conway mouthed, 'Okay.'
It was nice to see a smile on her face.
And she would never know his name.
Chapter six is about Peaches and Xiven, and Chapter Seven is about Conway (again).
Warning: I use curse words. Nasty ones. Don't read either of these chapters if that bothers you.
.... and I would like to comment: Conway stop being emo. *eyeroll* and Xiven is an adorable little kitten.
Also, next chapter will be called "Best Laid Plans" starring the one and only Theofilus! Kudos if you get the reference.
Accidents Happen
+The Birth of a Troubled Girl
+The Birth of a Troubled Girl
Spying. Maid work. Tea making and serving. Making connections with the help of Warrick. Finding an old friend of the family who gave her "missions" that involved spying. Everything was working out well.
She had joined the courts. Of course she had spied on the entire palace long before she had the pleasure of going there. She needed to know everyone's name and business. Their secrets and their stories. Some were more difficult than others (that horse really did a wonderful job of covering his tracks) but she had managed.
And then Peaches fucked it all up.
How? By getting pregnant.
Of all things.
At the tender age of twenty-one she was pregnant. And when she gave birth things just got worse. Ten times worse.
A Queen, a Six and an ACE.
An Ace. How could something like that come out of her? She could feel the hatred welling up inside her. It was a useless creature that shouldn't exist. And somehow she had managed to give birth to a Queen as well. The six was the only one who stood a chance of being normal.
Covering up the birth of an Ace was difficult. Money, favors and secrets. If she hadn't been her life time goal she would have failed. But the only child that Pravus knew about was Xiven. A little Queen. A Torquehelm.
But Peaches didn't know what it meant to be a mother. It was a complicated process.
"Shit," Peaches said to herself as she looked down the hallways. She had lost her freaking child. And the Ace was currently sitting at her heals crying for her mistress Xiven.
And where the hell had her other one gone?
She kicked the wall. "This was a bad idea. I should have had an abortion!"
She looked down at the tailless Ace, drooping. That thing had popped out of her somehow. It didn't know that. She picked the little cat up by the scruff of the neck and scratched it lightly under the chin. "Fluffy. Quiet. I'll find her. And hopefully Eldy on the way."
Peaches walked down the hallway with the Ace in her arms. It was still shivering and crying, but at least it was well behaved. Unlike the two other kittens running around the palace. Of course the little monsters that had popped out of her had to have a sense of adventure. At least the Ace was trainable. Xiven and her sister were just...next to impossible.
"Mer!" said the Ace.
Peaches stopped walking around.
"She's here isn't she?" Peaches whispered into the Ace's ear. The Ace licked her cheek in response.
Peaches listened to the slight jingling of chains. She slowly turned her head. Around the corner was her daughter, her fluffy face was slightly visible as she was crouched close to the floor, butt wiggling in the air.
Oh yes. This game.
"RAWR!" yelled the Queen as she leaped out of her not so fantastic hiding place.
Peaches side stepped the Fluff ball.
"Merwo!" Xiven said as she tumbled forward, sliding across the floor.
Peaches rolled her eyes as she picked up the girl by the scruff of her neck and deposited her in her arms with Fluffy. "It's your bed time, Missy."
Xiven couldn't speak yet, so she wiggled in protest in her mother's arms. She ended up tapping the ace on the face and biting at Peaches's earring. The woman rolled her eyes and was half tempted to drop the pair of them.
Where was the third? How hard was it to find a kid with a ball and chain?
"Heeeeeeere kitty kitty," She called as she stalked down the hallways with a children in arms.
Freaking hell. Motherhood sucked.
***
Waking up next to a girl with her mouth sewn shut was the start of her troubles. They just got worse as she was older.
But this one topped the cake. She was staring at her brother, who had a rather lovely smirk on his face.
"Did that really happen?" She asked as she looked at the boy with narrow eyes.
"Oh yeah."
"You know this borders on incest."
He shrugged. "It's not like I popped your cherry."
Her ears drooped. "You are such an asshole sometimes."
"I know, but you get a kick out of it and you know it." He said with a purr as he licked her nose. It was something he did when he knew what he had done wrong. Genius that he was he could be annoying and as dumb as a brick.
