◄Snow█ ▄Lost and Found▄ █Devxx►

[__N o v i.S n o w]

"You are of no importance to me anymore. You are useless to me now."

Cael groaned softly....rolling over in the dirt and grime his master had tossed him into, he looked up at his significant other... Or, what he thought was his significant other. "B-but..." This was a long time coming. He sensed it from the moment he found himself on the male's doorstep.... But he just couldn't help but be drawn in by his charm and good looks. And his promises. People always did say that curiosity killed the cat... And Cael felt as though he might actually die that night. Somehow he didn't feel terrified about dying though. He was certain that the man wasn’t the only one in the world that would pretend to be friendly to him….until he became as the other said, useless.

"Don't talk.. It would be easier if you didn’t."

The brunette didn’t understand. Where exactly did he go wrong? What did he do to deserve such treatment? He had done anything and everything the other asked him to. Not once did he do anything to upset him. Why? Why was he doing this? “M-master I… what did I do? What can I do? What can I do to make this better again?” he asked, his voice filled with a strong desire to remain with the other. He breathed in deeply, slowly moving forward toward the stairs he pretty much flew over a few moments ago. He shuddered with fear, hesitation strong in his movements as he crawled, climbing up the stairs by the male’s feet. “Please…I’m begging you don’t send me away…” he begged softly, trembling fingers stretching out to meet the other male’s pants leg. “I’m warning you freak….don’t fucking touch him…"

“Don’t make this any harder on yourself Cael. I don’t want to see you get hurt… Just get up and walk away…”

Their warnings fell on deaf ears. He didn’t want to leave. No one else was going to have his company. No one else would show him such kindness…. With one last desperate attempt at changing the other’s mind, he quickly stood to his feet. With a quickness he cupped the other’s skull with his left hand, and used his right to bring their bodies closer. Pressing their lips together, he stole one last kiss of passion before he was torn away by the blonde’s guards. Tossed back into the dirt and grime he surface from, he smiled hopelessly. “I’ll never forget you.”

“Get him out of here….”

With that said his goons began dragging Cael away. The neko sighed heavily; eyes clenched shut as he was dragged away on his stomach. The ‘ride’ was quite long as the guards dragged him far from his home and into the city. “Let’s leave him here…” one of the guards said as they came to an abrupt stop at the side of a large dumpster. Cael sighed once more, curling up into a tight ball. He knew what was coming next and when the two large guards noticed he was preparing for their onslaught they immediately began beating on him. Cael groaned softly as the two men administered a series of kicks and punches to his entire body…not caring if he would bruise…or even heal for that matter. It was when his body was pulsing with pain that a loud crackle in the sky erupted and forced the two men to pull back in fear of getting soaked and wet in the storm to come. Once the men had disappeared from Cael’s blurred sight the rain began to pour stinging every open cut on his body before he felt numb falling into an unconscious state. The night would be long…and he wondered if he would see the morning to come.

 

[Devxx]

"Oh great. Figures it would start raining now." A soft voice mumbled from the doorway as they reached into their bag and shuffled around for a bit. After a minute they managed to pull out a purple umbrella before opening it and walking outside. Elena thanked her lucky stars that she had actually remembered to bring her umbrella to work today. The last thing she really needed would be to have to run home in a thunderstorm and she got soaking wet.

It had been a long day and after everything that had happened all she wanted to do was take a hot shower and then curl up in bed while the tv whisked her away to some dream land where she could forget about all of this for the night. Of course the next morning she would just be woken up and have to start the process all over again. There were plenty of people in the world who would have given up everything to work for one of the largest fashion magazines in the country but over the past few months it had become a nightmare for Elena. They had such a big deadline coming out in two weeks and every moment had been filled with stress and headaches as nothing went according to plan. It seemed like everything that could go wrong was going wrong and it was Elena's head on the chopping block if they didn't meet their deadline.

Even as the water droplets splashed against her umbrella Elena was glad to have a moment just to breath and clear her head. After spending the past ten hours either in front of a computer screen or hunched over a mock-up of the issue she was glad to actually have some space. Everyone else had pretty much gone inside so she found herself walking the dark streets alone with only her breathing and the sounds of water against concrete keeping her company. Sighing, Elena pushed a strand of black hair out of her face as she made her way down the street and towards her apartment. She could see the tall building in front of her and a small smile spread across her face as she could already picture the warm bubble bath.

