Tales from the Cat House
Fox Hunting
"Step right up," Kavah shouted, offering a sharp-toothed grin to the few beastkin who glanced in his direction. "Step right up 'nd try your luck! Odds're three-to-one, but a clever beast wit' fast eyes and a fast mind is apt to double his coin in a minute!"
He paused for breath, one triangular ear twitching as carefully watched the crowd. Yes, two or three of the felines in the crowd had glanced in his direction, but just as quickly they returned to their shopping.
Kavah sighed, his bushy tail drooped and his ears folded back against his head as he took stock of his coin purse. He had been working this scam for five hours now, and he had only a handful of copper and silver coins to show for it. Granted, it was a simple scam involving three shells and a piku nut, but he hadn't expected the locals to catch on quite so quickly.
The fox rocked back onto his heels, his clawed fingers drumming lightly against the edge of his makeshift booth. It was little more than an upended packing crate that he had liberated from an alley between shops, but it served its purpose. Besides, if the guards took notice he'd have to pack up and move along in a hurry - his profits were already meager enough without having to take things like 'taxes' or 'permits' into account.
Even under the best of circumstances, he'd have to move on within a month or so. By then, the locals would generally be irate enough at his suspiciously long winning streaks that lynching became a very real concern. Still, he might have to move along even earlier than that, this time. There just weren't enough fish biting.
Not to say that there was NOTHING keeping him in Ma'Karach. There were the girls. Ma'Karach was one of the few cities still dominated by feline beastkin, and Kavah wasn't the least bit embarrassed to admit that he... appreciated their charms.
Oh sure, he could always visit White Palm at the desert's edge, but then he'd have to put up with the sand and the heat. And there was Stillwater Port to the north, but he still had a bounty on his head there, after that... misunderstanding with the Captain of the Guard's daughter. A shame, too, because she had been cute.
No, Ma'Karach - or Karash, to the locals - was definitely the most ideal hunting ground. The presence of the Clan Houses and the noble families made for a unique breed of young noblewomen and dilettantes who were both naive and adventurous enough to find him quite charming. And hey, the fact that twelve of the fifteen Clan Houses were dominated by felines was just a bonus.
"Ha ha, hey there cutie!"
Kavah grinned as he took stock of the new arrival. "Cyrena, I was just thinkin' about'cha."
The young pantheress draped her arms about the fox in a quick embrace, although she was just as quick to release him. She was the only daughter of the Clan fa Soren, so it wouldn't do to have inappropriate rumors flying about the marketplace.
Still, she dared to peck him on the nose with a quick kiss. "I've been thinking about you too!"
Kavah's tail swayed behind him, an obvious register of his mood. Sure he had been grim and moody just a moment ago, but now he had an eager - and shapely - pantheress who he knew would hang on his every word. Sure he was already seeing three other girls in Ma'Karach, but Cyrena was definitely his favorite.
He offered his most charming smile, leaning lightly over the improvised table as he looked her up and down. She was a fetching feline, slim and athletic, but curved in all the right places. Her dress was certainly modest, some green silk number likely made by the local Weaver's Guild, but the collar was cut just low enough to make any male's eyes wander. She was a little on the tall side, but Kavah was the last beastkin to ever complain about that kind of thing - it just meant that the most important curves were at eye-level.
"Well you've just brightened my day, luv."
Cyrena blushed, her hands clasped as she looked away. She was almost impossibly attractive, and the fox honestly couldn't imagine why the young femme had not yet been married off by her ridiculous clan. Politics. Honestly. Still, their loss was his gain.
"Stop, you're making me blush!" she purred. Her eyes brightened, however, as she took in the odd little booth that the foxkin seemed to be manning. "What's all this, Kavah-honey?"
"Oh, this?" he grinned. "Just a little game I play to pass the time."
Cyrena looked confused, her lips pursed in a little pout as her eyes flitted over the neatly lined shells. "How does it work?"
