Chapter 25: Master’s Den

Khukri sunk Master’s carving knife into the beast, severing a hunk of transparent flesh to add to her bamboo basket. Butchering a mist wraith like common prey felt almost unthinkable. In the Othelan Republic, its meat was considered a delicacy and sold on the exchange at a high rate, not that they could access the exchange right now. In fact, despite her unwavering loyalty, Khukri’s only registered kill this season was that velkammer, and only a few of its bigger plates reached the exchange. With such a poor season, her market value would fall below the line and suspend her premium status, leaving her stuck in a high-grade pack until she could make up for it next year. With a sigh, Khukri hopped off the beast and carried the basket upstairs and outside.

Master looked up from where he sat, with his new canine maw salivating over a small fire. The muzzle he’d ended up with was strange, lingering somewhere between a dog and a deer. His jaw was distinctly canine, with a narrow mouth in front that widened closer to his head, but the nose was still that of a deer, with a broad black section that filled his upper lip, and nostrils that opened sideways instead of head-on. He smiled as their eyes met, lifting a bamboo skewer of flaky white meat. “Thanks, care to take a break for lunch?”

She set the latest basket next to the previous three and knelt beside Master’s rock, carefully taking the skewer. Steam trailed off, releasing the pungent aroma unique to mist wraiths, similar to a sweet fish, seasoned with the salt and assorted taste-plants Master provided. “Thank you, Master.”

Despite the smile, he’d been distant since he’d taken her. Naturally, she’d been proud he finally shed his weakness and learned to take what he wanted, but the strain it put on him hurt to watch. He’d get better though, the more he did it. It was like when she learned to walk. It felt cruel at first, being forced to carry all those extra weights, but the pain made her more useful when she was grown.

Master chose a cut from the basket and laid it over the stone opposite him. “How’s the cleanup going?” He dragged a knife over the meat slab, adding a shower of clear scales to the pile on the ground.

“The corpse is half gone, but the blood’s been a problem. Since it’s clear, it’s hard to find it all, and I can’t locate it by smell ‘til the body’s gone.” Khukri hesitated, wondering if it was too early to push him. “We’ll also need more straw for the bed.”

He glanced her way, knife hovering over the transparent meat. “More?”

A nervous twitch in her stomach made her sink, folding her ears as she ripped off and swallowed a hunk of tender meat. “There was a lot of… er… cum. I think you might’ve put a pint inside me, but most didn’t stay. I needed to throw away some straw to clean our bed...”

“Oh.” Master turned back to the meat, giving it a sour look before setting the knife down and driving a long shaft of sharpened bamboo through. “I’ll go down to the old building we used for farming and start a garden. It won’t grow as fast without Issac’s girls to siphon magic, but I need to grow fruit or vegetables anyway. I can eat some meat, but my stomach’s not built for it.”

Khukri released a worried grunt, looking down. “Master, your feet...”

He sighed, adding more skewers to hold the meat in place before reaching for the bag of taste plants. “Yeah, yeah. We still have some cloth. I can try to wrap my feet, maybe pad the bottom with bamboo strips or something, but I’ll need some actual shoes. Maybe Issac can get my boots back.”

The last of the meat disappeared down Khukri’s throat before she stood, brushing dirt from her shins. “He did tell us to meet him tomorrow, but it'd be unwise to approach him early.”

“Stay with me, please?” Master paused, eyes fixed on the bag’s contents.

“There’s a lot to clean,” she reminded. “And I need to set up a safe place for you to sleep. There’s a reason everyone stays in District 1 at night.”

“Just for a bit.” He lay the meat over the fire, letting the outer layer hiss and shrivel as it contracted.

Khukri sat beside him, pressing her head into his hip, the distant tone in his voice leaving an ache. Again, she reminded herself it was for his own good. People could either have what they wanted, or keep their hands clean. Owners chose their side long before they bought their first slave. It wasn’t something she judged them for; she was a weapon, forged with claws of red, but the naive boy wouldn’t learn to wield her properly without a few callouses.

“I was thinking, maybe we can use Dusk to escape.” Master removed a bamboo shoot from the bag, then pulled the plug and dusted the meat with a powder. “When winter ends, my antlers will come off. If I cover up and have a muzzle like this, maybe the guards will overlook me and we can slip out. It’s not a perfect disguise or anything, but they’ll be looking for a deer.”

“You could stay,” she said, barely audible over the crackling fire. “It’s rough here the rest of the year, but it wouldn’t be unlivable. You could grow your own food, and I could teach you to fight. By next winter, they won’t be looking anymore, and you'll be stronger.”