"Ouch. What the?" Her boots hit against something solid causing Elena to trip slightly and drop her umbrella.

Holy. Crap.

Looking down she moved closer to what had tripped her and what she had first sought was a garbage bag suddenly took the form of something very human. It looked like a young man who had on a pair of cat ears from a Halloween costume. Moving closer she could see the bruises clear on his body and it appeared as if he had recently been beaten and left in the ally for dead. 'Just my luck. Of course I'd be the one to find a dead guy in the ally.' Well, it looked like he was breathing but now she had to think of what to do with him. She could call the police but they'd probably throw him in jail or wouldn't even bother showing up just saying he was a bum. She couldn't really leave him here either and suddenly Elena saw images of her warm bath fading away.

"I'm an idiot." Elena mumbled to herself as she tucked away the umbrella before swinging his arm over her shoulder as she gently lifted him up and carried him towards the building. After a good ten minutes of dragging him she unlocked the door to her apartment before dropping him with a bit of a grunt on the couch. Great, so she had an unconscious guy on her couch, now what?

 

[__N o v i.S n o w]

Cael… you’re a fucking idiot. How could you land yourself in such a predicament? You let yourself be charmed by some snake… and now you could die from such foolishness. The rain pellets continued to beat down on his half naked body as he lay lifeless in the dark alley way. His mind taunting him relentlessly as he awaited death. It was then that he felt his body scrape softly against the rugged pavement beneath him. There was a faint voice in his head other than his… and he hoped it wasn’t more goons…or even help for that matter. He knew once he was well and better…used up… that he would yet again be cast away…

There was a soft breath of air that escaped Cael’s dry lips as he was lifted. It was a weird feeling as he slipped in and out of consciousness as the girl dragged him to her apartment building. Once he was plopped down onto her couch, he let out another soft breath of air. As he lay there on her couch his body began to feel tingly…a burning sensation surging through his body as the blood began circulating, the feeling coming back to his nerves. His ears twitched, fingers digging softly into his couch as he tried to fight his sleeping state. He didn’t want to be saved… It was pointless. Whoever his savior was, they too would probably grow sick of his presence and do the same to him. He feared the second time however, he wouldn’t be granted the option of such an easy death. He shuddered on her couch, unable to fight the sensation of him coming out his mild unconscious state.

”I’m sorry…” He had troubled someone… It was only appropriate the first words he spoke were an apology. Yes he was hurt…and in a strangers home. His first words should have been who are you…or perhaps a grateful thank you. However, that was quite hard for him to accomplish considering the heartbreak he’d now have to work to get over. Golden orbs fluttered open slowly as his head turned toward where the scent of the girl was strongest. “I am grateful for your help--- taking in a deep breath of air, Cael attempted to sit up on the woman’s couch. It was a painful process, and for a moment he felt himself feeling light headed again as he sat in an upright position. However, that could wait until he was away from his savior.

“But I do not wish to trouble you any further…” he said with a weak smile towards the girl. “I’ll be taking my leave now…” With a loud grunt he managed to push himself up from the couch into a standing position. There was a slight look of triumph on his face as he thought he would actually be able to walk since he could stand. However, his body proved to weaker than he initially thought. He took a half a step, and not even a millisecond after he felt himself falling to the floor. Fuck. Was the only word he could use to describe the pain, and predicament he was in as he laid on the floor now looking up at the girl. Now he would be causing her more trouble if she chose to move him back onto the couch. Dammit… could nothing work out right for him that night?

“You…don’t…have to move me…” he said…panting between each pause he’d taken. “If it makes you feel any better…you can cast a blanket over me…and just continue on about your nightly routine… I should be well enough to move by dawn….” Cael let out an exhausted breath of air… He could just imagine how pathetic he looked to the girl as he laid there on her floor. He didn't get to wonder too much on the subject however, as he felt the fatigue taking over once more. Forcing himself off the couch...didn't seem like such an awesome idea just then. His eyes fluttered shut...and he began to fall asleep once more.