"Like this," he smiled. His nimble fingers set to the makeshift counter-top, one fingertip set to each of the three shells. In a single, swift motion he upended all three, revealing that one had a simple piku nut beneath it. "Do you see that shell? The one with the nut in it?"
The pantheress watched with rapt interest, her tailtip flicking back and forth like a cat that had just sighted a mouse. "Yes?"
The fox chuckled, and in another swift motion all three shells were flipped down again, concealing the piku nut. "Watch the shell with the nut in it."
Cyrena bit her lower lip, already looking confused. "Um, okay?"
And then he began to move the shells about in small circles, back and forth, around each other, and eventually back into a straight line. He grinned, one black-tipped ear perked as he watched the female's face. "Now... which shell has the piku nut under it?"
"Oh," she bit her lip again, looking uncertain. "I don't know. Your fingers were moving so fast!"
Kavah laughed, his ears slanting forward as he gestured. "Come on, Rena. You're the smartest gal I know - that's why I love ya. Now go on, I'll bet you know exactly which one'a these shells has the nut in it. Go ahead and pick."
Cyrena pouted again, but when it became obvious that the fox wasn't going to help her any further, she finally pointed uncertainly. "That one?"
The fox looked to the shell she had indicated - he knew it was the wrong one. That hardly mattered, though. He made a show of flipping up the other two shells first, palming the piku nut before it could roll out onto the table, then he offered an almost wolfish grin as he tapped the last one.
"Well, it looks like you must've been right. The other two shells have nothin' under 'em."
Cyrena laughed, delighted. "Really? Well let's see it, then!"
Kavah deftly plucked the last shell from the table, and in the same motion a silver chain with a heart-shaped locket slipped into its place. "Oh, well, would'ja look at that. It looks like you've won more than just a piku nut!"
The pantheress marveled, her greed briefly betraying her as she snatched up the necklace that had almost magically appeared. "Oh, Kavah, it's beautiful!"
The fox smiled, "Not as beautiful as you, Rena."
And he meant it, too. He had a dozen of those things. The silver was paper-thin, layered over lead for weight, but he always made sure that the girls he fancied were dumb enough to not know the difference between real and fake. It looked like he had once again judged correctly.
She smiled, blushing delicately once more as she barely suppressed a purr. "Can I keep it?"
"Of course!" Kavah laughed, "You won it fair 'nd square! First winner today, in fact. Just a shame that there ain't more folks willing to take a chance to win something just as pretty."
Cyrena beamed, twirling about and raising the silvery chain up about her neck. Kavah obligingly reached across the booth to clasp it in place for her, and she twirled back about. "Well I'm going to tell ALL of my friends about your wonderful game, and we can see if any of them are as clever as I am."
"Oh, I doubt they are," the fox chuckled.
The pantheress leaned in to give the fox a quick and affectionate swipe of her tongue, but he caught her before she could retreat back into the marketplace. "Oh, ah, Rena. I was just wonderin' if you could do somethin' for me..."
She blinked, "Of course!"
He offered a toothy grin, head cocked a little as he mused. "Well, I'm stuck at the booth all day, so before you go runnin' off to tell your friends about me..."
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
"What's he doing now?" Mia fidgeted impatiently, jockeying for position behind the empty cookware booth. The vendor had wandered off for lunch leaving the stand unattended, so the twins had chosen that spot to spy from.
Tia squinted, her large ears twitching as she shushed her sister. "She's... oh, yes, he's just asked her if she'll buy him lunch. Now he's assuring her that he'll pay her back."
Mia scowled, fidgeting moreso. She had been crouching behind the cookware counter for what seemed like half an hour now, and her legs were starting to cramp up. "That bastard. He hasn't changed a bit."
"Oh, and he's given her a locket." Tia amended. The elder siamese beastkin twitched her tail lightly, glancing down at her crouching sister. "It looks an awful lot like yours."
"No..." Mia looked a little crestfallen, "But he said he got this just for-"
Tia frowned, patting her sister lightly atop the head.