"If I had front paws I would swipe you one," Peaches growled as the hair on her tail fluffed up.
He brushed it off. He knew his twin. She may have talked big, but nine times out of ten she didn't mean a word of what she was saying. To him at the very least. He gave her another lick and nuzzled her. "It was just a kiss."
"Kiss? Dear Suits. Your whole face was practically in my mouth. Not to mention the position we were in." She said, her tail swishing in frustration.
"Better me than some random stranger, you know."
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say. But watch it next time you turn your back to me Basil. I might push you in front of a carriage."
"I'd like to see that. I'm sure you'd be pretty upset over the blood spatter on your pristine white jacket." He said with a wave of his paw, his manacles jingling as he spoke with his paws. "I could just here you complaining about it now to Loreta."
She stuck her tongue out in response. She rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. She was tired and didn't feel like thinking about what her brother had done to violate her personal boundaries. That's what she got for letting him near the boozes. "I heard that Cream is coming to visit."
"Really now? I wonder if he has any secret missions for you," He said with a snicker as he flopped down besides her. He nudged up besides her, feeding off her warmth. She did the very same many occasions before.
"The last one was pretty weird." She said quietly as she stared at the ceiling. "I don't know what those people were really talking about, but he seemed to be pretty interested in the information I brought back. I'm glad Mom and Dad don't know about it."
"If they knew they would take away your money." Basil said, a note of bitterness in his voice. "If they knew that I play the flute for spare change, they would take my money too. That's why I can't wait until we can go to the courts."
"I suppose we could be pretty useful at the Court of Hearts. Someone who is a spy and someone who entertains. Together we could be unstoppable. You could entertain them while I rob them blind." Peaches said with a snort.
"If only you had hands, dear sister!"
"If only!"
They burst into a fit of giggles.
"But sis," Basil said once they had fallen quiet. "Don't leave without me. I don't want you to grow up and have a family, leaving me behind."
Peaches opened her eyes to look at her brother. The look on his face was troubled. It was like he knew something that she didn't and it was slowly killing him. Did it have to do with their troubles in the Wood? She shoved that back into the corner of her mind. Her paws still ached from it. She looked into his troubled eyes that mirrored hers. "I'd never leave you behind. Not even if you died."
Liar.
***
Xiven bounced on her mother's bed. She had met a really cool person with pretty yellow eyes today, and she wanted to tell her Mommy all about it. But she wasn't there. Something had happened that morning and she had wandered off to do something.
The girl got tired of bouncing and quickly rolled onto her back. She watched Fluffy who was sleeping in her cast basket. This was boring. Maybe she should look through her Mommy's things?
Hopping off the bed and stumbling on her bindings (stupid things!) she made it over to one of the locked chests.
She grinned as she put out a claw and fiddled with the lock for a few moments. With a happy pop it opened and she had access to the contents. If her mother had really wanted to protect the stuff she would have hid it like she did with all that weird tea stuff she had.
The chest was flipped open to reveal a series of stuffed things that looked like people.
Her ears perked as she picked up one of the things in her mouth. She set it on the non carpeted part of the floor to inspect it closely.
It looked a lot like Queen Serafino. It even had a little crown and stuff. Her ear twitched as she looked back into the chest. That one looked like Papa Pravus, that one looked like Mommy, that one looked like Mister Bernard. There was just about everyone in the palace in the big chest. She could even recognize some of the servants. They were all hand puppets too.
Mom had weird hobbies.
"What's this?" Xiven said as she noticed a mark in the lining of the chest. She pawed at it for a couple of minutes before pulling away the fabric.
She tilted her head to one side. There was a picture of a human. At first she thought it was Mom, but it was definately someone else. Someone who was male and didn't wear a straight jacket but had hair like Mom's.
It was weird. Why would she keep that behind the fabric of a chest. Then again it was her mother. She did all sorts of weird things.
But who was the man in the picture? The girl's ears drooped as she stared at the picture. It really did look like Mom, but if she had any relatives she was pretty sure that Mommy would have at least said something. She squinted at the image. It wasn't a photograph, it was definitely drawn, which did explain the bright colors. But it looked so terribly real.
Her thoughts were interrupted when her mother walked through the door.