Her heart sank as he shook his head. The plan was her fantasy, after all. The idea that Tythic royalty would share it was always a long shot. “Now that Via’s out of the way, I need to get back. I need to make things right for my family before I make for Sibir.” Master paused when Khukri pressed in harder, then wiped his hand on a rag to slowly pet her. “We still have three weeks, though. Maybe you can teach me a thing or two before then?”

Three weeks? She could live with only having him another three weeks. It was more than most hunters got, after all. “I can’t go with you,” she said softly, melting into his hands as she lost herself in the crackling fire and the smell of salted meat. “Even if you wanted me to, security would notice a wolf in port.”

“I made a promise,” Master said firmly. “I said I’d get you back to your pack if that’s what you wanted… that is still what you want, isn’t it?”

Idiot; still trying to put her desires above his. Well, every pup collapsed under the weight a few dozen times before finishing the maze. “Yes. But if you ever came back, I wouldn’t mind if you bought me again.”

***

The morning mist swirled around Khukri as she crossed the road and tossed another pile of damp straw into the wind. Next, she shifted to the bowl of water she’d left, rinsing herself off and tossing the rest away. With a long stretch, she turned to the sun, mentally marking the day off before turning towards her temporary home.

Inside, their little nest had been fortified as best Khukri could manage. She’d reorganized the various boxes and barrels they hadn’t sold into little barricades to protect Master while he rested, with a small gap she could seal off in a pinch. It wasn’t as secure as she’d like, but it was what she could manage with the resources she had. Master stood next to their bed, wearing nothing but a spare cloak, balancing the dead beast’s six curved white claws against the wall.

“Getting used to them yet?” Khukri asked, smiling at him as he turned around unsteadily. As it turned out, Master’s power didn’t quite last a full day, as he suspected. During her nightly patrol, she checked on him multiple times, finding his muzzle changed back well before the sun rose. It made little difference, so long as she kept him defended during that time, but she made a point to not rely on him maintaining Dusk indefinitely.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“It still feels weird.” Master wobbled on one leg as he lifted the other, turning it to show different angles. His blocky male foot had shifted into the more streamlined female version, with the ankle pushed higher so only the front tip and four clawed toes touched the floor. “It feels like I’m tiptoeing everywhere, but still normal? It’s weird, but at least we know it works. Deianira told me the magic would come naturally, but...”

“What about the wounds?” Khukri prompted, gently cupping the foot as she examined it.

“Gone. I can’t say for sure they won’t be there when it turns back, but for now, it feels like a brand new foot.” Master wiggled his toes, flexing his paw pads as Khukri checked between them for damage.

Satisfied, Khukri released him. “Do you want to test them out? We could go to the top floor, do a lap around the building?”

“Like, a race?”

A charge shot through Khukri’s body, tightening her muscles as she stood straighter. “A race? Like, we compete?”

A nervous smile crossed Master’s face. “I mean, I don’t think it’d be much of a race, that’s just what-”

“A race,” Khukri confirmed, catching his cloak and pulling him toward the opening. “To see if they work as well as mine? We should do a race.”

Master yelped, stumbling along after her as she hurried up the stairs and around to one side, giving them a long straight path down the building’s length. “Okay! Okay! We’ll race, calm down.”

Khukri beamed, stretching her legs as she stood at the starting point. A long breath flowed through her nose as she flexed her poor leg muscles, not properly put to their limit since she’d hunted alongside Issac’s pack. “Say when.”

“...Go!”

Weeks of restless energy exploded forward as Khukri took off in a white blur, soaring past the shelves at a full sprint. A wild grin spread across her face as she glanced back to see Master, only to find him at her side, staring forward with grim determination. Something inside her flared, head righting as she struggled to stay a step ahead. Her pace faltered, allowing Master to take the lead as she hopped, kicking off the wall and scrambling as she hit the ground, making the sharp turn at dangerous speeds.

Master twisted his hips as he passed the corner, claws scratching the floor as he slid directly into the shelf on the far wall. With a yell of surprise and pain, he bounced off, collapsing to the ground.

Khukri slid to a stop at the next corner, watching him stumble back to his feet. “Are you hurt?”

“I’ll live,” he grumbled, rubbing his side.

With a nod, Khukri resumed the race. She bolted down the next straight, kick-turned the corner and crossed the finish line. When she saw Master still watching from where he fell, she kept going, turning the corner and rushing him. Before they collided, she lowered her shoulders and slid, lifting him as she roughly pinned him against the shelf. “I win.”

A smile spread across Master's face as he wriggled an arm free to scratch behind her ears. “You win,” he agreed. “You’re the best.”

Khukri leaned in, kissing him gently before preening. “You were pretty fast too, for a bit. Wanna go again?”

Master froze, lips still parted as he stared, then his hand pressed against the back of her head, drawing her in for another slow kiss.

When they finally separated, she grinned, pressing her nose to his. “Not what I meant… but if my master insists...”

“No,” he mumbled. “I need to touch base with Issac. I just wanted to know... do you like being with me?”

She sighed contentedly, loosening her hold and slipping under his cloak to grind her body against his. “I like being what you need, Master. When you’re gentle...” she held her breath, tilting her head and glancing at the ceiling. Confused, he followed her gaze. “And when you’re rough.”

Khukri darted in with a playful growl, sinking her teeth into his throat and pressing into a shelf as she bit down. Master's throat spasmed beneath her teeth as his hands jumped to her shoulders, gripping tightly as he gasped. After a moment of letting him sweat, she giggled, dragging her teeth through his fur until her lips met the front of his neck for a kiss. “Now, you should probably get dressed. We wouldn’t want Issac getting jealous.”

***

The night bugs chirped a relaxing chorus, lulling Khukri with their soothing regularity. Dirt crunched beneath her feet as she stalked the building’s outer wall, glaring at the endless void with her blade drawn. Chances were low she’d meet a second mist wraith, but chances had been low she’d have met a first one. This late in the season, most hunters needed to travel to the edge of the harvester’s working range to find more, or bring a team overnight to one of the deep forest campsites. She was either really lucky, or unlucky, depending on how one looked at it.

Before leaving the building, she’d searched for scents and didn’t detect anything dangerous, but it was best to follow up with a closer inspection of the lower windows. Likely, the lingering scent of rotting mist wraith, scattered in a wide circle around the building, would be enough to keep anything worse than starving scavengers from approaching.

For now, there was no sign of danger. Master was safe. Khukri continued her trek around the building, returning to the entrance. This was the only bad part of keeping Master all to herself, needing to patrol at night to ensure his safety, instead of wrapping him in her arms and listening to him sleep. She only needed half the rest he did, but she’d enjoyed the peace of lazily drifting in and out of consciousness knowing Master was safe and comfortable.

Khukri silently slipped inside, sheathing her blade and wandering to the little barricade, finding it pushed ajar. After poking her head in to confirm Master wasn’t in bed, she moved to the railing, catching lantern light from below. She moved to the stairs, clearing her throat and speaking in a whisper so Master wouldn’t panic in the dark. “Master? I’m coming down.”

He was tucked in a corner, stitching the semitransparent mist wraith hide by the dimmest setting the lamp had. His eyes flicked to her as she approached, then returned to his work. Precious little of the delicate material survived Master’s attempts at tanning, and he likely didn’t want to risk ruining this piece. After pulling the thread through, he stopped, setting it gently on the cloth laid out before him.

“Master? You shouldn’t be out of bed; it’s not safe at night.”

He sighed, setting the needle down. “Yeah, okay.”

When he didn’t rise, she quietly knelt at his side, resting her head on his shoulder. “Want to talk about it?”

“I just...” Master closed his eyes, arms folding across his chest to fight the chill. “I don’t see a way through this. Now that I’ve talked to Issac, I’ve got all the pieces laid out, and no way to assemble them into a future I like.”

“It would’ve been dangerous to rely on him anyway.” Khukri brushed his cloak aside, getting a view of his returned male feet, free from so much as a scratch. Evidently, Master was always only a girl away from healing his injuries, an ability that’d be a lot more useful if Master was less picky about how he acquired them. “Issac’s mother is the apex predator of her environment, and everyone knows better than to cross her. It’s dangerous to trust anyone you can't control.”

“Sashura. I have a name for the predator, at least,” Master chuckled grimly. “Issac can’t do much with his mother breathing down his neck. In the meantime, I’m just waiting to die. I need to figure out a new trick to escape.”

Khukri clenched her jaw and stood, pulling his elbow as she tried to return him to bed. “You’re not waiting to die. You’re training, you need to be stronger.”

Master sighed, grabbing the lantern as he rose and followed her up the stairs. “I’m not going to improve so much in three weeks that it’ll make a difference.”

“You’re weak,” Khukri said, pulling the barricade aside. “You think like prey, only seeing as far as the nearest predator’s teeth. When you’re strong, you know you’ll make it past your next fight, and the one after that, because only animals that think that way get strong in the first place. You train because you’ll be three weeks less weak against the next thing we fight.”

Master smiled nervously, moving the barricade back in place while Khukri unbuckled her armour. “It’s hard not to think like prey. It’s like you said, Sashura’s the apex predator here; she’s got no weaknesses to exploit.”

“Everything has a weakness, even apex predators.” Khukri popped the last buckle, letting her armour open and slither around her to the floor. “I would know.”