Home sweet....castle...why is it empty?
#3 of Life as a Lord's Pets
Chapter three of my little series. Hopefully we can get this updated more often from now on.
As always, credit goes to SkyWing and Kane Shadow Wolf as well.
As they walked up to the gate, an arctic fox guard wearing full armor and carrying a spear in his paw looked at them. Recognizing the lord, he smiled and greeted him. "Good evening, my lord. Are these two your new house guests?"
Master Ryker chuckled softly at the guard's question before he spoke. "In a manner of speaking Xander. These are my new pets and they're going to be on a more permanent basis than any of my guests."
The fox's ears perked up noticeably and his tail began to wag in joy. "You finally found some pets to keep you company?! Congratulations Sir!" he said, his voice telling his emotions were genuine.
The folf pats the guard's shoulder as he stepped up next to him. "Thank you Xan. Well, I'm going to bring them inside and show them around." he replied, then looks back to see his pets staring around at different things.
Kane was looking at the banners hanging on the wall. Each were silver in color and held an image of an outline of the folf's head in the center of a circle that was patterned after his nine tails, and the outer edges of the banner were trimmed in darker silver. Fen, on the other paw, was watching the sky and the reflections made on the pond and waterfall from the bright full moon and northern lights.
He chuckled as he stared at them for a bit before calling out. "Come on boys. You can see the lights from on top of the castle. And the banners will always be there."
After he spoke, Ryker simply strode on into the castle with his pets running to catch up and walk on either side of their Master. They looked around and were amazed at the many elegant decorations, and tables and rugs from foreign lands. But Fen noticed something. For all the nice things, aside from the pawful of guards and lingering scents from people who came occasionally, the castle was remarkably empty. "Master... Why aren't there more people? In a place as big and awesome as this place, and with how nice you are, I kinda expected it to be more populated." he questioned.
Kane's ears perked as he hears Fen and he thinks about it before nodding, also confused and agreeing with him. The folf only laughed at the question and started to walk up the stairs and into the courtyard. "Because, my fluffy companions, I have friends over occasionally, but I don't host parties or any of that. I prefer the company of friends, or pets like you, I can relax and enjoy time with without having to worry about every little word that can carry political meaning or be taken out of context and be considered a promise of something or as an insult. It's a pain I don't deal with unless I have too." he answered.
Both wolves nodded understandingly, clearly able to imagine the headache that would accompany such things. In the middle of the courtyard, there was a path of trees outlined with torches and soft grass and a pond of sorts. "Welcome boys to my small slice of paradise and calm. It's where I go to relax when I'm not busy with day-to-day duties. Sit." He said and commanded respectfully.
Both canines immediately sat down and relaxed, sighing at the soft ground under their naked bums. Ryker chuckles and sits on a low lying tree branch. "Well this is as good a place as any to learn about each other... You for example" he said, gesturing at Fen.
"I'm guessing by your fur pattern that while you're a grey wolf, you probably have husky heritage too." Fen nodded at the statement unsurprised, his new master wasn't the first to guess that correctly.
Looking at Kane, Ryker says, "I don't think you're a mix as there are no obvious fur patterns, saying otherwise."
Kane nodded just like his companion had done to their master. Ryker just chuckled, enjoying his game of guessing and observing things about his new pets. "Alright I'll tell you a little about me and establish the 3 basic rules. Then you will tell me about yourselves, as you had to come from somewhere. I was born in this very castle to my parents. My mother was a kitsune, so I possess magic from her, including empathy, the power to read emotions. I lived with them for most of my childhood, but my mother died when I was seven and my father soon after at twelve. Since then, I have inherited his title of lord and maintained this area as my own since. I've been on my own the last couple years and decided I wanted others to keep me company, which is where you come in." he said.
Ryker then stretched and yawned a bit. "There are only 3 major rules I have and by obeying them, you will do very well here. # 1) Do not lie to Master. Ever. And as I explained earlier, I have empathy, so lying would be pointless anyway. #2) You obey and be loyal to your Master, and answer ONLY to me. This last one is common sense and I doubt it actually needs to be said, but I will say it anyway #3) Use good judgment, you are pets not stupid. Don't steal or commit criminal acts."
Having told his tale and initail rules, the folf glanced down at his new pets. "That's more or less all you need and could want to know about me, now it's your turn." he said.
He gestures to the wolves, or rather, the black wolf and what he deemed a wusky as he tired of saying wolf husky hybrid. The two simply glance at each other and back at their Master, unsure of what to do first. At their silence, Ryker sighs, then his ears perk up and he grins as an idea pops in his head. "You can either tell me your stories or I have other ways to get the information, though whether you like or hate my tactics I can only guess, but it would be interesting to find out." he chuckles to himself while the two pets watch to see if he's serious.