"Hi mom!" Xiven said with a squeak as she scrambled to slam the chest shut.
Her mothers food made contact with the edge of the chest, preventing the lid from slamming shut. She raised an eyebrow as she flipped it back open. She noticed that the lining was missing....
"Xiven." Peaches said, her voice was almost a dangerous growl."What did you do?"
"Nothing," she said with a small whimper. Her tail tucked between her legs and her ears pinned against her skull. Angry Mommy was terrifying.
"How many times do I have to tell you NOT to go through my things without my permission. Not to mention that you ruined the lining, and... you better not have touched that picture." She hissed.
"I didn't. I swear."
She glared at the girl before readjusting the lining and shutting the trunk. She sat on it and pointed to the bed. "You sit over there."
Xiven did what her mother said. She struggled for a moment to hop on the bed, but managed somehow. She turned around to look at her mother, a rather embarrassed look on her face.
"So I imagine you're wondering about that picture."
Xiven nodded sheepishly.
"That's my brother."
Xiven blinked. "I have an uncle?"
"Had."
"Oh...."
"Don't say sorry either." Peaches said as she crossed her legs to look at the girl. "Let me explain to you. My brother, Basil, was a very bright boy. When it came down to it, however, he went into the Wood and pissed off the wrong person. He murder my brother in cold blood and threatened my life. If I ever see him again I hope to kill him, but I highly doubt I could ever be strong enough physically or mentally to over come that hurdle." She sighed and shook her head before getting up. She sat down next to her daughter and kissed her on the forehead. Xiven wasn't fond of her mother licking her, so Peaches had actually caved and got into the habit of kissing.
Xiven looked up at her mother, a worried expression painted on her young face. "But Mom... I think you'd be strong enough to defeat him."
"Sweetie. Half the palace could snap my neck. I don't think someone as terrifying as the man in my pass could be easily defeated." She picked up the girl and put her on her lap.
She didn't protest, she just continued to look up at her mother. "So one day, if I get stronger can you tell me the whole story so I can defeat him."
Peaches patted her daughter on the head. "I wouldn't want you to get hurt. But one day, if you really want, I can tell you the story. Just promise me you won't tell another living person about my brother."
"Okay Mommy, I promise!" Xiven said as she rolled onto her back to stare at her mother properly. "Can I tell you a story while you comb my fur?"
Peaches smiled. "Sounds like a plan."
She really hoped that Xiven would forget about this conversation. It would only bring trouble in the future if she remembered.
Trouble Maker
+A boy becomes less than a man
He was in a bar. This wasn't entirely new for him since he had left the "protection" of Tabby's family. He had suffered quite a bit with his departure. Somehow he had manged to make it down alive. Some random stranger had been kind enough to reset all of his broken bones and nurse him back to health. Then he was kicked out on his ass. Still he found himself in the Range.
So he had to make a living by stealing. It wasn't that difficult when you could change your general appearance, but it wasn't his ideal. People thought he was odd, so they stayed away. Today he had manged to make his way to a small village pass. Plenty of strangers roamed the streets. With the bit of money he had made today by picking pockets, he wandered into the bar.
A drink would have been wonderful.
The boy sat down at a table by himself. He watched the people pass by. There was a legal drinking age here, but in this part of town people didn't care as much, but he didn't want to make his move in front of the wrong people.
His thoughts were interrupted by a woman. A heavily built woman who was a cross between a feline of some sort and a bird. She had walked over to his table, pulled out a chair and sat down without a word. She set her ale down and gave the boy a smirk. "What's a littl' kid like ya doing here?"
Conway raised an eyebrow. If he spoke in a room full of people he might be screwed over completely. Instead he made a motion to his throat and made a few hand signs. He figured she wouldn't understand. Not many people knew sign language.
"Oi, so ya can't talk. Pity. Ya're a cute one." She said as she took another sip of her drink. It was strange watching some a burly woman take delicate and flowery sips.
"What are you doing to that poor boy?" said a voice. It had a certain uppity quality to it. Conway searched for the source and saw a Jack of Spades. He was a strange combination of a bird and a snake. He had a smooth scaly body of purple with words of pink and blue. His cold blue eyes didn't seem to match, along with the feathery wings and the feathers along his tail.
The bird-feline mix didn't seem as elegant. Her brown spotted fur was a wonderful sight to see, mixed with the scales and bright blue claws. Her hair was a mess and didn't seem to make it to the status of "mohawk" like a few of the others of the region that Conway had seen. Her eyes were terrifying... but that was another story entirely.
"Nothin' much. Just asking him what he was doin' in this hell hole."
The snake mix narrowed his eyes. "Sibylle, I'm sure he doesn't appreciate being bothered by you. Anyway, we have business to talk about."
"Eh. It's not like we're killin' anyone, so we can talk about it in front of him. He can't talk anyways, Leith."
This was stupid. Conway decided to tempt fate. He hadn't been in a good mood to begin with. He had wanted to curl up in a ball and die since the moment he had met Tabby to this very moment. All he wanted to do was see his sister again. He didn't want to listen to someone's drama.
"Go away you dirty whore," Conway said. Only she could hear it, of course.
The woman's ears flicked. She turned to look at the boy with narrowed eyes. "Did you just say something?"
"Siby. You're drunk. He didn't say a word."
"Yes I did. I said you should go away you dirty whore." Conway said again. The man gave a confused look when "Siby" began to growl. Conway smirked. "What? Are you just going to sit there you stupid cunt, or are you going to leave?"
Apparently that was the breaking point.
Before Conway could react the table in front of him had disappeared. He had no time to react as the woman slashed her claws across his neck. He had manage to move away just enough that only her longest claw nicked him.
The nick was deep. He slapped his hand across his throat, holding on tightly to try and stop the bleeding. He had somehow managed to get on to his feet and back up to the wall. The woman was still approaching him as the blood dripped on the floor.
So he was finally going to die?
A wicked grin crept its way onto his face as he slid down the wall. He gurgled a bit of blood, starting to cough. He watched as people tried to hold the raging woman back. Broken jaws, broken chairs, broken tables. Blood.
He laughed.
Then everything was dark.
***
Conway felt something warm on his face. It was soft, and something he hadn't felt in a long while. Fur? His eyes opened, expecting to see someone else entirely. Instead the image of a small mouse greeted him. She was much younger than him, and yet she was cradling his head with a smile on her face.
Was he dead?
He opened his mouth to speak, and found himself coughing. The girl frowned and brushed the hair out of his eyes.
Conway didn't try to move when he heard sounds that were outside of his vision. The light padding on the floor was all he could really here. "He's awake then?" said a small masculine voice. "I'll get mother. You stay here, Natsuki."
The padding faded out of the room. A door slid open and shut. Conway continued to stare at the girl looking down at him. She didn't say a word. It was strange. Most people he had met had words of wisdom or worry. They mentioned what had happened to him. She just stared at him.
At least he wasn't dead, he supposed. He might as well be. He missed his sister. He hadn't seen her in such a long time.
Tears. He could feel them welling up and dripping down his face.
Had he been hoping to meet his mother when he woke up? That was stupid. Stupid. Stupid! Why would he meet his mother? He was a sinner. A bad person. He could have never gone to the same place as his mother. Monsters weren't allowed. He needed to be punished, and this was just another way of denying something that he wanted.
He sat up, struggling by himself. The girl remained silent. And watched him. He didn't like it. What if they found out about him too. He stood up and straightened his clothing. His neck hurt like hell. The pain was mind numbing. How had he managed to make it out alive? Had this really happened?
His heart was pounding. He was in a flurry of anger and confusion. It had happened once when he was little. He had broken things when it happened. He could remember his mother scolding him for doing something so stupid.
His mother. Conway reached up to feel his neck. Why hadn't that woman killed him?
He brushed his fingers through his hair. An old panic was welling up inside of him. He needed to do something to fix this, but there was nothing here for him to do. He made an awkward sound. Something that was a cross between a whimper and a growl.
He moved towards the door.
"You shouldn't leave. You're still injured," said a quiet voice.
Conway's heart skipped a beat. That voice was almost like June's. He turned to look at the girl. What was her name? Natsuki? Had that really come from her?
The door behind her opened. An older woman appeared, another mouse from the Mid-Range. She was older and more motherly looking than the young girl with soft blue eyes. She walked over to Conway, barely the same height as he was, and didn't hesitate to invade his personal space.
