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noticed his back,
but he was grateful when she didn't say anything about the scars.
The rag ran gently over his shoulders and arms. "Got a few
scratches here, huh?"
    There was no way he was breaking the silence
that had been beaten into him, so he just sat there, gritting his
teeth against the sting of the soap on the abrasions from the tree
branches. Apparently, realizing he wasn't going to respond, she
just hummed and continued her scrubbing.
    She seemed to be cautious around his tail,
and he slashed it through the water, splashing her slightly. She
cuffed him briefly on the back of the head, and he dropped his chin
submissively to his chest. He hissed when she rinsed his hair and
got water in his ear, earning him a baleful glare.
    She reached in to the bottom of the tub and
pulled a little plug and the water started to drain out. Kayden
stared, mesmerized by the swirling water. A towel was dropped on
his head and she vigorously towel-dried his hair before rubbing
down his shoulders.
    "Get up," she ordered, continuing the drying,
rubbing the towel down his sleek black tail. He suddenly shook his
head to remove the water from his ears, sending a light spray of
water from his hair.
    "Hey!" she snapped, but then she started
laughing at the pitiful look on the boy's face.
    She handed him a pile of fabric. "Here's some
pants..." She looked briefly behind him at his tail. "You think you
can wear these?"
    He nodded at the black trousers. He could
wear human pants, he'd done so before. The men who had captured him
had given him pants in the winter, but in warmer months they didn't
bother giving him pants since they cost more than the scrap of
fabric he was just expected to wind around his body. Master Farth
at the market had been the same way. He'd always chosen, of course,
to wrap his waist in modesty, but if the scrap was long enough,
he'd loop it up over his shoulders and chest too. He pulled on the
dark pants to the base of his tail over his buttocks, then he
pulled the drawstring in front and tied it. They were huge and
pooled around his feet. The pants hung low on his hips because of
his tail, lower probably than most human males would wear them, but
they were better than the scrap of fabric.
    "Hmm, looks like I'll need some scissors,"
Ysmenia stated as she eyed the hem gathered on the floor. She
tossed him a shirt. It was too big too, but he didn't care. It was
more clothes than he'd had in years. "I'll have to figure out
something better for the master's birthday, but that will do for
now."
    She gestured toward the lounge area, and he
pulled up the pant legs as he stumbled after her to the table where
she had placed the bowl of food when they'd come in.
    A loud bang from down the hall suddenly had
him skittering toward the door, looking for escape.
    "No!" he heard the woman yell behind him.
    But in his panic, he ran blindly for the
door--tripping right into a hard body. The man grunted when the
small body barreled into him.
    "Ellis! Stop him!"
    He felt arms wrap around him, restraining
him. He was breathing hard when he was picked up and carried into
the room.
    "Shit!" the man grumbled. "He scratched
me!"
    Kayden felt himself dropped unceremoniously
to the floor, his leash grabbed as he huddled into the corner.
Kayden peeked up, expecting to be hit for scratching the man, but
realized the man was just wiping at the scratches on his ribs
absently.
    "Thank you, Ellis," Ysmenia breathed as she
clutched at his leash. "He just got scared by the pots dropped in
the kitchen and freaked out. Guess I need to trim his nails,
huh."
    "Who is this anyway?" Ellis asked, eyeing the
cowering little neko.
    "New slave that Master Harrison bought."
    "Fuck, he doesn't hardly weigh anything,"
Ellis grunted. "What good can he possibly be? Probably can't hardly
carry a full bucket of water."
    Ysmenia shrugged. "He's supposed to be a gift
for Master Damien's birthday."
    It was then that Kayden noticed the tail. A
large brown and white tail swished