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Chapter Six:

Hurt

Back in the Citadel, the Master smiled and switched the display on his desk back to the computer screen. He still wasn't sure if he was going to continue with his plan or make one fennec very, very unhappy. Maybe he would let Terra decide their fate when they arrived. He had piqued his own curiosity. He decided to call on the wolf to hear her thoughts. His black furred hand hovered over a button on his desk, the center button of three. He glanced at the clock on his computer's display before hitting the button. What did the time have anything to do with his decision? Terra was his property. She obeyed his whims, not her own. Watching the vulpine couple the past few days had to have been getting to him. He had let more mistakes from the others slip in the last day than he had the previous week. The sound of his chamber door closing shook him from his thoughts. The wolf approached in a submissive, tired manner. How much sleep had she gotten? No, focus...

"Master?" Terra fought to stifle a yawn, but it wouldn't back down without a fight. Her mouth opened wide for a few moments before clamping shut. Her eyes widened as fear woke her tired mind. "Forgive me, Master. I..."

He held his hand up in front of her face. She flinched when his palm touched her nose.

"Forget it."

She opened her eyes slowly to meet his gaze. She looked into his eyes for a second or two, closed her eyes, and waited for the strike she knew was coming. He pulled his hand back and placed it in his lap before standing. The panther walked toward the bedroom door, the one opposite of the bathroom. Terra stared at his back as he walked toward the door. His ears were off to the side.

"Sit in my chair. I want you to watch only the first video in the file named Snowblind. You may..." He hesitated in both step and word. "Join me when you're done." Before the wolf could say anything, the panther crossed into the room and shut the door behind him. She was more than a little confused by now. Sharing the Master's bed with him was an honor very few had been given. There was something wrong with him. There had to be. The Master never tolerated mistakes in her behavior. Terra stared at the leather chair before taking a seat. It didn't feel right to be in the panther's chair without sitting on his lap. She touched the screen of the computer to open the folder. This too would take some getting used to. There were many files in the folder, each one was a thirty minute long video clip. After a moment of searching, she found the video Master had told her to watch. Her finger hovered over the file before she slowly scrolled back down to the bottom. There was a file labeled for just an hour or so ago. She hesitated before closing her eyes and clicking the file. The speakers built into the desk started recreating the wind from the snowstorm in the fifth spoke. Terra opened her eyes to see the video from a droid chasing after a truck. The picture was from a thermal imaging camera. After about five minutes of struggling to keep up, the droid and the truck both came to a stop. The stealthy machine circled the truck for another minute or two before a large eared figure climbed out of the back. The stick in its hand looked like a flashlight, but she couldn't be sure. The unusual colors on the screen made it difficult to tell what some things were. The Droid hovered above the figure as it walked a fair distance from the truck. It soon became obvious that he had stopped the truck to use the bathroom. The camera pointed away from the figure to another pair approaching the truck. The lead figure walked right past the truck while the trailing one opted to take the longer approach. Terra had seen those silhouettes somewhere before. Her eyes widened when she realized they were predatory cats. Her master could be just as cruel to the guests as he was to the AI he sold.

The droid looked back at the lone figure for a moment before pointing back at the truck. A second figure left through the back doors and moved very low to the ground. There was something in the figure's hand.

"Vera? Is that you?" The camera focused on the other figure as it turned around in a bit of a panic. The cat was slowly creeping up on him, but the other figure from the truck was closing the distance fast. The droid even had trouble tracking it as it moved along the ground.

"Vera, this isn't funny. Where are you?" The figure pointed the light low and froze in place for a second before the feral cat jumped at him. He was quick to react and rolled to the side just in time. It looked like the sharp claws missed his feet by inches.

"Vera! Help!" The second figure from the truck stood and sprinted toward the area as the first fought back with the light. He didn't remain standing for long, though. The cat tackled him to the ground, but he still kept fighting. His courage was admirable. The second figure stood with its feet spread apart, both hands holding an object pointed in the direction of the struggle. Terra found out what the object was when the speakers let out a gunshot. The sound coupled with the bright flash on the screen made her jump. The gun went off a few more times before the cat fell. The powerful weapon barely moved in the vixen's determined grip. The girl must have really cared for her master's safety. Terra suddenly found herself a little afraid of meeting the woman when they made it back.

She watched them join together for a moment and start moving before the second cat attacked them on their way to the safety of the truck. She couldn't help but cringe at the yell the man let out when the creature bit his arm. In a move that almost made the wolf sick on the spot, Vera held the gun to the side of the cat's head with one hand and pulled the trigger. Vera was far more brutal than she remembered. What had caused so much change?

Once they were safely in the box of the truck, a pop from the speakers and a notice on the screen showed that the link had switched to a camera mounted in the truck. This one was in full color and clearly showed the wounds both had taken from their fight. The vixen worked to patch up a fennec before tending to her own wounds and leaning against the lockers behind her. Neither one said a word until the bare chested vixen rested on her back with a wince, her head in the fennec's lap. He put his wounded arm on her chest, the other hand on her head, and started to rub the girl's ears.

"You saved me again, Vera."

"No, Master. That time, you saved me. I am grateful."

"I couldn't just let you die out there. You mean too much to me."

Terra's eyes opened a little wider as she stared at the image of the fennec on the screen. Did he really just say that? Better yet, did he mean it? She sat forward in the chair, eager to see what happened next.

"I'm just a slave... a servant. I shouldn't matter to yo..."

The hand that had been on her head now held her mouth shut. Her eyes flooded with fear as he forced her to look into his own. For a single moment, the wolf felt pity for the vixen. It seemed he had been lying all along. Terra's feeling of pity changed to one of envy when he kissed her passionately. The white, blood stained vixen melted in his arms from the kiss. A single tear rolled down the wolf's face as she closed the file. She should have listened to her master. Tear dimmed eyes stared at the blank screen as the wolf fought to regain control of what remained of her emotions. More tears fell despite her will. She longed to be the one in that fennec's arms. What did that stupid girl do to deserve a master like him? The dam holding back her emotions broke before she could stand to leave. Her choked sobs startled the panther that was trying to sleep in the other room. He opened the door to find the wolf falling apart in front of the computer screen. He walked over quickly, his face held an annoyed expression. He raised an arm to strike the girl for waking him, but froze when he glanced at the screen. The last file in the list was highlighted. She had disobeyed his instructions. The contents of that video must have been the cause of her grief. Terra turned her head from the desk to look at the panther with tear filled eyes. She saw the fist, but didn't care if he let it drop. A beating would only fuel her sobbing. The panther's eyes took on a look of guilt, of sympathy as he pulled his hand back to his side in shame. He had never seen the girl's iron will so torn without him being the cause. It almost made him sick. She started to mouth one word over and over again silently as she stared into his eyes. 'Why?'

For the first time in nearly ten years, the panther choked. He knelt next to the girl before drawing her into a hug. Terra quickly grabbed hold and sobbed into the fur at the base of his neck. He was surprised by her lack of hesitation. The panther rubbed her back as she cried, her body shaking with each breath she took. After five minutes, she had gotten quiet. Her tears still flowed despite her silence. The panther known simply as the Master picked her up without a word and carried her to his bed. He tucked the girl in and sat in a chair near the bed with a pained expression on his face. Terra watched him through the darkness until she could no longer hold her eyes open. Her face seemed to mirror his pained expression as she slipped off to sleep. The panther stared at his hands. A tear fell from his eye to stain the carpet at his feet. His hands shook as they clenched into fists. More tears joined the one that fell onto the carpet just moments ago. He would get no sleep that night. His eyes glowed in the darkness as he accessed the computer to send a clear, but hasty message to the control center. One thing needed to be done before the night ended. He wanted the Cougar and the couple resting within it here before dawn.