The younger Siamese grumbled, her ears slicked flat. "Well, it's a crappy necklace anyway. Not even real silver."
Tia smiled again, turning her attention back to her stealthy observation. "Oh, and now she's left. This is as good a chance as we're apt to get, Mia, so it has to be now or never."
The younger twin offered a toothy grin in return, the glint in her eye more than a little sinister. She rose, uttering a soft groan as her cramped muscles stretched back out, and she smoothed her dress.
"Now be careful with that," Tia chided her sister. "That's one of my favorite dresses."
"Oh yeah?" Mia asked, peering down at the slinky black garment. It was sheer, scant, and nearly translucent in places. To be honest, it was so risque that it was almost something a whore might wear to attract clients, but since Mia worked at a brothel that didn't really bother her.
Tia smiled, bobbing her head slightly. "From Kavah, yes. So he's going to think that you're me, and that will give you your opening."
The younger twin arched her brows, absently plucking at the fabric of her garment. It really was nice. Nice enough that it might actually boost her profits back at the Cat House. "Hey, do you think if I started going out with Kavah again, he'd get me one of these...?"
Tia arched her brow, her hands setting to her hips as she eyed her sibling. For a split second, it almost seemed as if she was channeling their mother. "Really?"
Mia's ears drooped, and she looked a little sullen. "Well, it was just a thought." And she perked right back up, "Well, at least I'll still get to kick Kavah in the nuts!"
Her elder sister laughed, briefly mussing Mia's hair with one hand. "Yes yes, you go and have fun. Just remember, you don't actually want to cripple him."
"Aww, come on..." Mia whined.
Tia tapped her nose, smartly. "No, absolutely not. That's just trouble that we don't need. Besides, I'll be coming in right after you, and I want to do some damage too. That can't happen if you've already ********* him."
The younger twin pursed her lips, frowning a little as she tried to bargain. "Well maybe I could just crush one of them...?"
Tia giggled softly, a hand set to her muzzle. "Well, if you have that kind of precision, then I suppose I'd like to see it. But... still."
"Yeah yeah," the younger Siamese muttered. "I get it, MOM."
The elder of the two considered that. Did she really sound like their mother? No, of course not. Their mother was the madame and proprietor of The Cat House. Honestly, if she knew what Kavah had done, she'd fully advocate kicking his puppymakers until they burst.
"Er," she hesitated, then she shook her head. Eartips flushed, she patted Mia on the rump. "Off you go. Have fun. Leave some for me!"
Mia grinned, slipping out from behind the booth and sashaying her way across the marketplace. Already she could feel five - no, six - pairs of eyes affixed to her body, and she hadn't even gotten her target's attention yet.
She took long, measured strides, the wooden heels of her delightful knee-high boots clacking against the cobblestones with each step. It had taken her all morning to lace them up, but it was going to be worth it once she got a chance to use them.
"Oh," she feigned surprise as she deliberately stumbled. With a deft twitch of her hand, her necklace - the locket that Kavah had given her the year prior - fell from her thin neck and skittered across the ground in front of the fox's booth. "My necklace!"
Kavah noticed it, of course. He had been watching the siamese beastkin since she had come within earshot, although he had been loathe to approach her. Yes she was quite fetching - even moreso with that dress and those boots - but he remembered well the last time he had chanced upon her and her sister. It had taken him a week to recover.
Mia twitched her whiskers, a little annoyed that the fox wasn't rising to the bait, but she wasn't ready to give up just yet. She moved just a dozen paces from the booth where her necklace had landed, turned her back to the fox as if she hadn't noticed him, and then leeeeeaned over to pick the piece of jewelry back up.
The fox watched attentively, his ears bolt upright as he was caught unawares. The dress was already short at both front and back, and that languid stretch was enough to pull the hem up until the feline's panties were visible. They were silk, apparently, just like her dress - but white in contrast to the immodest garment's black.
Maybe it WAS worth chancing another encounter with the twins. Or one of them, at least.
