Theme Song: Where Eagles Have Been by Wolfmother
Nothing’s quite what it seems in the City of Dreams
You say it’s not the real world
It seems so real to me
And I know that we’re never turning back
Can you see what I see, girl?
Day 7 – Fourth Dream: The Tragedy of a Tormentor’s Sired One
Tears still pooled in my eyes as the last dream faded into the back void of darkness. I held back sniffling, breathing in deeply, then sighing out slowly as I tried to regain my composure. My heart trembled in my chest as I became anxious of the next dream that I was sure soon to come. There was some hope I would not to have to revisit my fourth Felix, since I spent much time in my previous life trying to purge her from my memory. Not that all was bad with her, but…
Just then, I felt it come to me again – that state of dreaming. I felt myself being teleported once more.
"Oh shit, what now?"
I blinked my eyes and found that my fourth Felix was nowhere to be found. Instead, I saw a figure of a female placed upright in a chair at the end of a table. Rope was tied around her waist up to her shoulders. Gauze was tied to her ankles, around the feet of the chair that held her captive.
Is that? No…, it can’t be, can it?
In my hand was a bottle of smelling salt that I put below the girl’s nose for her to get a whiff of. It caused her to regain consciousness. She stirred, slowly at first, looking pained, then more so came to. Her eyes flicked open like searchlights, scanning the room. She paused on the hairs, the dim light, and the dirty walls, but then fixated on my ears and looked down at my tail. She shook her head quickly and started struggling to try and free herself.
A grin came to my face behind my mask. "Can you tell who I am, soldier?"
The girl, dressed in the United Aerospace Corporation’s private standard military outfit, shook her head from side to side. She looked frightened. Her eyes widened with fear. It appeared she didn’t notice anything else but my ears and tail that were showing at that moment, and remained fixated on me.
My eyes glimmered gladly at her recognition of my feline traits. "Good, for now…" I came up close to her and pushed the chair she was sitting in. It fell backwards with a cracking sound as it hit the hard pavement of the sewer. Her helmet hit the floor with a bang, then fell off, wobbling away and out of reach. Her earpiece fell out as well, and her head whipped back. She gasped in sudden pain and looked at me disoriented.
I sensed her confusion. "What, soldier, you don’t understand why you’re here, hmm?"
She shook her head slowly from side to side, twice, and stared up at me from her position on the floor.
Leaning down, I crouched in front of her. "It’s because you’ve been messing with my family, that’s why." I gave a glare at her, with a soft, yet angry growl.
The military girl began to realize what family of cats I meant. She furiously tried to pull free again from the ropes, but they wouldn’t give.
I laughed, almost insanely, at her vain struggles, then hissed at her. "Yesss, soldier," I then growled through my words in a gravel tone, "If you’re guessing the Catwalkers, then you are very right indeed."
The girl quivered in fright within her bondage. It caused her chair to shake on the floor. Her eyes were wide-opened, and her breathing picked up. She shook her head in desperation, trying to negate what all happened.
Watching her efforts to break free from the rope and process what was happening, I asked, "What’s wrong soldier, you showing your fear?"
She shook her head no, but paused. Though looking away and not responding, she still trembled.
Leaning down, I approached her in a feral crawl. My masked face was close enough to hers that she could feel the warm growling breath breathe out my mask, "Good." I brought my left hand to her chin, forcing her to look me straight in my eyes. "A soldier is trained to show no fear, is that not so?"
Her breathing picked up pace, faster and faster. She started bucking against the restraints, desperate to get away from me. I purred in her face as she shook and squirmed.
Sighing, I brushed my unsheathed claws over her cheek. "You don’t seem to be a very solid soldier. You show your fear too easily. Are you really all that certain a soldier is what you’re supposed to be?"
The soldier girl forced herself to calm down. Looking directly at her captor, she nodded. Although, her face looked uncertain.
My eyes pierced through hers, sensing her uncertainty. "Your body gestures say ‘yes,’ but your eyes…, they are saying something else." I flashed a fierce look into her eyes. "Are you sure you want to be a soldier? Answer me!" I barked out, though in a feline growl, as if a Leutenant or General.
She nodded hurriedly. Yet her captor’s message sank in. Her eyes had a dead, haunted look of failure.