 

[Devxx]

Surprise registered on her face as she actually heard him speak and shift about a bit. Elena had thought that he would be knocked out after the beating he apparently took but surprisingly he was still awake enough to not only speak but also apologize. As he made a move to get up Elena's hands shot out and hovered around him just in case he should fall back down again. He might be well enough to speak coherently but he still looked pretty beaten up and she didn't trust him to not pass out at any minute. Whoever had left him there had done a very good job of leaving bruises on him though it looked like he got ganged up by more then one person. Right now she really couldn't imagine what he could have done to warrant that kind of reaction.

"I don't really think you're in any..." Before Elena could finish her sentence he had pushed himself up off the couch and stood up for a couple of seconds until he took a step and was now lying on the floor. Yep, it didn't look like he was going to be going anywhere with the injuries he had on him. Sighing, Elena bent down to see if he had cracked his head from the fall but it didn't look like he'd done any more damage. The woman frowned as he spoke while her blue eyes looked over his body to see if it would be dangerous to move him or not. It didn't seem like he had anything really broken but she'd probably have to call a doctor to get him check out just in case.

"For some reason I doubt you'll be going anywhere by dawn. Come on, let's get you back up on the couch." Leaning over him she grabbed onto his shoulders again and struggled to help him back up and onto the couch. Elena was by no means a very large person and standing at 5'6" she had quite a bit of trouble getting him back up on the couch though finally she did manage that feat. "Sit still while I get you a blanket and a pillow." That was an order and not a request as she walked away hoping he wouldn't try to move again. After shuffling around in the hall closet for a bit she managed to find a fleece blanket and a pillow in there.

Putting the pillow on the side of the couch she pushed him down gently so he was resting on top of it before putting the blanket over him. When she left work less then an hour ago she had thought she would have a peaceful night but instead she had somehow managed to bring a complete stranger into her house. Part of her was yelling at her telling her how completely stupid this was but then another part was saying that he wasn't in any condition to do anything bad to her place.

Pinching the bridge of her nose she sighed heavily before standing back up and looking down at him. "Go to sleep and don't do anything stupid. Then in the morning you and I are going to have a long talk." She had no idea who this man was or what he was doing out there. Hell, she still had no idea what his name was but right now she was too tired to care. "Goodnight stranger." With another sigh she turned off the light in the living room and made her way towards her bedroom. The part of her brain that controlled common sense was yelling at her for not even thinking of the dangerous of what she was doing but it was drowned out by the drowsiness she felt as she got changed and threw herself on her bed.

 

[__N o v i.S n o w]

He didn’t know what to make of her kindness. It was strange but the moment she insisted on still helping him…he felt that she actually was doing this out of the kindness of her heart. But then again… He seemed that way as well. Even with that thought in his mind, she still felt quite genuine to him. He laid there slipping in and out of consciousness trying to stay aware of his surroundings as she dipped off to retrieve a blanket and pillow. He wouldn’t lie, those to things sounded pretty comfortable. After being dragged for over fifteen minutes probably and lying on a cold hard ground he couldn’t really bring himself to refuse such items. His current state of pain wouldn’t let him. His golden eyes were mere slits as she came back with the blanket and pillow. He wanted to lift his head to make it easier on her as she placed the pillow beneath him, but he couldn’t. Silly enough, he’d exhausted what little energy he had left….he was quite surprised he was even able to stay awake.

“Good—night…kind miss… He whispered ever so quietly as she walked away, unable to voice himself like he wanted. Once the light was off and she disappeared up the stairs… he finally drifted into a deep sleep his body desperately craved.

The night seemed to fly by and before the neko knew it he was being awakened by the soft chirping of birds. The sky was still a little dark, the streetlights outside still on. It must have been about 5:30 am or so. Cael rolled over onto his side with a soft groan. Bringing his knees to his chest he curled up in the soft blanket the woman had been so kind to let him sleep with. It was so warm… and soft. With a quiet yawn Cael stretched out on the couch. It was a painful stretch but a much needed one. He had been sleeping in one position all night and his body felt stiff.

