Chapter 5
Beythan awoke in a state of utter terror, waiting for the first blow to fall and his master’s loud voice to scream at him to “Get up, you lazy little dung heap!” But no blow came, and no voice yelled in his ear. He lay on his back, gasping, staring upward. He could see a ceiling arching overhead, a ceiling made of lashed together pieces of cured leather. His brows drew together in confusion. His master’s tent was made of cloth, not rough leather. Where was he?
He rolled his head, and found himself looking at a small tent with a scraped-earth floor. There was a fire pit dug in the center, and dried meat hanging from the ‘rafters’ in bunches. There was no furniture except for the bed he was lying on, which seemed to be mostly a pile of furs. He frowned slightly, not understanding. Where was his master? And the slave train? Whose tent was he in? What was going on?
A sudden memory came back to him. Bandits attacking the camp, and his master riding away to do battle with them. Then one of then - stabbed the brute with a spear! His master was dead, Beythan realized suddenly. Joy welled up within him. He was free!
But where was he free? What was this place? Had he fallen into the hands of another slaver, or the bandits? Fear followed on the heels of his joy, and he made a small sound of pain as he endeavored to sit up. He needed to get away while he still could, before whoever had put him in this tent returned. He groaned miserably as his stiff joints protested his movement, and barely managed to sit up. He hugged himself as he struggled to find the energy to get up off this bed and run for his life.
What he’d thought was a pile of golden-brown furs suddenly stirred. To his utter shock, the furs rolled over and sat up, revealing a large cat-creature with a little mane and a pair of interested green-gold eyes. It was staring at him curiously, and it cocked its head as it studied him. Then it said something in a rumbly, hissy sort of voice, making him flinch. The creature spoke! It wasn’t just a huge cat, it was apparently a huge, INTELLIGENT cat! What in all of the forty hells had he gotten himself into?
More memories returned. What he’d thought was a dream now became a reality. This creature had fed him and taken care of him, and he remembered scratching its fur when he’d thought the creature was his pet cat. It wasn’t making any threatening gestures now, and obviously hadn’t tried to hurt him at any time while he’d been asleep. Beythan clutched at the furs and tried to tamp down his instinctive terror, though he wasn’t entirely successful. But what other choice did he have, anyway? The creature was large enough that it could probably rip him in half with the sheathed claws on the end of its fingertips. He felt like a mouse under the gaze of a curious cat, just waiting for the best to stop playing and finish him off. He whimpered miserably, not moving.
The cat creature moved, rising to its ’feet’. Well, they seemed half-feet and half-paws. It walked toward him, and Beythan realized that the creature was ’naked’(well, except for the coat of hair, of course), and blatantly male. While the organ was sheathed, that was definitely a penis. And there were the large, hairy balls nestled underneath…his eyes snapped back to the cat creature’s face as it padded up to him. It stopped far enough away that he felt safe from its reach, though he stiffened anyway. It spoke again, and he swallowed. “I-I can’t understand you,” he said hoarsely.
The cat creature blinked, then ran its tongue along its teeth in a gesture that seemed thoughtful. Beythan shivered when he saw the size and sharpness of those teeth. Then, to his surprise, the cat creature extended a claw and touched itself(himself) lightly on his breastbone. He said something in that growly, rumbling language. He repeated this word and gesture several more times, until Beythan understood. The creature was trying to say his own name.
“I can’t…I can’t say that,” he said unhappily. “I’m sorry.”
The creature considered again, then pointed at Beythan. Clearly he was asking what his name was. Hesitantly he focused his own chest, which he discovered belatedly was bare. “Beythan,” he said slowly. “Bey-than. My name is Beythan.”
Then, to his utter shock, the creature’s muzzle worked and it managed a mangled version of his name. “Beeyyyshannn,” the cat creature hissed.
“Yes!” he exclaimed, so happy to hear his own name that he was practically bouncing with it. Somehow having this creature try to say his name reassured him that it wasn’t going to try to eat him. “I’m Beythan!”
“Beeyshan,” the cat creature repeated again, somehow managing to look pleased with himself. He turned and moved over to the fire pit, squatting down. He picked up a clay pot and brought it over to the bed, holding it out for Beythan. He said something in his language, waiting patently for the human to take the pot from him.
Beythan reached out with shaking fingers to take the pot. It was still warm from the coals, and when he lifted the lid the smell of meat broth made his nostrils twitch and his stomach rumble. Hearing the sound, the cat creature hissed and said something. He made a gesture telling Beythan that he should drink the broth.
He was happy to do that. He tipped the pot up and sipped at the broth, finding it salty and warm and very nice. His shrunken stomach appreciated it greatly, and he almost moaned in pleasure as he drank more of it. The cat creature watched him intently, occasionally twitching his ears and making little hissing sounds to himself.
Beythan found that he’d relaxed a good deal by the time that he had finished the broth in the pot. He handed the empty container back to the cat creature, who took it and carried it back to the fire. He filled it with water from another vessel, then threw some dried meat and a few bunches of herbs into it. He set it on the fire to slowly cook, and stirred up the coals. Beythan watched him, realizing that the cat creature was making some more of the delicious broth for him. Clearly he didn’t intend to kill Beythan if he was going to all of the trouble to feed and care for him. Right? Well, he hoped so anyway. He didn’t want to have escaped the attentions of his cruel master only to finds himself being a meal for a large cat creature.
The cat creature finished what he was doing, then returned to the bed. “Beyshan,” he said, making it sound almost like a purr.
“Yes?” he said, knowing the creature couldn’t understand him but needing to reply anyway.
The cat creature gestured to his own penis, taking Beythan by surprise. “What?” he asked warily.
The cat creature chuffed and shook his mane impatiently. Then he turned and pointed outside, then back at his own penis. It dawned on Beythan that the cat creature was using gestures to ask him if he needed to urinate. And he did, he realized. His bladder twinged. He nodded, then pointed at his own lap. The cat creature bare his upper teeth a little in a cat-like smile, and stepped toward the bed. He reached out and took a hold of Beythan’s arm, making the human tense. But instead of yanking at him or dragging him, the cat creature only helped him to stand. Feeling how shaky his legs were, Beythan was glad for the support. Together they walked outside, and his eyes widened when he saw the large cluster of tents and the many cat-people moving around among them. Apparently he was in a big village full of cat creatures!
The cat creature led him around the side of the tent. Beythan saw the wide grasslands beyond it, stretching out as far as the eye could see. The cat creature stopped walking and let go of him, reaching down to take a hold of his penis as it slid out of its sheath. Golden liquid spurted out of the end as the cat creature began to urinate in the grass, the long stream falling on the ground in an arc. He made a low sound, probably one of relief as his bladder emptied. Beythan knew how that felt.
He decided not to be embarrassed about being naked, since it clearly didn’t bother the cat creature at all. He reached down and imitated his companion, and almost moaned himself when his bladder began to empty itself. He looked up and noticed that the cat creature was watching him curiously, and he felt his cheeks heat a little when he realized that the thing he was staring at most intently was Beythan’s penis. He shouldn’t be embarrassed, he knew that; the creature didn’t even wear any kind of clothing. But he still wished that he had his tatty and dirty tunic to cover his nakedness.
Finally he was done. He wiped his hands on the grass to clean them, then looked at the cat creature. That paw-hand settled on his arm again, and steered him back into the tent. He was happy to go; he simply didn’t have the energy to deal with an entire village full of these creatures right now. This one was almost too much for him. He sat down on the bed, and the cat creature crouched down in front of him so that they were almost eye-to-eye.
“Beyshann,” the cat creature hissed. Then he lifted his hand and pointed at one of his own green-gold eyes. He said a word in his language.
“Eye,” the human said, lifting his hand and pointing at one of his own blue eyes. “Eye.”
“Eyyee,” the cat creature hissed. Then he reached up to touch one of the twitching ears atop his head.
“Ear,” Beythan told him. Then the creature repeated the word, again managing to make a sound that he could recognize even if it was somewhat garbled by his muzzle.
It was wonderful to be able to teach this creature his language, to be able to speak with the strange, amazing being. Especially since he couldn’t quite wrap his own mouth around the creature’s own language in return. And he only had to say each word once - the cat creature got it right every time. He was very smart, Beythan realized. Who knew how far advanced they might be after only a few hours of trading words? Suddenly he found himself excited and interested. The fear he’d felt flowed away as he continued to work with the cat creature, and Beythan forgot just how scary he’d seemed when he’d first woken up in this strange place.
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Beythan awoke in a state of utter terror, waiting for the first blow to fall and his master’s loud voice to scream at him to “Get up, you lazy little dung heap!” But no blow came, and no voice yelled in his ear. He lay on his back, gasping, staring upward. He could see a ceiling arching overhead, a ceiling made of lashed together pieces of cured leather. His brows drew together in confusion. His master’s tent was made of cloth, not rough leather. Where was he?
He rolled his head, and found himself looking at a small tent with a scraped-earth floor. There was a fire pit dug in the center, and dried meat hanging from the ‘rafters’ in bunches. There was no furniture except for the bed he was lying on, which seemed to be mostly a pile of furs. He frowned slightly, not understanding. Where was his master? And the slave train? Whose tent was he in? What was going on?
A sudden memory came back to him. Bandits attacking the camp, and his master riding away to do battle with them. Then one of then - stabbed the brute with a spear! His master was dead, Beythan realized suddenly. Joy welled up within him. He was free!
But where was he free? What was this place? Had he fallen into the hands of another slaver, or the bandits? Fear followed on the heels of his joy, and he made a small sound of pain as he endeavored to sit up. He needed to get away while he still could, before whoever had put him in this tent returned. He groaned miserably as his stiff joints protested his movement, and barely managed to sit up. He hugged himself as he struggled to find the energy to get up off this bed and run for his life.
What he’d thought was a pile of golden-brown furs suddenly stirred. To his utter shock, the furs rolled over and sat up, revealing a large cat-creature with a little mane and a pair of interested green-gold eyes. It was staring at him curiously, and it cocked its head as it studied him. Then it said something in a rumbly, hissy sort of voice, making him flinch. The creature spoke! It wasn’t just a huge cat, it was apparently a huge, INTELLIGENT cat! What in all of the forty hells had he gotten himself into?
More memories returned. What he’d thought was a dream now became a reality. This creature had fed him and taken care of him, and he remembered scratching its fur when he’d thought the creature was his pet cat. It wasn’t making any threatening gestures now, and obviously hadn’t tried to hurt him at any time while he’d been asleep. Beythan clutched at the furs and tried to tamp down his instinctive terror, though he wasn’t entirely successful. But what other choice did he have, anyway? The creature was large enough that it could probably rip him in half with the sheathed claws on the end of its fingertips. He felt like a mouse under the gaze of a curious cat, just waiting for the best to stop playing and finish him off. He whimpered miserably, not moving.
The cat creature moved, rising to its ’feet’. Well, they seemed half-feet and half-paws. It walked toward him, and Beythan realized that the creature was ’naked’(well, except for the coat of hair, of course), and blatantly male. While the organ was sheathed, that was definitely a penis. And there were the large, hairy balls nestled underneath…his eyes snapped back to the cat creature’s face as it padded up to him. It stopped far enough away that he felt safe from its reach, though he stiffened anyway. It spoke again, and he swallowed. “I-I can’t understand you,” he said hoarsely.
The cat creature blinked, then ran its tongue along its teeth in a gesture that seemed thoughtful. Beythan shivered when he saw the size and sharpness of those teeth. Then, to his surprise, the cat creature extended a claw and touched itself(himself) lightly on his breastbone. He said something in that growly, rumbling language. He repeated this word and gesture several more times, until Beythan understood. The creature was trying to say his own name.
“I can’t…I can’t say that,” he said unhappily. “I’m sorry.”
The creature considered again, then pointed at Beythan. Clearly he was asking what his name was. Hesitantly he focused his own chest, which he discovered belatedly was bare. “Beythan,” he said slowly. “Bey-than. My name is Beythan.”
Then, to his utter shock, the creature’s muzzle worked and it managed a mangled version of his name. “Beeyyyshannn,” the cat creature hissed.
“Yes!” he exclaimed, so happy to hear his own name that he was practically bouncing with it. Somehow having this creature try to say his name reassured him that it wasn’t going to try to eat him. “I’m Beythan!”
“Beeyshan,” the cat creature repeated again, somehow managing to look pleased with himself. He turned and moved over to the fire pit, squatting down. He picked up a clay pot and brought it over to the bed, holding it out for Beythan. He said something in his language, waiting patently for the human to take the pot from him.
Beythan reached out with shaking fingers to take the pot. It was still warm from the coals, and when he lifted the lid the smell of meat broth made his nostrils twitch and his stomach rumble. Hearing the sound, the cat creature hissed and said something. He made a gesture telling Beythan that he should drink the broth.
He was happy to do that. He tipped the pot up and sipped at the broth, finding it salty and warm and very nice. His shrunken stomach appreciated it greatly, and he almost moaned in pleasure as he drank more of it. The cat creature watched him intently, occasionally twitching his ears and making little hissing sounds to himself.
Beythan found that he’d relaxed a good deal by the time that he had finished the broth in the pot. He handed the empty container back to the cat creature, who took it and carried it back to the fire. He filled it with water from another vessel, then threw some dried meat and a few bunches of herbs into it. He set it on the fire to slowly cook, and stirred up the coals. Beythan watched him, realizing that the cat creature was making some more of the delicious broth for him. Clearly he didn’t intend to kill Beythan if he was going to all of the trouble to feed and care for him. Right? Well, he hoped so anyway. He didn’t want to have escaped the attentions of his cruel master only to finds himself being a meal for a large cat creature.
The cat creature finished what he was doing, then returned to the bed. “Beyshan,” he said, making it sound almost like a purr.
“Yes?” he said, knowing the creature couldn’t understand him but needing to reply anyway.
The cat creature gestured to his own penis, taking Beythan by surprise. “What?” he asked warily.
The cat creature chuffed and shook his mane impatiently. Then he turned and pointed outside, then back at his own penis. It dawned on Beythan that the cat creature was using gestures to ask him if he needed to urinate. And he did, he realized. His bladder twinged. He nodded, then pointed at his own lap. The cat creature bare his upper teeth a little in a cat-like smile, and stepped toward the bed. He reached out and took a hold of Beythan’s arm, making the human tense. But instead of yanking at him or dragging him, the cat creature only helped him to stand. Feeling how shaky his legs were, Beythan was glad for the support. Together they walked outside, and his eyes widened when he saw the large cluster of tents and the many cat-people moving around among them. Apparently he was in a big village full of cat creatures!
The cat creature led him around the side of the tent. Beythan saw the wide grasslands beyond it, stretching out as far as the eye could see. The cat creature stopped walking and let go of him, reaching down to take a hold of his penis as it slid out of its sheath. Golden liquid spurted out of the end as the cat creature began to urinate in the grass, the long stream falling on the ground in an arc. He made a low sound, probably one of relief as his bladder emptied. Beythan knew how that felt.
He decided not to be embarrassed about being naked, since it clearly didn’t bother the cat creature at all. He reached down and imitated his companion, and almost moaned himself when his bladder began to empty itself. He looked up and noticed that the cat creature was watching him curiously, and he felt his cheeks heat a little when he realized that the thing he was staring at most intently was Beythan’s penis. He shouldn’t be embarrassed, he knew that; the creature didn’t even wear any kind of clothing. But he still wished that he had his tatty and dirty tunic to cover his nakedness.
Finally he was done. He wiped his hands on the grass to clean them, then looked at the cat creature. That paw-hand settled on his arm again, and steered him back into the tent. He was happy to go; he simply didn’t have the energy to deal with an entire village full of these creatures right now. This one was almost too much for him. He sat down on the bed, and the cat creature crouched down in front of him so that they were almost eye-to-eye.
“Beyshann,” the cat creature hissed. Then he lifted his hand and pointed at one of his own green-gold eyes. He said a word in his language.
“Eye,” the human said, lifting his hand and pointing at one of his own blue eyes. “Eye.”
“Eyyee,” the cat creature hissed. Then he reached up to touch one of the twitching ears atop his head.
“Ear,” Beythan told him. Then the creature repeated the word, again managing to make a sound that he could recognize even if it was somewhat garbled by his muzzle.
It was wonderful to be able to teach this creature his language, to be able to speak with the strange, amazing being. Especially since he couldn’t quite wrap his own mouth around the creature’s own language in return. And he only had to say each word once - the cat creature got it right every time. He was very smart, Beythan realized. Who knew how far advanced they might be after only a few hours of trading words? Suddenly he found himself excited and interested. The fear he’d felt flowed away as he continued to work with the cat creature, and Beythan forgot just how scary he’d seemed when he’d first woken up in this strange place.
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