"Here, lemme get that for ya." He grinned as he moved about to intercept the feline. He ducked down, plucking up the necklace - and a familiar looking one, at that - before holding it out for the siamese.
Mia smiled, fluttering her lashes in a look that she knew could melt a man's heart or set their loins ablaze. She was slow to rise, too, because she knew that the fox's position above her gave him an absolutely perfect view right down the front of her dress. "Oh, Kavah. Is that you?"
The fox swallowed hard, his grin wavering ever so slightly. Which of the twins was this? He couldn't remember if he had given a locket to one or both of them, but that dress... no, he distinctly remembered that he had only given that to one of them. The older one, with the slightly larger breasts.
"Hey, I haven't seen you in ages!" He grinned, and a pause as his grin faded ever so slightly. "Not since, uh..."
"Oh, well..." Mia feigned blushing, trying to think on how her elder sibling would react. Her ears twitched to the sides, her gaze averted, and she wrung her hands together as if she were worried about what the fox might think. "Ah, that was all a misunderstanding."
Kavah twitched one ear, trying to keep his eyes on the feline's face - but... well, she WAS looking away, so he allowed himself another quick glance down her top. His tail swaying behind him, he grinned a little wider. "Well, thats a relief. It's been killin' me, knowin' that you thought I would ever hurt you."
"Well..." Mia set one palm to her cheek, as if trying to cover a blush. "I would have looked for you, to apologize, but... my sister..."
The fox tried his utmost to look sympathetic, his ears slanted forward as he took one of the feline's hands. This was perfect. More than perfect. "Tia, look, your sister was just jealous. I never told you this, but when we were seeing eachother... she tried to seduce me."
Mia blinked, her ears twitching forward as she looked at the fox incredulously. "Really?" And her free hand balled into a fist, which set in turn against her rounded hip. "I did?"
Kavah furrowed his brow, looking confused for a split second - but his eyes widened as realization swiftly dawned. "Oh, wait, you're-!?"
The younger siamese smirked, taking firm hold of the fox's hand before he could even think to cover himself up. Remembering how her sister had said she'd done things, she flicked her gaze downward to gauge distance, then flattened out one hand as she slapped the male broadly across the face.
"You jerk!" she shouted, a scowl on her dainty muzzle. She had to suppress a smile as she saw several of the market-goers suddenly looking in their direction. Now that they had an audience, she knew full well that the fox would be much warier about fighting back.
Kavah's hand predictably went to his cheek as he tried to rub away the sting - honestly, the scrawny feline had managed to slap him a lot harder than he ever imagined she could have. It was all he could do to blink away surprised tears of pain. "H-.. hey, watch it you b-!"
The siamese frowned, her gaze flicking lower again. Tia had been right, he was so outraged and off-balance from the slap that he wasn't making any effort to protect himself lower. She allowed herself the faintest smirk, then stepped forward to swing her barely-clad leg upward in one smooth motion.
"Awk!" The fox managed a brief, strangled yelp as the feline's booted foot struck home. It wasn't a precise blow, but it struck with enough force to bring the tears on in earnest. Kavah's eyes bulged, then crossed ever so slightly as slumped down onto his knees. Honestly, he would have collapsed entirely, if the female hadn't been holding so tightly onto his one outstretched hand.
He coughed, his ears flattened and his muzzle twisted into a pained grimace as the pain of the impact caught up with the rest of his body. His stomach was in knots and he could already feel bile rising in the back of his throat, but the real punishment was lower. He wasn't entirely sure just what kind of shoes the girl from the Cat House was wearing, but it felt like she had hit him with a mallet!
Mia grinned a little, before remembering that she was supposed to look distraught. The kick had been perfect! Maybe a little off center, because she wasn't used to mincing about in those lovely but impractical boots, but the thick wooden wedge set just below her toes had certainly done its job. From the look on his face, Kavah clearly agreed.