I saw through her eyes again, shaking my head slowly. Pulling her up by her sides firmly and not too gentle, I placed and her and her chair in an upright position. Then I looked her in the eyes again with a sigh, which came out in a slight hiss. "Don’t you know that cats can sense fears and other emotions?" I said this as matter of fact to her, even if the truth of it might not be known for certain.
She shrugged, then gestured with her chin toward her vest’s top chest pocket. Being unable to open it with her teeth, she signaled for me to open it.
Opening the pouch, I looked over what was inside. "Identification pieces hmm?" I couldn’t bear to say ‘dog tags’ myself. "Are these relics of yours, of your family history?"
The soldier girl nodded for me to read them. And so I did:
Kichiro Ashbourne. Captain. It was dated from the 3rd Global War.
Daisuke Ashbourne, USMC, Colonel. It pre-dated WWIII
Kyle Ashbourne, USMC, Major. It pre-dated WWIII and Daisuke
"Ah, a family of soldiers." I tried to look disinterested, "A fairly long line for a human I suppose." I then sighed as a sudden sorrowful reminiscent caught me. "I don’t have hardly anything but memories of my family, from so long ago, nearly predating World War II."
The captive sighed as well in slight relief. She came to a realization that her captor didn’t seem too intent on goring her, for the moment at least. She sulked glumly as she passively looked at the dog tags her abductor held in his hands.
Sitting down, I mrred and took off my mask. "No more shadows for now, soldier. But I ask you this: How old do you think I am?"
After a few moments of being paused in thought, she tapped her left foot 3 times, then her right foot once after a few seconds’ pause.
My ears perked at the sounding of her taps. "Do you guess 31 years of age?"
She gave an affirmative glance and gesture.
"Good enough guess." I chuffed in slight humor. "I’m almost flattered you’d think me so young. Though I say I am 28 in human years, my actual age is much older than even your generational line in these tags here." I showed her them, and then placed them back in her pocket.
The girl cocked her head, listening with a curious intrigue.
I laughed at her look.
"You see, I am nearly 196 years of age in your human years. I have seen those wars or your fathers, and grandfathers, maybe even your great grandfathers. Not that I care. You live long enough, you see plenty and live through plenty." I sighed, "But even still, you never forget your childhood. And sadly, the tragedies are often remembered more vividly than the good times."
Her eyes locked on me. In addition to her fearfulness, there was an undercurrent of surprise and sympathy.
I continued to sense her fear and, strangely, felt those other emotions that I had not quite expected her to have. "You can relax soldier." I chuckled, "I am not a vampire. I just have a natural long life – or the full nine lives, of nearly a millennium that I can live."
Reaching down, the soldier girl tried to pull her sharpie out of her vest with her teeth.
I looked towards her. "You want to write something, soldier?"
She half-nodded. Pinning the pen in her teeth, she wrote on the table. "Aew?"
I quirked at the strange writing, then worded out what she was trying to spell. "How what?" I looked at the girl with caution. My eyes firmly gazed upon her to hold her attention to my words. "If I loosen the upper ropes to let loose your hands to write, can I trust you to not do anything stupid?"
She thinks, then wiggled her right leg, which still had her pistol.
I nodded, and got up to take her pistol out and frisked her for any other potential weapons. Looking over the collection on the table, there was found two grenades, the pistol, a couple spare clips, a combat knife, and a set of handcuffs.
"Well armed," I grinned with a bit of a smirk, "and seems you have a few tricks up your sleeve soldier."
Once the rope was loosened enough around her chest, she slipped one arm free within several minutes of work. Tightening the ropes so they were once again snug around her chest, I moved the arsenal of her private stash further down the table out of her reach. Giving her back her pen with a pad to write on I said, "Ok, now write what you have to say."
She jotted on the edge of the legal pad. "How are you that old?"
To answer, I began to tell some of my life’s story:
"I am not a cat. That is, I’m not like the breed you see in this city. Not like the most common one of this new generation, that is. I was born almost 30 years before the experiments began that developed this breed you see today. You see, I was born of a ‘pure’ breed. It went by many names, such as werecats, or leopard men. But we called ourselves Feles by our traditional native tongue."
I continued on to tell of the early development of the Feles – their ancient history, and finally, my own tragic story about my personal life. How my village was destroyed, and how I saw the death of my parents at the hands of humans. After finishing the telling the story, I tied her arm back up and sedated her with enough tranquilizer to keep her out until I returned the next day.
On the next day, I walked into the room with my mask still on. My figure at first entry was that of a shadow with glowing golden eyes.
The girl was waking up when I came in. Sudden movement brought her quickly to a nervous focus. Her eyes jumped around the room, trying to figure out if anything had changed since last night. But no, nothing yet. She sighed, relieved, and slumped against the rope that held her tight within her chair. It forced her to control her breathing in an attempt to stave off any visible signs of nervousness. She let out a rasping cough and looked up at the sound of the door opening. After twice trembling, she settled down.
I walked up closer, the mask still on. My familiar voice proceeded from the darkness. "Did you sleep well soldier?"
She shrugged noncommittally, then coughed dryly again.
I took off my mask, smirked. "Yeah, I didn’t figure on the mildew and all. But my family for some reason keeps releasing you without trying to figure out why you keep coming back." I shook my head and sighed about such foolishness. Bringing out a bottle with pills in it, I put a couple of them before her lips. "Here swallow these."
She nibbled them out of my palm like a horse eating an apple.
I smiled. "Good. It seems you trust me more then." I then shrugged with a chuckle. "Either way, it’s nothing poisonous. Just something to help with the allergens down here."
Finishing the pills, the soldier girl looked up at me. She pointed at the legal pad and sharpie with her chin. I nodded, and loosened the ropes so she could free her writing hand. "So you have something to say, or ‘write’ that is?"
She nodded back to me gratefully, then reached over to the pad and wrote two words:
WATER PLEASE
I agreed to the request and got out my flask that I brought with me while patrolling the rooftops. "You’re in luck. I refilled this with water recently, and not," I coughed to clear my throat, "my usual drink to pass the night." The flask, though, still had a hint of alcohol as it was brought down to her lips to drink.
Drinking from the flask, she emptied the whole thing in moments. Finished refreshing herself, she put it back on the table and picked up the pen again.
So…. She paused, the pen tip hovering above the paper, then completed the thought of her main concern, am I going to be killed?
I read what she wrote, then shook my head with. "I’ll admit, soldier, I wanted to kill you the very first time you came up to the Den."
The girl looked down unhappily.
Oh. She paused. Could I write some letters before I die, then?
I shook my head again. "You didn’t hear me correctly, soldier. I said I wanted to kill you, not that I still do."
She perked up and up looked at me. Her brow furrowed.
"You look at me confused. " I grinned. "Who’s the human soldier that’s afraid of cats and yet still manages to keep coming up to the Den?"
The girl shook her head at her own illogical behavior and picked up the pen.
1st time: wasn’t scared of cats.
2nd time: wasn’t scared of cats.
3rd time: wasn’t lucid.
4th time: … no offense, but Sgt. McCallen scares me more than all of you.
"Is that so soldier?" I laughed, then murred, "But here’s the problem. I can’t take you back to the Den as you are. ‘Cause I’m sure my family is fed up with you. And, I’m assuming you don’t want to go back to military base and be a soldier?"
She nodded understandingly at the first one, then shrugged after the second one. Then she jotted down:
I don’t even know anymore…
"Well, I don’t want to kill you…, " I murred some more with a smirk, "And I don’t really see sending you back to the military base yet again as an option." I turned around and pondered a bit by the wall, then grinned. "I think I know what to do with you now." Looking back at her, I gave a wider grin.
The soldier girl looked nervously at me. That she was uncertain what my grin meant would have been an understatement. She grabbed the legal pad, drew a giant question mark that filled the whole page, then clutched it to her chest like a shield.
I continued to grin and looked at her as I spoke. "You came up to the Den the first night speaking of a certain distaste for cats. I hadn’t told you until last night about what humans had done to my village and family – killing my mother and father viciously as mere four legged animals for trophy and experimentation…."
Her breath she drew sharply. She shook her head from side to side as if doing so could change what she was hearing. Her eyes scanned the table, trying to see where her pistol was.
I shook my head as I took off the gloves I used for combat. "I already stored your weapons out of reach soldier. You wouldn’t think a ninja would be so dumb to leave such things lying around, now would you?" I took out a vial and a syringe.
The girl tried unsuccessfully to pull free of the chair, then raised her single fist for a last stand. Of course, tied to a chair, and against an enemy with superior strength, speed, and training, it didn’t make for such a great finale for her.
After taking the fluid in the vial and injecting it into the syringe, I placed the empty glass on the table and again came close to her. Smiling at her, I replied "It will be easier, and safer for you to let me tie your arms back up, but, " keeping my own hands in a defensive position, I added, "If you would rather make it harder, I’ll be ready."
She looked up at me sadly, then grabbed the sharpie.
Will it hurt? and, Is it only vengeance?
I shrugged, "The needle may sting, but I don’t know what your reaction will be."
She looked at me scared. Poison?
I grasped her arm, quickly, before she could put up a fight. Pushing her arm back down to her side, I tied the rope around her again. I laughed, "Not poison. Not to me, anyways. But your scientists likely would call it a virus or parasite. Though it is neither." I injected the fluid into her neck. It was mixed with my DNA, and a sedative to keep whoever was injected with it asleep through the first stage of the changes.
The girl looked up at me with pleading eyes, then the needle briefly, then back to me. Her actions began slowing down due to the sedative.
Taking the syringe out, I responded with a chuckle. "Sleep tight soldier. You’ll be in for a surprise when you wake up."
She tugged against the restraints, and tried to escape. However, she soon slumped forward unconscious.
Later, when she regained consciousness – evidenced by a change in her breathing, but was yet to open her eyes. I walked back in. My flask was refilled, as well as her own bottle I found on her earlier. I also brought sushi and fresh tuna from the sushi bar, putting it on the table in front of her. I grinned, noticing her breathing and said, "Good, it didn’t kill you soldier."
She looked up at me miserably. Not being certain what the injection did to her, she tried to figure out what had changed since the previous night.
Noticing her stare, I pouted. "Aww, is that any way to look at the cat that brought you some food?" I placed the sushi in front of her, as well as a slab of the tuna and watched to see what her first reactions might be.
It seemed at first that maybe the girl didn’t like tuna, since she looked at it somewhat apprehensively. After giving it a sniff, and with surprising speed, she lunged forward in her chair to snatch up a piece of sushi with her teeth, gulping it down.
I chuckled at her reaction. "Interesting." I tried to perceive if feline fangs had grown in and shrugged. "Oh well, if they haven’t formed now, they likely will sooner or later." Smiling, I looked at the girl. "A good meal, eh soldier?"
Lunging again, she gulped down another piece of sushi, then stopped, choking on it. She looked up at me in horror and shook her head rapidly. It appeared she thought I could undo what had already been started.
I shook my head back, "Nah uh, soldier. You know what they say, ‘What doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger!’" I laughed, and then realized the ropes may not be strong enough to hold her. I murred before finding some chain links in the corner, and some spare cuffs – presumably from some human ‘party’ down here some time ago likely – , and then fastened the chains around her and cuffed her legs together. "This is only for safety measure ki…, uhm, I mean soldier," I coughed, then chuckled at almost calling her a kitten. In a second thought of precaution, I saw her handcuffs, yanked them from her belt and fastened them on her wrists. "Oh those come in handy, now, don’t they soldier?"
The soldier girl turned in the chair so that she was looking at her captor over the back of her chair. Tears were sliding down her face again, and she appeared utterly destroyed. I slowly brought my face to hers, brushing her cheek lightly with my whiskers and grinned as I saw little wiry buds beginning to show. "Ah yes, you’ll have a set of whiskers like mine soon as well soldier." I then purred my warm breath on her before pulling my face back.
She turned around dejectedly, and looked at the remains of the tuna in front of her. I murred with a frown. "Awws, is that any way to be, especially toward your sire?" I then purred in her human ear and said in a whisper, "Those will soon shrivel up, to be replaced with cute pointy ones on your head."
The girl leaned her head against my side, still crying, unable to help it. I crouched down. Fatherly like instincts kicked in as I hugged her. My chest purred soothingly. "Now, now. I told you I wasn’t going to kill you…"
She rested her head on my shoulder. I felt her chest stop heaving as strongly as she calmed down, pressed against me as tightly as she can be.
I continued my soft purring, smiling. "See? It isn’t so bad being a cat, hmmm?"
Shrugging, she then opened her mouth to say something. It came out sounding like a combination of a meow and a purring.
I chuckled a bit. "Hmmm… Heh, sounds like you might be feral for a bit." I shrugged. "No bother, your human mute stage was not much different…, besides the mewing and purring your doing now."
The girl purred something, as if trying to communicate. I purred back, instinctively. She purred again, desolately – evoking visions of loneliness, calming down a little.
Grooming her hair, I felt tiny bumps, likely where the cat ears were growing in. I sighed, through my comforting purrs, "Don’t worry, even if the Pride rejects you, you will always be a part of my personal family, my sired Feles." I grinned with a mew.
She seemed to calm down, and the crying stopped spreading tears all over my shoulder. She lifted her head up and looked at me with a grin, then purred gratefully.
I smiled, giving a light nip to her nose, "See? Being a cat isn’t so bad…"
She grinned and shrugged, then purred.
Holding her head to my chest, I looked at her like a father seeing his newborn child. I continued to purr, watching her intently, then sighed, with a murr. " I can’t unchain you yet though…" I pouted, tugging on some of the chains.
She nodded understandingly, then murred at the remains of the tuna and licked her lips contentedly.
I smiled and then took a piece of sushi, bringing it down towards her lips. She grabbed it happily between her teeth and munched it down. I mewed happily, "That’s right my sired one, eat up. You’ll need all the energy you can get for your changes."
And so was born my Sired Feles. Satomi Ashbourne, as I mentioned in the pondering of the previous dream. It was probably one of my most favorite experiences roleplaying in AW. Just as interesting was a reaction of an old friend of mine at hearing the news of my making a sire as noted in the transcript of the general chat log, as I remember it from that night:
[19:28] You: ((hey Dui xD))
[19:28] : Satomi Ashbourne OOC : Hi Dui! (I don’t think you’ll have any more problems with me any more 🙂
[19:29] Dui Zhang: ((oh, there you are))
[19:29] Dui Zhang: ((is Ioh about to kill you, or has he charmed you into submission?))
[19:29] : Satomi Ashbourne OOC : I’M GROWING EARS!! AND WHISKERS!!
[19:30] You: ((well… I sired her, sorta, grafted her with my DNA <.<))
[19:31] Dui Zhang: ((*headsmacks* This ought to be interesting))
[19:32] You: (hehe, haven’t told Tobers yet either xD))
[19:32] : Satomi Ashbourne OOC : it’s amusing, how many connotations "interesting" has in the English language 😛
[19:32] Dui Zhang: ((going to lie down now… head is spinning))
[19:32] You: ((hehe))
That roleplay came to change many things, and would bring about my promotion in the Pride to Tormentor. It also brought about some copy-cat RP scenarios that tried to do similar things as I had done that night with Satomi. That was one drawback, as I would have rather hoped people would consider being more creative. But hey, I can at least say I caused a trend in that city, for what it’s worth. Not that I cared about setting any. I just wanted to tell the story, and have amazing RP with friends that I could trust. At least thought I could then anyways….
Oh fine, I’ll admit it, I wanted to build a family too. And I almost had it then with Aspira and Satomi. Although, it wasn’t going to be an easy road, as shown in the aftermath. For you see, capturing a girl serving in the military doesn’t go without an eventual rescue by the military. It seemed strange, then, being that after her being made a cat, it essentially made Satomi a fugitive. If nothing, the military compound’s scientists could have decided to try and change her back to human, and all my efforts would have been lost. But, instead, Satomi was released, and soon I had to pick her up and find a place for her. As will be noted, the Pride was not going to be able to help, for obvious reasons. But still, I sired Satomi, and she became someone for me to protect, then, both from the military and my own family in the city.
So here I was on a rooftop, waiting to hear back from Aspira. Someone walked onto the roof and tapped my shoulder as I waited. I turned around, then looked up, somewhat distracted in thought, "Oh hey Shadey."
Aspira then landed on the roof softly still speaking into her cellphone. "Ok under the pier?"
Seeing Aspira, I sighed, and said to her, "Yeah, that was the initial plan."
Shadey waved to Aspira and said to me "Can you do me a favor?"
Aspira tilted her head. "So under the pier Ioh?"
I blinked, "What do you mean? It’s too late…" I then sighed, still feeling I failed Satomi and that she was still in the hands of the military.
Shadey tilted her head to the side curiously.
Aspira sighed and shook her head. "She wants to meet us, and told me to ask you…" She held her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone.
I murred, realizing Shadey’s not in the know. I then blinked again, "Who?" Then paused, "You mean…" I looked at Aspira with hopeful eyes.
Shadey sighed shaking her head. "Well do me a favor and tell Tober or Linds I need to talk to them. I have places I need to go, but they know how to get in touch with me."
Aspira nodded her head. "Yes. The pier or else where? I have to give an answer."
I nodded, "If I see them, I’ll tell them Shades." I looked to Aspira, "But how… where is she?"
Aspira looked to Shadey. "We will make sure Ioh doesn’t forget to let them know." She gave her a small smile, her hand still over the phone.
Shadey smiled at them and says "Ok, thanks. I gotta run kitties, have fun!"
I nodded and waved as Shadey departed from the rooftop.
Aspira gave a ‘just give me an answer’ look to Ioh. "It doesn’t matter I just need a meeting place."
"Has she told you what happened or anything?"
She shook her head. "Ioh. I need a meeting place. Please." She begged me softly, still covering the PDA in her hand.
"Well, alright. Meet on the pier, and If you don’t hear anything from me in about 15 to 20 minutes, call for backup. I’m going to check the Med Center."
"NO IOH! Listen to me. We are going to the pier." Aspira uncovered the phone and spoke into it. "The pier. Meet us, but be careful!"
I blinked. "Are you talking with her?"
Aspira sighed and hung her head. "Yes Ioh. I was hinting that to you when Shadey was here." Her cheeks blushed as she sighed softly. She then spoke again into the phone. "Call if there’s trouble!"
I nodded, showing myself shaken up for the first time. "I’m sorry Kitten, just been a … long day…." I hugged her tightly, then whispered, "Thank you," in her ear. I then released her from the hug and said, "Let’s go."
Aspira flipped her PDA closed and hugged Ioh. When she stopped, she looked at her invisible watch. "I waited for over an hour and went looking for you… let’s go." She turned and leaped off the roof.
On the ground, I walked up to Aspira, who was watching me in anticipation. She whispered, "I think it will be safer out of sight, not in so open view of up there. Now just waiting on ‘it’"
I looked around, then to Aspira, "So, this is where we’re to meet her?"
"Ioh you heard me say it." Aspira sighed softly, then shook her head and moved close to me, nuzzling my neck with another sigh.
I nodded, sighing in return, still clearly shook up. But her nuzzling my neck relaxed me a bit. A soft purr formed in my chest. It was yet audible, but the vibrations could be slightly felt.
Aspira purred back softly so that I could hear it and so that it would calm me some more. "I love you Ioh, but what the hell is going on? One minute I’m getting messages saying meet here then you never show. What happened? I got scared and even looked for you." She then sighed in relief as Satomi looked up, then scrunched her nose seeing the ears and tail.
"I’m sorry Kitten…," I gave a look of failure and sadness, "I just… wanted to protect the Pride. Protect you…, I ….," I saw Satomi, her bandaged ribs and bullet wound, "I’m sorry….," I murred.
Satomi limped up toward us and nodded curtly.
Aspira mewed softly to me. "I know Ioh. It’s just things are getting so crazy." She bowed her head so that her chin touched her chest, her black locks falling in front of her face.
Satomi nodded to Aspira. She pointed to her right shoulder and raised an eyebrow, inquiring after her injury.
Aspira watched Satomi for a moment then sighed hanging her head again. "You shot me. And I nearly bled to death… trying to help you."
"I owe you both an apology, " I said between the two, mumbling a bit. "Aspira, for making you worry about me. And you, Satomi for well, everything I did. I had no right, I just was … overprotective I guess." I looked down into the sand.
Satomi looked at Aspira, not understanding. She shook her head no.
Aspira nodded to Satomi. "Yes you shot me. And at some point you shot Elise. And all Elise and Johnny tried to do was help you too."
Satomi nodded sadly at the mention of Elise, but then she mimed shooting Aspira and shook her head no.
I looked at Aspira, then purred in her ear to calm her down. "Enough Kitten. She’s been through a lot. Can you see the changes?" Motions her to look at Satomi’s ears and tail.
Aspira nodded. "It was inadvertent. You were aiming at my head." She laughed softly, sarcastically. "You shot. Missed. And the bullet hit the wall, then came back and hit me in the shoulder." She turned and showed her the back of her shoulder so she could see the entry wound. She nodded to me and sighed softly while turning bright red as her eyes teared up. "Yes Ioh. I can."
Satomi looked really sad in realizing she shot Aspira. She turned to stare at the ocean. Her tail jumped about clumsily.
I looked to my Felix, "Aspie… she’s my Sired. Though I intended to hold the vial for much longer, hoping a human might come along willingly, I guess I saw an opportunity for a certain lesson, a certain justice to come from this. But still, no matter, I had no right."
Satomi scooted forward and leaned against my leg, looking at the ocean. She spoke up from around Ioh’s knees. "I may not have chosen it, but it was a valuable lesson nevertheless."
Aspira listened to me. Her shoulders slumped and the tears spilled over her eyelashes as she turned away to face the street. At that moment she seemed so much shorter. Smaller. More fragile than ever. A soft choked mew escaped her lips as her head dropped to look down upon the sand. Tears wet it, turning a deep brown before her feet.
I looked down at Satomi and sighed. I then looked over at Aspira and brought my right hand to her shoulder. "Aspie. " I then paused, and mewed, "Kitten." I heard Satomi, but waited for Aspira’s response.
Aspira pulled her shoulder from my grasp. "I’m supposed to be your Kitten Ioh. I’m supposed to spend my life with you. But you have kept every bit of this from me until now. We were together one minute then you were gone the next. Then when you showed up again you said you were ‘on special business.’ And now this." Her body felt weak, as she tried to hold herself together. "How can I do this if you hide things from me until after they are done Ioh Kitty?"
Murring I replied, "At the time, I felt I had to do this alone. The Matrons didn’t seem to be handling it, and I went out and sought to preempt Satomi’s potential attack." I looked down to the ground, "I guess I was worried you wouldn’t understand, that maybe… maybe you’d … hate me, if you knew what I was about to do." I then muttered, looking shameful, "Maybe those should have been indicators that I shouldn’t have done this… I don’t know anymore."
Satomi just hugged herself tighter against my leg. With her finger, she drew a small house in the sand, then an arrow going into it. I looked down, seeing the house, "What is this?"
Satomi replied, " I need a bed and at least one other cat to get advice from."
Aspira turned back to face me. Tears rolled down her face like water down a river. "Ioh, I would of understood. It’s that you hid ALL of it from me and didn’t tell me anything." Her voice was all choked up as she spoke but tried to hide it. "Ioh I love you. You know that. But I wish you would have talked with me about it."
Satomi looked up suddenly. She began realizing what the discussion over head had been about. She looked nervous suddenly. "The Matrons don’t know?
Aspira looked at Satomi. "I didn’t know. What makes you think they would?"
"I’m sorry Aspie." I replied, "I’ll try not to do anything like this again." I looked between the two, then said, "Aspie, you are my Kitten. My love. And I should not hide things from you." I looked to Satomi, "And Satomi is my sired one, like a daughter to me now. I owe it to you both to be more up front from here on out."
Satomi started to tremble. "Tober’s going to kill me."
"Satomi, I did this to you of my own will, as a vigilante," I began to say, then added, "And no, if there’s anyone Tobers might kill, it’s me."
"But she’ll kill me for shooting Elise, and, I guess, Aspira too…"
Aspira sighed softly and turned to walk up the beach. "I need to go for a walk Ioh." She could barely whisper it as she walked toward the steps. "I just need time to think."
I shook my head. "It was the perceived inaction that made me do this." I watched Aspira head off and sighed, "I really screwed up…," I said, not to any one in particular.
Satomi looked like she had been condemned. "Could we meet with the Matron? I… I can’t take any more open threats."
"I’ll leave a message with the Matrons, and see what goes from there." I mrred, but looked to her and smiled, "I’m still not going to let them do anything to kill you, if they decide to do anything at all, ok?"
Satomi nodded, grateful for that modicum of security. "I just want one night’s sleep without being scared."
I nodded, instinctively massaging her ears to comfort her. "Just try not to worry, ok?"
Satomi grinned at the novel sensation. "I was afraid to touch them. That feels nice though." She got more serious after enjoying the ear-massage. "Is Aspira going to be okay?" She noticed Dui overhead and pointed up to a rooftop.
I shrugged, then perked my ears and looked toward where Satomi was pointing, "What you see Sat?" I then hopped up to look around.
Satomi shrugged. "She’s gone." She then looked at the military patch on her vest, and wondered if she could rip it off. She then successfully de-badged the vest.
I sighed, then chuckled for no apparent reason. I then smiled, watching Satomi, then murred, thinking of Aspira. "Sat? I need to check on Aspie. You have some place safe you can go, or should I take you home first?"
And so, once I was certain Satomi had a place to go that was safe, I wandered after Aspira. Not really knowing where to go. It was only by chance that I was led to the Church, entering from the side door in back. There was organ music playing, and for some reason it drew me in. I then found Aspira as she played the organ, pouring her whole heart and soul into it, whatever song popped into her head. It played out through her fingers. I watched from behind her at first. I walked around towards the Organ, to walk up next to Aspira. I sighed more audibly now, then mewed, looking kinda sheepish, and said, "Uh, Kitten?"
Aspira turned her head to look at me, but in some weird way she didn’t seem to realize I was there. It was as if she was only hearing me. Turning back to the organ she blinked back more tears then hung her head, as if she began realizing something – like the moment someone gets an epiphany or is dumbfounded by their own foolishness. I blinked at her reaction, not sure what to think. I saw her crying, thinking she was still upset with me for what I had done. The only words that could come to me were, "I’m sorry…"
Hearing my words she turned her head to look at me. Only this time she seemed to recognize that I was standing there. My figure was likely blurred from her tears. Quickly she stood and wrapped her arms around me and felt shook up as she nuzzled my neck. I murred as I tried to explain. "It is not the same. What you have from me. It is far different than what I gave to Satomi. Satomi is like a daughter, but you are my love, Kitten. In that, you have more than my DNA"
Aspira shook her head. "But the point is I have to share YOU with her. Someone I tried so much to help but she just continued to hurt OUR family. And now I have to share you with her. And you didn’t even ask if that was ok.
I don’t find it ok, Ioh. But I love you. So I will have to suffice. I just… I guess I’m just jeal…" She cut herself off and shook her head. "No I’m not. I’m just upset that I have to share you with a woman that tried to kill me. I don’t care if she has changed Ioh."
She pointed to her shoulder and hung her head. "I almost DIED! Trying to save her. I almost died, Ioh. Right on the front doorstep of the Den. I don’t know if you looked but there are big stains on the walls and the ground."
I sighed and nodded. "I wanted to kill her. At first, I thought to bind her up and torment her for what she did to our family, our Pride. But you know what I saw in her? In her eyes?"
Aspira shook her head and pulled back from Ioh. "You didn’t see your family. You saw a crazy military woman, of all things, that was just begging so that she could get out and run back to the military. So that THEY can attack us."
I brought my head down looking at the floor as she pushed me. I shook my head. "I saw her fear. Both the rational and the irrational. I saw the identification tags (I still couldn’t bring himself to call them ‘dog tags’) of her family, and I realized something then. She was just a scared child following the orders of her superiors."
She shook her head. "Still. It was no reason to go behind my back."
Despite the protests, things were looking to be where I might have had a family with Aspira and Satomi. But, about that time did things continue to grow crazy. As soon after we talked plans for marriage, Aspira had gotten raped by the yaoi bunny mentioned before. Somewhere in between that I had a relation in AW on an alt character grow. That relationship brought about my fourth Felix, and pretty much destroyed what could have been with me and Aspie, as well as ruined chances to RP out the relationship between me and my sired one.
I’m not sure what happened with Satomi. The last RP I had with her in AW, she had been abducted by vampires. I was to try and save her from them. But, time and circumstances did not allow for it. The assumption I can only have for what happened to Satomi is that she was killed, and therefore, my sired one was dead in world. The only way I come to this conclusion is that her player, while I was trying to see if I could set up the rescue PMed me, "I’m sorry."
I know she, her player, isn’t dead. Or at least wasn’t before my untimely death in the real world. I knew of a couple other characters she played in RP in AW. And, when I was still alive, at least one of her characters was still active, and of whom I had various RPs with before. But still, losing my sired was like losing a child. And yet, I am to blame for putting the events in place that took away the opportunities.
*sighs*
And so the torments of my personal Purgatory continue…
I had a vision of festive days
She’s like an eagle in the misty haze
Break my chains, girl,
show me to the land where people live together
and try to understand
Posted by Iohannes Crispien II on 2010-06-16 06:05:52
Tagged: , Old , Midian , City , Dreams , Nightmares , Dreamwalker , Catwalker , Dante , Purgatory
