Re: The Wolf and the Cat

[Cedahlia]

"Accidents are a thing. I guess that's why we have hunters too. They can be intense though," Wolf said, he wasn't going to lie he knew a lot of the hunters were like that. "And some don't listen. I think if hunters can step up, so can fiends against bad humans."

[Cedahlia]

"Hunters leave us alone thanks to this one," Pande said and gestured to Hex. "She has a bit of a reputation for putting them in jail if they go for her."

"Well it's on them if they do," Hex said defensively. "If they don't want to listen and play nice then why should I?"

[Cedahlia]

Wolf didn't say anything. Because sometimes hex was just as bad as the hunters. She was a cat though, so very likely didn't think of it that way. "Do you not like them? Some saved me from a poacher once."

[Cedahlia]

"None of them have tried to really get to know us," Pande answered since Hex looked plenty unhappy. "And when the Master was trying to retrieve us, none of them were really on our side either."

"We don't hate them. Not even Hex," Wisp said. "They're not Poachers."

"No, they do take care of the fiends that are even problems for us," Hex admitted.

[Cedahlia]

"Well you guys are all the mischief and mayhem." Wolf pointed out, which would make it hard for hunters. "What would you do if one did try to get to know you?"

[Cedahlia]

There was silence all around as they looked at each other. No one seemed to know what they would do. It just didn't seem like something they'd ever have to deal with, especially with Hex's way of dealing with them, so they'd never really thought about it.

"I guess we'd wing it," Pande answered.

"And tape Hex's mouth shut," Bedlam added.

"The fuck you would," Hex hissed. Tape on skin was one thing. Tape on fur was another.

[Cedahlia]

"Hex isn't so bad," Wolf said, because she wasn't being rude or anything. She was pretty chill right now. "What about our Master of dark?" He asked then. Not all of them were dark, but two of them was.

[Cedahlia]

Wisp and Pande looked at the two dark ones of the group.

"I don't do masters," Hex said with a growl.

"She doesn't. She killed the last master of dark," Wisp said.

"Which doesn't mean she wants to kill this one," Bedlam interjected. "We had personal reasons to not be for the last one very much."

[Cedahlia]

"You dont want to kill the new one?" Wolf asked, he was surprised by that. He had figured they did.

[Cedahlia]

"My murderous intent usually has a point and a reason behind it," Hex said. "Our last master gave me a reason. This one hasn't yet. And considering he's also also hunter, I'd just rather avoid him."

"We don't actively want to kill masters," Pande said. "That would be rather suicidal of us."

[Cedahlia]

"I guess." Wolf said, but he was starting to understand them better. "Your last master wasn't very good then? I've never had one."

[Cedahlia]

"Our master was in the habit of collecting," Bedlam explained. "I was acquired from the temple I guarded to play guard dog for his rarities." He gestured to the others. "Wisp was acquired the usual way. Pande was bred. And Hex was stolen from her tamer."

"And then he left us in capture spheres until the rare moments he needed us. So we betrayed him and escaped," Hex added with a low growl of lingering anger.

[Cedahlia]

"He sounds like a dick, I'm really sorry you've had that experience." Wolf said, his voice was so sincere. He really meant it as well. "You deserve a master who would spoil you, not keep you caged in a sphere. Except for when it's a must."

[Cedahlia]

"We don't need a master," Hex said. "We've been fine without one. We only need each other. There are plenty of others who are willing to be their happy little slaves."

[Cedahlia]

"You think having a master means you're a slave? It's more than that isn't it? It's about having a bond?" Wolf said, he looked at the others then for their opinion.

[Cedahlia]

"If we all felt the same as Hex then we'd kill tamers as much as poachers. We don't. Supposedly companionship is what it's supposed to mean. I have seen it in others. I know that it is possible. But not all tamers are equal and not all masters are fit to control the kind that embraced them."

"I wouldn't want to leave my family for a bond with a master," Wisp said. "The only bond that matters to me is the one between us."

"Having a tamer for my kind means something a little different than for the rest of them," Pande said. "Still, I have to agree with Wisp. I wouldn't trade in what we have here for even that."

[Cedahlia]

"What if it didn't mean you have to be apart? You could have a master, or a tamer to love you all. Not all are bad." Wolf said, he so badly wanted to show them. The way they were treated before was what started fiends going bad and needing hunters to step in.

[Cedahlia]

"It's a little more complicated than that," Hex said. She'd decided to play along and finally speak up on the issue of having a master together. "What if got a master who wasn't compatible with Pande and couldn't take care of him properly? And what if we didn't get on well with the master's current companions? And right now we have the freedom to choose where we want to go, to see what we want to see and with a master we'd be at the mercy of their whims."

"We've been on our own for long enough that I don't think it's possible for us to bond and have that trust in a human," Pande said. "But don't let us put you off, young one. If you want a tamer I'm sure you can find one. We're not the norm by any means."

[Cedahlia]

"That's not even slightly true." Wolf said shaking his head. He sat up a little straighter. "I need you to stay calm. Don't run." He said as he used the fact that he was a master of dark to compell them to do as asked. He turned into a human. "Before you get mad, hear me out. I didn't want you to judge me before you talked to me. I've no interest in hurting you, capturing you or being cruel to you. Pande can search me for weapons and spheres to see I have none of either."

[Cedahlia]

"Master," Bedlam barked, realizing too late that they'd been deceived. They hadn't known that the master had become a fiend. He was able to easily trick them that way.

Hex hissed in anger at the deception but was unable to move or flee. She was stuck in that spot and quickly realized he'd commanded her and Bedlam to stay.

Wisp looked terribly confused. Since when were masters fiends?

Pande actually thought that it was clever. But to satisfy the others and he approached the dark master and patted him down. "He's clean."

[Cedahlia]

"See? I'm not going to hurt you. Come here," Wolf said and pointed at his lap for both Hex and bedlam to join him.

[Cedahlia]

Hex's body trembled. She resisted as well as she could, which was to say not at all. She simply couldn't resist a master's order. So quite against her will, her body moved forward and sat on his lap.

Bedlam was much too large to sit on the lap. Only his front paws would fit. Hex, unevolved, did fit.

[Cedahlia]

"I'm going to show you that not all masters are mean, or horrible. That you don't need to fear me." Wolf said, his hands resting on each of them. He didn't mind that Hex shook, he understood. "It's okay, be calm." He said soothingly.

[Cedahlia]

Hex's body calmed but she wasn't really calm inside as he touched her. She had no idea what he was really intending to do.

Bedlam had less anger. Less suspicion. But he had more caution. He waited, feeling strange to have human hands touch him.

Pande scooped up Wisp, who had been anxiously pacing as she didn't understand what was going on.

[Cedahlia]

"You two can come sit with us too, I only have two hands. But you can take turns for fuss if you like." Wolf said with a grin, not that Pande could really be petted like the others. He'd want a slightly different kind of stroke.

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