She sniffed, continuing with her pre-scripted public drama. "Mind your language, you mongrel! I can't believe you called me a bitch-" and a brief pause. Had he actually gotten that word out? Ah well, she could hardly be blamed for jumping the gun a little.
Kavah groaned, his one free hand desperately grasping at his stricken nethers. "Nngh, M-... Mia, I didn't..." and another guttural groan as an agonized spasm spiked through his loins. She had done a number on him, and it honestly felt like his right nut had taken the full brunt of the devious feline's fury. He had only been kicked perhaps a half-dozen times in his life, but this one easily topped the charts.
Mia pursed her lips, her whiskers twitching as she put on an expectant demeanor. "Didn't what? I'm listening, Kavah."
The fox shuddered, slumping a bit against the feline's gripping hand, and Mia actually staggered a little as she tried to keep the male on his knees. He seemed to want nothing more than to curl up on the ground, but she wasn't about to let THAT happen. "Oh gods, my balls...!"
The siamese scowled, her black-furred tail lashing behind her as she tried to feign irritation. Really, she was having the time of her life, but thankfully her time at the Cat House had turned her into a halfway decent actor. "Well if your balls are the only thing you can think of, then let's just see how you act once you've lost them!"
She smirked despite her efforts to keep up her 'outraged' demeanor, a faint gleam in her eye as she glanced back downward. The male was on his knees and he had one hand positioned defensively, but she was fairly certain she could swing another kick below his guard if-
"What are you doing!?"
Mia's ears skewed as her sister suddenly appeared on the scene. Really, her elder sibling couldn't have given her five more seconds? Maybe ten?
"Oh Tia," Kavah managed to whimper. "Thank the gods!"
"Get away from him," the elder twin hissed, and Mia backed away reluctantly. Tia's clawed fingers curled about the male's collar and she hauled him unsteadily to his feet, bearing him backward until his makeshift booth was at his back. He had nowhere to retreat to, even if his legs WERE working.
"I can't believe you were just hitting on my sister!" Tia snarled, her eyes narrowed to slits as she leaned in almost nose-to-nose with the slightly shorter beastkin.
"W-... what!?" Kavah actually managed to sound outraged at the accusation! Granted, his voice was distinctly lilted and cracked halfway through the word, but his eyes were wide and his ears bolt upright. He was appalled at the accusation! Absolutely appalled!
Tia scowled, looking to her younger sister first - but Mia just gave her a sly smile and a shrug of her shoulders.
"Oh, he absolutely did." she purred, "Couldn't stop trying to look down my dress."
"Is this true?" Tia frowned, looking back to- well no, she wasn't eying the fox now, she had picked out the shortest and most easily intimidated member of the slowly growing audience to their little public performance.
"I, uh..." the diminutive sandcat beastkin fidgeted, suddenly on the spot. The sisters were pretty, sure, but at the moment they were absolutely terrifying, and it didn't help that they were both easily a foot taller than he was. "Erm, yes, I saw it. He looked down her dress."
That was all Tia needed to hear. She looked back to the cringing fox, her expression lethally cool as she swung back one hand. Predictably, the fox winced and raised his hands to ward off the impending slap, but it never came.
The elder siamese almost laughed, but she bit it back. Someday the fox would understand how this move worked, but until then he was going to be amazingly easy to punish. She waited a split second before lowering her hand again, instead raising her knee into his crotch.
Kavah barely managed a whine this time, although his whole body bucked with the impact. He folded at the waist, his face planted against the surprised feline's chest as he reflexively doubled over. Thankfully the strike had been less potent than Mia's, but that was hardly any consolation given that he had barely gotten any time to recover from the vicious younger sibling's snap kick.
"H-... hey, get off of me!" Tia shoved the fox away, and he managed to stagger a few steps before catching himself against his booth. The whole thing wavered but held, and the beastkin planted his muzzle against the tabletop as he uttered an inarticulate groan. Several of the other beastkin in the audience echoed the sentiment, groaning in sympathy - but none moved to intercede.