The male was still pretty exhausted and in a lot of pain, but not so much that he could sit up on the couch without much trouble. That was a good sign… he supposed. Cael pushed the blanket off himself, as he mentally prepared himself to stand. He had to pee so badly. On the count of three the neko used the arm of the chair closest to him to help support his weight as he stood up off the couch. It took him a couple of minutes but he finally did it. He needed to get to her bathroom. The last thing he wanted to do was release himself all over her floor and look as if he weren’t house trained when he was.

Slowly, the male took baby steps over to her staircase. Once he was there he took the deepest breath he could manage. She had a lot of stairs…he wasn’t sure his legs could take the stress just yet. Shit, they were feeling like spaghetti and all he did was walk a couple of feet. Exhaling quietly he began to venture of the stairs. He took frequent rests with every other step conquered, slowly drawing closer and closer to the stop of the staircase. “Almost there…” he thought to himself as he mentally took count of the steps left he had yet to conquer.

When he reached the top of the stairs, there was a light coming from a certain room illuminating the hall. Looking toward where the light was coming from he smiled. There was a sink… That’s all he needed to see to know that the room with the light on was the bathroom. Swiftly, as swift as he could be, he rushed to the room. Quietly he shut the door behind him and proceeded to go to the bathroom. Once he was finished he flushed the toilet and—SLAM! He accidentally slammed the toilet seat down. “Fuck…” he thought to himself as he turned to face the sink. Turning on the water he rinsed his hands first before he reached for the soap. Big mistake. Squeezing too hard, the soap slipped out of his hands. Immediately he began fumbling with the bar, knocking over the things she had neatly placed on her sink as he did.

”Gotch—“ Just as the soap landed in his hands it slipped out once more and he cursed himself as he went hopping after it. Not exactly paying attention to where he was hopping to, he wound up falling into her shower pulling the curtain down as he did… The pesky bar of soap landing on his chest afterward. “She’s gunna kill me…” he murmured to himself as he took in the scene before him.

"Well...at least the soap isn't dirty..."

 

[Devxx]

Soft breathing was all that could be heard as Elena snuggled deeper under the covers far too gone into a dream world to even care. It had been a long day and as soon as her head had hit the pillow she was off to sleep with little fuss. In fact, at this very moment she was enjoying a dream involving her supervisor getting shot out of a canon until it was interrupted by a sudden slam. Bolting up out of bed her blue eyes searched wildly across the room wondering if that noise was real or if she had just imagined it. Already her heart was racing with visions of burglars or murderers breaking into her home so early in the morning. Yet just when she had managed to convince herself that it was really nothing at all other loud noises and crashes came from down the hall making her even more paranoid then before.

Pushing the covers off she jumped out of bed and reached for the umbrella she had left drying next to her nightstand. Sure it wasn't really much of a weapon but it was still pretty dark inside and maybe the robbers would be stupid enough to think it was a gun or something. Umbrella firmly in hand she crept through the hallway where she could see a light shining from her bathroom. What the hell would a robber possibly be doing in her bathroom? What, was he going to run away with her toilet paper and shampoo and sell them on some underground toiletries black market?

Taking in a deep breath she lifted the umbrella up ready to bring it down on whatever dastardly criminal had chosen to break into her home. What she found was something very different though.

The things that had been on the sink counter were now spilled all over the place and the shower curtain had been pulled off its rings leaving the very tired looking male lying in her tub with a bar of soap on his chest. Lowering the umbrella slightly her head moved across the bathroom examining all the damage he had caused. It would be a bit of a problem to clean up what he had spilled and she'd need to buy a new shower curtain but it didn't look like he'd broken anything.

"It's way too early for this shit." Elena muttered under her breath as she placed her head in her hand for a minute just trying to gather her thoughts. Obviously her little house guest had heard the call of nature and had a mishap while managing to wreck her bathroom. For a moment the woman considered what alcohol she had in her cabinets and how good of a combination cereal and brandy would be.

Quirking her eyebrow at him she gave him a long, hard look before sighing and putting down the umbrella before offering her hand to him to help him up. "Come on, let's get some breakfast and you can start telling me just why you were in that ally in the first place." Helping the man to his feet she led him down the stairs and to the kitchen on the first floor. It was still too early for her to be awake but after this it didn't seem like she would be going back to sleep any time soon.

Elena pulled out a skillet and started cooking some eggs and bacon before motioning for the man to go to the fridge and pull out some milk. "Ok, start talking. Who are you and what the hell happened? Also, isn't it about time you took off those ears and that tail?" Halloween had been months ago and she couldn't see a reason for fashion or otherwise why he'd wear them.

 

[__N o v i.S n o w]

Golden eyes gazed up at the woman as she waltzed into the bathroom with an…umbrella in hand. She must have thought him to be a burglar or something… But if that was true he wondered why the hell she would grab an umbrella. Those flimsy little things didn’t even stand up against a little wind…let alone a thug. Then again in his weakened condition such a choice in weapon didn’t sound so bad after all… When she held her hand out for him to take he was hesitant at first, nervous that such kindness would quickly fade once his hand was in hers. However, if that was the case it was better not to refuse. Such actions always made the punishment worse than initially planned. When he grabbed onto the woman’s hand her grip hadn’t tightened and she didn’t reign down a fury of hell on him with her umbrella. The neko let out a soft breath wondering if he should tell her anything.

Quietly Cael followed after the woman as she led him downstairs and into the kitchen. He watched as she sauntered through the kitchen grabbing things she needed for making breakfast. When she motioned him to gather the milk, he did so quickly. Droopy ears and tail perked with alert when the woman queried him. Golden eyes trailed down to the pan of cooking eggs before down to the milk that was still within his grasp. “My name is Cael… I used to live in a mansion not to far from here. However, I do not know what landed me in the position I am now you will have to ask my former master for such information.”

With that said the male leaned up against her countertop finally placing the milk down onto it. Now it was time to explain that his ears and tail didn’t come off. Shaking his head slowly he took in a deep breath.

“My ears and tail are not removable…” Running slightly trembling fingers through messy black bangs he brought them up to his ears. Tugging gently on one of his ears, he finally lays his eyes to rest on the girl. “See?” he questions with a slight wag of his black tail. He wondered how she would react. Would she be overdramatic? Or perhaps the too calm type in unbelievable situation… With such thoughts beginning to swarm the neko’s mind he slowly began to back away from the other. The last thing he needed was a hot skillet to his face or any part of his body for that matter.

 

[Devxx]

Well, at least now it looked like he could stand on his own two feet as opposed to yesterday. He probably hadn't broken anything and didn't seem to have pneumonia which would bode well considering she didn't want to wake up with a dead stranger on her couch. That would be an awkward call to work to explain why she was late.

"Did you just say former master?" Elena turned her head and quirked her brow while the eggs sizzled on the skillet. Master, as in an owner. The girl might not have always payed attention in history class but she was pretty sure things like that were illegal in this country. Although it seemed like a falling out with that master must have been the reason why he was out on the streets last night. It must have been something bad considering he looked pretty beaten up as well.

Great, had she somehow managed to get herself involved with some secret underground people smuggling ring and now the Russian mob was going to be knocking on her door at any moment. With her luck that was actually a pretty viable option.

"They're not removable..." Blue eyes widened in surprise as she watched him pull on his ears and they didn't budge even a bit.

The ears. The tail. They were actually attached to him.

For a moment she didn't even say anything and the only sound that could be heard was that of cooking food. This guy in front of her was some genetic mutant that had gotten into it with a former master and had been thrown out on the streets which in her moment of infinity enlightenment she had managed to bring home. Absolutely fucking fantastic. If she saw a rainbow today after all the rain she was going to chase it down and take whatever gold she could find at the end of it. Hell, if all of this was true then why shouldn't leprechauns exist as well.

Still not saying anything Elena poured the food into two plates and got out two glasses before setting the table and sitting down and grabbing her fork. "So you got kicked out after a fight with your master and you just so happen to have ears and a tail. Wonderful." She was really too dumbfounded to get past that whole point. It seemed like every question she asked him only opened up ten more questions. What on Earth was going on and what was she going to do with him now? It didn't seem like he could go back where he came from and if she called the police about a guy who was part cat they'd laugh their asses off.

Why did fate have to have such a twisted sense of humor?

 

[__N o v i.S n o w]

RE: ◄Snow█ ▄Lost and Found▄ █Devxx►

Once he looked passed the sarcasm… She actually seemed to be taking the fact that he was totally human pretty well. He’d expected her to run for the hills…. Not serve him food. He watched as she set the table before sitting down at the table to eat her food. He wished he was also psychic at the moment so he could know for sure just what she was thinking about.

He sat at the table, taking a gander down at the food before him. He sniffed it a little, lowering his head as he raised a curious hand over the steam coming up from it. A moment later he began to poke and prod at the bacon and eggs before twisting off a piece of backing bringing it up to his lips. It looked fine… Smelt fine. However…. Placing the piece of bacon back down onto the plate, golden eyes looked over at the currently dumbfounded woman.

“So… um thanks for breakfast...and a place to sleep for the night. Sorry for wrecking your bathroom. But…I’m gunna go now.”

He said pushing back from the table. He wasn’t sure what kind of person she would turn out to be if he continued to accept her kindness.

The whole situation seriously reminded him of when he met that man. He was all nice at first but started to request things he wasn’t so sure of. However, when you were blinded by infatuation of love one didn’t notice such until such feelings weren’t returned.

“I don’t wanna cause you anymore trouble. Don’t worry bout’ me I’ll be fine..”

he murmured as he began pushed his chair back up to the table. Taking a small stretched he started head toward the exit of the kitchen, stomach growling koudly as he passed her. He hadn’t known how hungry he was til just then. But like always, he’d find something to eat. He was always quite good at that.

 

[Devxx]

What exactly was one supposed to do when they found out that the random stranger they had picked up off the street last night happened to have a tail that was permanently attached to his body and had just been kicked out by his former master. It wasn't like there were any how to books for dealing with this kind of situation or even some feel good movie about the subject. It was like some strange mixture of pretty woman and Lassie and Elena had absolutely no idea how to go about dealing with it. Truth be told, she had actually thought she would wake up this morning and find out it was all just a dream but it didn't seem like she was that lucky.

Eating her own food slowly she watched him as he began poking at the plate in front of him and sniffing it like she could have possibly slipped something into it. The woman quirked and eyebrow and actually put down her fork as she watched him with an expression between amusement and utter annoyance. Apparently he seemed to think of her as some evil criminal mastermind who would drug his food and do god knows what with him in his drugged form.

Oh yes, by day she was a mild mannered editor at a major fashion magazine but by night she was the scourge of the city preying upon strange cat-man hybrids. The woman actually had to restrain herself from letting out a low, sinister laugh just for the comedy of it all.

"Sit your butt down and eat your food." Elena said as she pointed to the seat using the same voice her mother had when she was little and refused to eat her vegetables. It was a voice that left absolutely no room for discussion and told him that if he knew what was good for him he wouldn't argue.

"Do you honestly think that I'd go through all the trouble of getting you out of the rain and dry only to drug you now? I know I'm not that good of a cook but I promise it won't kill you." He was definitely hungry and while she had a tendency to burn things in the kitchen even she could handle a simple breakfast of eggs and bacon.

Finishing the rest of her food she dropped the plate off in the sink and sat back down giving him a long hard look. Her lips were pursed in deep thought as she wondered just what she was going to do with him now. The logical part of her brain was screaming at her to get him out of her house as soon as possible. She had no idea if he was actually a serial murderer and if that whole story of his had been nothing more then a lie. Not to mention the fact that he seemed to be very accident prone and she really didn't want to come back and find out she had to replace more things in her home. Yet the other part of her brain, the one that had secretly fed cheese to the mice in the garage or caught the baby bird when it fell out of it's nest, was telling her that she couldn't throw him out on the street.

Tapping her fingers against the table she gave out a loud sigh as she finally made up her mind. "Look, you obviously don't have a place to go and for some reason I'm in a masochistic mood this morning. So...for now you can stay here. As long as you promise to be careful not to break any more things I solemnly swear I won't poison your food." She held up her palm giving him a girl scout sign of a promise.