"You got in a rather nasty fight." The woman said. It wasn't the same voice as before so... the girl really had spoken. "If my husband hadn't been passing by that bar you would have died. He took you too a medic back at the crossroads. Somehow you slept all the way through the trip back."
Conway tried to edge away, but the woman grabbed him by the ear. She led him to a seat next to the young girl in the room. So. He was being manhandled by a midget mouse. This day couldn't get any weirder.
Then a man walked into the room, with a small mouse besides him. This man was something that Conway had never had the pleasure of seeing before. His eyes widened as he seemed to shrink. The man was a alligator or some other monstrous lizard with sharp pointy teeth.
He gave Conway a look, but focused his attention on his wife. "Is he going to be a problem?"
She continued to look him over while he was sitting. "No, sir. He just needs a bit more rest before we send him on his way."
"Very well then. I need to practice with Ichigo. Have dinner ready by five." With that he left. The small male mouse trailing after him.
The older woman sighed. "I apologize for my husband. He's not the one for small talk. We'll send you on your way once your neck has healed. Until then it would be advised that you mind your manners around the master of this house. Natsuki will take care of you."
The woman bowed before she left.
This was a strange place. Conway furrowed his brow as he looked at the mouse sitting besides him. He hadn't seen many bipeds with clothing like hers. It was almost like a dress but... different?
She blushed a bit under his gaze. He turned away as soon as he noticed. He would have said sorry, but he wasn't going to push talking when his neck hurt so much.
"I... It's nice to meet you." She said quietly to Conway's back. "I never met anyone from outside the Mid-Range... and you're very strange."
Conway turned to look at her. She was staring down at her lap. Her hands folded on them. She really did remind him of his sister.
"Your bracelet is very peculiar."
Conway looked down at his bracelet. He had never thought anything of it. He had had it for as long as he could remember. It had always been attached to his spine—however inconvenient that was. Why did people find it strange? People didn't make much sense. Saving him and sending him off.
They were only saving a monster.
***
Everything had been going smoothly. Conway was healing nicely and was almost ready to be sent on his way.
Natsuki had been happier than ever. Her brother had even commented to Conway that he must have been a godsend. It was funny to have people praise him for doing nothing. They didn't even know his name, but Natsuki seemed to enjoy his company.
Conway found himself in the kitchen. He looked down at the knife in his hand.
He didn't deserve to live. He didn't deserve to be praised. He had hurt so many people just by existing. Worst of all he head hurt the people who had mattered. His mother. His sister. The people he truly cared about.
He placed the tip of the knife below where he had been attacked. She had missed, only barely. Of course, now that he was at point blank range, there was no way he could avoid this. He pressed the tip of the knife into his skin.
In a slicing motion he pulled the knife across his neck.
But it didn't go as planned.
He fell to his knees, blood spilling out of his neck. He heard foot steps come up next to him. A scream. Someone had pressed their hand against the wound. He protested but found that he couldn't.
Why wouldn't they just let him die?
June. He heard June's voice?
Darkness.
***
He hard a melody. It was a song he had never heard before, in a language he was completely unfamiliar with. But it still sounded soft and kind.
His eyes fluttered open to see the young mouse in a brightly colored kimono. It was her again.
"She saved your life, you know," said a male voice. Conway tried to turn his head, but he didn't get very far when Natsuki scolded him. Ichigo, her brother, came into view so Conway didn't have to move. "My sister is terribly fond of you, you know. You're the only one who she could consider a friend. Hell. She screamed for you, and Natsuki never raises her voice."
'Friend?' Conway mouthed.
"Friend," Ichigo repeated. "And friends don't say goodbye so harshly. What were you thinking?"
Conway was a little more than confused. The mouse wasn't making any sense. He couldn't be a friend to anyone. He was just something that people ended up owning. He was just a monster that didn't deserve to live. And now he was being called a friend by someone like her? It didn't make any sense. Not at all.
Tears were welling up in the corner of Conway's eyes.
And then there was a light kiss on his forehead, a whisper in his ear. "We'll never say good-bye, okay?"
Conway mouthed, 'Okay.'
It was nice to see a smile on her face.
And she would never know his name.