"And... let that be a lesson to you!" Tia scolded, looking just a little embarrassed. It wasn't an act this time, she really was a little embarrassed to be doing this in front of so many people. It had sounded fun when they were planning it out, but now it just seemed a little... er... awkward.
"Yeah, you jerk!" Mia crowed, stepping past her sister to give the fox another swift kick. He was folded over the counter of his booth, his back to the feline, with his rump raised just high enough to make for an irresistible target. Sure she had promised Tia that she'd only kick him once, but... what the hell, right?
The younger siamese aimed low, of course, her oversized ears perked as she slammed the toe of her boot just below the male's limply hanging tail. Her swing struck with deceptive accuracy, hitting just behind his defensively curled fingers to crush his already aching nuggets right back into his body.
"Ng!" Kavah grunted, but he was just too breathless to cry out this time. The kick was enough to propel him right over the counter of his booth and then the entire rickety platform collapsed beneath him, sending him crashing to the cobblestone street.
"Mia!" the elder Siamese scolded, grasping her sibling by the wrist. Honestly, they weren't trying to actually neuter the poor fox! "Let's go, we're leaving!"
"Oh come on," Mia protested! She hadn't even gotten to use the heels of her boot yet. Sure, she didn't really have any idea on how to bring them to bear, but it seemed like such a shame to leave those thick blocks of wood unused.
Kavah uttered a wheezing cough, half-curled against the street as he clutched his crushed delicates. He tried to rise, to fight back - or maybe just to get away - but he had barely managed to push himself up to his elbows before the contents of his tortured stomach came rushing up. He gagged weakly, then vomited against the curb.
"Ew, okay." Mia wrinkled up her nose, her whiskers twitching distastefully. "Yeah, let's go."
The two turned, swiftly moving to make their exit before any talk about summoning the guards could begin. Mia paused, though, her eye fixed on a petite pantheress that had just arrived on the scene.
"Nice necklace," Mia sneered. "I've got one just like it. It's made of lead, y'know."
Cyrena's shock dissolved, and confusion swiftly took it's place. What exactly had she missed while she was off fetching the fox's lunch? "Excuse me?"
Tia frowned ever so slightly, still looking a little embarrassed. Her gaze averted, she murmured. "Ah, you must be the OTHER girlfriend. Apologies, m'lady. He's all yours now, we've just broken up with him."
The panther's brows arched as confusion was replaced by some semblance of understanding, her jaw dropped a little. "W-... what?"
Mia leered, "But hey, once he gets you to sleep with him, maybe he'll buy you a dress just like this-mf!" She was cut off as Tia none-too-gently wrapped a hand over her muzzle.
The elder siamese blushed, her ears flicking back. "W-... we'll just be going now. Come, Mia."
Kavah groaned again, as breath slowly returned. The crowd was dispersing, and the feeling was slowly returning to his extremities. Still, the ache in his groin was dreadful, and an oddly searing pain in one of his nuts - he couldn't tell which one - was ungodly. He barely even noticed as Cyrena slipped over to his side.
"K-... Kavah?" she murmured uncertainly. "Are you alright?"
He groaned, shuddering again as agony roiled in his gut. His brain was dulled with pain, but he really couldn't help but think that those wicked sisters had crushed something beyond repair. He didn't even resist as Cyrena slipped a paw between his thighs, her other arm curling about his waist as she helped him to his feet.
She sighed, "Come on, Kavah. Let's get you out of here."
He nodded mutely, coughing again as he leaned heavily against the pantheress. At least there were SOME femmes who were still on his side. Hell, he couldn't help but think that he might still be able to turn this around. Maybe he could even get a sympathy lay out of this.
And she deftly isolated the male's swollen orbs with her lower-placed hand, bearing down just hard enough to make the fox utter a sickly squeal. There was no tenderness in that touch.
"And Kavah," she frowned. "We really need to talk."
amazing stories and absolutely mindblowing you can write so much so quickly)
Originally Posted by SagaDC
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote