Toofy

It began with a crying yowl, another kitten left in another cardboard box. Abandoned out in the streets, left to learn to fend for themselves.

An inauspicious beginning for the golden-eyed neko who stood over the world, and made it fall to its knees.

The tale would never have turned the way it did, if she had been left in the cold. The kitten would not have survived the winter if she had not been brought to the temple by a young acolyte.

The priestess refused to name her, referring to her only by a number.

Twenty Four.

Among the many services of the temple, were the companions. Women raised to influence and control politicians of all walks of life. Trained to become the honoured madames of the Empire.

When they were sold from the temple, a slave's collar was put in place, to remind them that though they walked among the rich and powerful, they did not belong to them. They were not equals.

--

"Twenty Four." The priestess said with clear exasperation.

The catgirl stepped forward, ears twitching and tail coiled around her leg. She was trying not to hiss as some lord or another inspected the temple's current offerings.

He took her roughly by the chin, twisting her head this way and that. "No obvious blemishes. How old is this one?"

"An orphan, m'lord. We're not exactly sure. But somewhere in her early twenties." The priestess bowed to him, "But I'm afraid she has a temper."

The man raised an eyebrow at her, "Really?"

Twenty Four stuck her tongue out at him.

The lord laughed loudly and released her chin, "My, my. You are aware, lowly kitten, that few of your kind are given the opportunity to see outside these walls?"

"Don't care." She snapped.

The priestess backhanded her, "Lowly cat! How dare you speak to a lord!"

The man's green eyes seemed, to the neko, to almost glow. He spoke gratingly, "Lady Efina, I would prefer it if you didn't damage my property."

The catgirl spat a mouthful of blood on the ground, standing up to glare. "You choose me. What if Twenty Four doesn't choose you?"

The priestess barely stopped herself from hitting the cat again. "Twenty Four! Have you forgotten everything?"

"It's okay." The man raised a hand, "Cats always choose their masters. It is their way. I am Lord Sai, my little neko. If you do choose me, you will be fitted with a bell. Free to come and go, when you are not serving me."

She reached up and rubbed her cheek, "You smell arrogant. Proud."

"Is that so? I wonder how you smell?"

She snorted, and then cracked a small smile, "Something more. Beneath the musk of your self-infatuation. There's blood on your hands. Shame in your eyes."

"Yes." He confessed freely, surprising her. "I'm a lord. I have done terrible deeds in the name of my country. Peace is as much a lie as love. Yet, my advisers insist I have a mistress. So I choose one that will not run from me."

Her tail perked up.

She liked his calculating gaze. The wrath burning just beneath the surface in those emerald seas. He reminded her of the tales she'd grown up on.

The monster that came to slay all the other monsters.

"You may own me, but in word alone." She threatened him, "Twenty Four is not some whore to be bought and toyed with. If you expect deference, choose one of the others. If you expect to try and break her, expect her to cut off something precious in return."

"M'lord, clearly this neko is damaged goods. Perhaps one of the others -" The priestess began.

Sai cut her off with a raised hand, "Your terms are acceptable. Twenty Four."

As he gave her number, she felt her snowy cheeks pinken. There was a warmth in the way he spoke to her, even when she was trying to antagonise him.

He held out his hand to her, "Will you be mine?"

--

Sai walked her through the market on purpose, taking the long route back to his home. Using the opportunity to spy out her likes and dislikes.

Her little button nose never stopped moving, her golden eyes darting. Her fur on her face was so light as to be practically invisible, but her silver ears stuck through her black flowing hair with a stark contrast.

He did have to confess the temple had more beautiful companions than her available. Even more exotics than a neko. He could have had an elfin bride, if he wished it.

However, their spirits were broken. Meek. He didn't desire the work of restoring them to their former glory. He was cruel, and lazy.

The neko jerked him to a stop by a stall and pointed, "Twenty Four wants it."

"So? What's that to me?" He tested her.

Twenty Four turned her angry golden eyes on him, making his heart race. She growled quietly, showing her insanely sharp fangs, "Want it."

"What do I get, if I buy you the fish?" Sai asked her, raising an eyebrow and making it clear this was a negotiation.

The neko laughed darkly, "You don't want scars where she can put scars. You did buy her to put her in your bed, didn't you?"

"Not really." Sai shook his head, "People will assume I bed you, whatever I do. I'm not interested in bedding someone who doesn't want me. So, spoiled brat, why exactly should I buy anything for you?"

Her ears fell, and her bottom lip stuck out and she nodded quietly. "That's fair. How do she earn your praise, then?"

"Oh, you can't do that. But, you could try asking me instead of demanding." He patted her on the head.

The catgirl glared at him, "Twenty Four hates having her head touched, human."

"Well, Twenty Four can get used to it." He laughed and flicked the bell on her collar, and then turned to the stallholder, "Side of the salmon. Gold coin worth."

He handed the equivalent of most people's daily wage to the shocked seller, who then wrapped and passed the pink meat to him.

Her golden eyes stared hungrily as he gave it to her. She was practically drooling as she pulled the paper away, before her tiny teeth sliced through it with a tinier bite.

He found himself smiling in amusement at her teensy mouthfuls, savouring the food. He wondered how often she had eaten something like this before.

"Do I get a thankyou?"

She glared at him for interrupting her meal, and then grunted, "Twenty Four thanks the human."

"Sai."

She rolled her eyes, "Have you known many nekos, human?"

"Naming things is polite." He stated, "You calling me human is because you have no respect for me."

"Twenty Four agrees."

Sai sighed, "What did I do to earn this?"

"The human touched Twenty Four's head." She snarled, and then went back to smiling as she chewed on her fish.

He couldn't stay angry at her. She was too beautiful, and too easy to make happy. He also didn't exactly mind her getting pissed at him. Showing that she had spirit. "I need some way to show that I like you. Would you prefer I kiss you, instead?"

Twenty Four looked at him in surprise, "She was trained to kiss, if your public requires that show of affection, human."

"I patted your head as a sign of genuine affection. I might not be planning to force myself on you, but neither am I planning to ignore you, neko."

She cocked her head, "Really? Surprising. Twenty Four thought she was supposed to be a table or chair to convince people you sometimes used one, human."

"I chose someone worthy of my pursuits. I just didn't make the assumption that owning you gives me the right to take what I might want."

The neko nodded slowly, "Twenty Four misjudged you. She isn't going to call you lord, though."

"Sai, then. After all, you are my companion. My official mistress." He smiled at her.

She chewed slowly, clearly disliking something in what he had said. Then she walked passed him quickly, dragging at his sleeve, pulling him over to a vantage point.

The neko stood at the edge of one of the various bulwarks, looking down into the large open space in front of the palace. She waved at the space, "What do you see, human?"

"The courtyard of the imperial palace."

She turned to him, a hunger in her golden eyes, the very same hunger he had seen when she looked at the fish earlier. "Twenty Four wants it."

"What?"

The cat smiled, her golden eyes glowing, "Want. It."

"Wow. That's... Preposterous. And impossible. You are nothing but a slave, and I am barely a minor lord."

Her tail drooped, and she turned her head to look back at the palace as she finished slurping up her snack. "She knows. Twenty Four knows. But she will have it, all the same. If the human agrees."

Sai sighed, "I'd rather not to be charged with sedition and treason. So what exactly would your plan be, neko? Abandon me and work your way through the other lords?"

"Twenty Four considered it. But she likes this human. He treats her well." The cat spoke seriously, "She will need to know the current politics. Twenty Four was hated at the temple. A cat, among the humans. She still managed to own them."

He laughed at her unending ambition, "Well. It would be useful if my companion knew the situation. And gave me advice. We could start there."

"She will own it." She said, looking off at the distant palace, "She will."

He stood beside her and playfully flicked her bell, "Well. If it becomes possible, then I will help you. My companion."

She took his hand, squeezing, "Sai. She accepts you as her master. Twenty Four likes you."

"Lets go home."

--

He called himself a minor lord, and she had been putting on airs, but she was somewhat surprised when they arrived at his home. Her new home.

As his official mistress, the only one in the building with authority greater than hers was Sai. If he ever took an actual bride, they would also have authority over her. She would have to try and prevent that possibility.

They were greeted by two columns of servants, male and female, all of them human. Two dozen or so, all of them greeting the both of them warmly, welcoming them home.

A male led the servants, a butler or something of that kind. He bowed and scraped, and immediately tried to steal Sai's attention for some mild political issues. Letters and invitations.

Twenty Four hissed loudly at him, her ears bristling.

Her master squeezed her hand gently, "I am sure that most of this can wait until we have settled in, Isaac. Can I not even consummate with my mistress, first?"

The butler bowed his head, "Of course, m'lord. My apologies."

"He smells like cowardice." She glared at the man, and then smiled slowly, "And he also smells of that one."

Sai followed her gaze, "That is your new handmaiden, Twenty Four. She will take care of your needs, and help you function as a member of the household."

"He took her. She didn't enjoy it."

Sai turned back to his butler, "Taking liberties are we, Isaac? You offend my mistress, by stealing her property? You will be punished for this."

The butler glowered, still bowing, "Of course, m'lord."

She was enjoying this. She could not have planned a better excuse to enforce on the staff that she would not be a fragile little toy. She was not broken, and could not be intimidated.

She skipped over to the handmaiden, sniffing and looking the nervous young girl over. She took the woman's hands in hers, trying to make it feel less like when Sai had examined her. "What is your name?"

The woman tried to half-curtsy with her hands still held, "I am Arina, Madame Sai."

She squeezed the nervous hands, "How old is Arina? Has she met a neko before? Twenty Four is not human. Her needs are not always the same."

"I have only met a few, young kittens." The maid replied without looking her in the eye, "I have just had my nineteenth birthday, mistress."

She looked over to her master, "Twenty Four wishes to see her room. Prepare herself for you. Can she call for you, later?"

"If that is my madame's desire." Sai said, less certain.

She grinned and her tail twitched as she considered what she would do for him. Make him want her and no one else, ever again.

"It is not for servant ears, Sai, what Twenty Four desires." She said coyly, "The temples baths are not... The best. She needs a moment to prepare herself."

He nodded, "I will return to my work, temporarily, and await news from you, my little neko."

She turned back to her handmaiden, "Twenty Four's rooms. Show her the way, Arina."

The woman pulled her hands free and did a proper curtsy. As Twenty Four followed her, she continued to examine the handmaiden.

Her legs were hidden by the dress, apart from some very thin little ankles. She was a blonde, but her eyes were a dull brown. A small frame, soft and supple.

Arina's walk was stilted, her steps smaller than they would usually be. A result of the butler's indiscretions. He believed himself in charge, that he could take what he wanted.

He was Twenty Four's first threat.

She skipped up beside the handmaiden, slipping an arm through hers, purring and rubbing her face briefly on the woman's cheek.

She enjoyed the feeling of the woman's surprised awkwardness and embarrassment.

"Madame." Arina smiled as her cheeks went a ruby red, "I am but a servant. It is not proper to show me affection."

"I am well versed in what is proper. Twenty Four is in her home, and she will behave as she desires. She likes Arina. Wants her to be a friend, not just a servant." She lied.

The woman sidestepped the awkwardness by presenting the bedroom. It was large, with red curtains, and a red veil hanging over the largest piece of a furniture. A bed that was clearly sized for more than one person.

Twenty Four had never actually slept in a bed before.

She pounced on it, cooing at the softness as she rolled over it, shoving her face into the sheets and spreading her scent all over the bed.

She suddenly sat up, one ear twitching at her uncouth display in front of the handmaiden. "Now then, she wants to clean up for her Sai. Where does the madame make her ablutions?"

Arina opened a door politely, standing in-waiting.

Twenty Four skipped over and peeked into the bathroom. She did have an intense hatred for water, but it made it easier to seduce most men.

She pulled a small vial from the pouch on her hip and held it out to her servant. It was one of the few things the temple gave to those that they sold. A handful of herbs and petals.

Arina looked at it curiously, "Bath salts, madame?"

"Yes. Expensive, and rare. However... She supposes we will have to use them all for this. No leftovers." Her tail fell, "Twenty Four hates bathing. Hates smelling. Do you think Sai will appreciate the efforts?"

The handmaiden pulled the cork and took a small sniff, and then smiled at her, "I am quite certain that m'lord will enjoy this. I take it that this is to aid my madame in setting a mood?"

"She intends to fuck 'im." She said callously, grinning at the uncomfortable shifting of the servant. "Any other suggestions on ensuring she has his complete attention? She doesn't trust Isaac not to try and interfere."

Arina winced at the mention of the man, and brushed down her dress, "I believe the madame may be correct. However, it would not be my place to speak."

"Oh, come on." Twenty Four pouted, "You're supposed to be Twenty Four's, not his. She intends to put him in his place, when she can. He will bend or he will be removed. You serve Twenty Four, not Isaac."

"I have not served the household very long. I arrived only yesterday, in anticipation of m'lord's intent to acquire a mistress." Arina said quietly, and then almost whispering, "I have heard it that his lordship may be a virgin, too inexperienced to have developed any exotic tastes for the bedroom."

She grabbed the handmaiden, rubbing into her cheek and purring, "Oh goody. Then this will be fun. Run the water. Come get her when things are ready, she's going to laze on the bed."

She pounced into the softness again, curling up and purring contentedly.

Her ears twitched as she listened to the footsteps in the hall. She had been right that Isaac had followed her. Looking to learn about this new challenge to his power.

She had time to learn what he considered the heart of his domain. To pluck it, and take it for herself.

--

"What is it, Isaac?" Sai asked in irritation, looking up from the expense report he was in the process of detangling to find where the embezzling was happening.

The butler bowed, "The madame has asked for you, sir. Shall I have her brought to you?"

House politics. He hadn't exactly thought about how getting a mistress would upset the power balance of his own home. An oversight that was going to cost him.

"Did she ask that I come to her?"

The man's cheek twitched, "I am afraid that the mistress's exact words are unfit for me to repeat, m'lord."

"You will do so, however, or I will have you executed." Sai stated firmly.

Isaac coughed, "As you wish, m'lord. The mistress exact words were... Tell Sai she's ready to fuck him. She wants to use her bed."

He couldn't help but laugh at the way she had phrased it. This cat knew exactly how to make people uncomfortable, unbalanced. Making them easier to intimidate.

She'd even succeeded in making Isaac annoy Sai, in the name of propriety. She didn't even know the man yet, and was trying to drive a wedge between her master and his most trusted servant.

Establishing her authority.

He stood up from the desk, straightened his tie and cufflinks, and smiled at his servant. "If anyone so much as knocks on the door before we are done, I shall personally see that they are flayed alive."

Then he moved passed the bowing man and towards his mistress.

He wasn't sure what to expect when he arrived. He had told her that he wasn't interested in forcing himself on her. However, she had been trained by the temple to use sex as a tool.

The neko was determined to control it all. She'd made her intentions clear to him, that she saw him as a path towards becoming the most powerful noble in the land.

The ridiculous ambitions of a slave, but he had to admit that her confidence was half the reason he chose her. It was extremely attractive.

He knocked on her door.

The door was opened by the new handmaiden, who curtsied, "M'lord. I will be just outside if I am needed."

She stepped passed him to wait beside the door, and shut it behind him quietly.

Sai looked around the room.

His neko wasn't lying on the bed, apparently that would have been too much of a cliche for her.

However, he did see that she had discarded the clothes she had been wearing when he bought her. The tailor for her new wardrobe wasn't due until tomorrow.

Sai smiled and looked down, seeing the tail just behind his leg. "I don't particularly like being surprised from behind."

Her hands went around his waist, and she purred as she rubbed her face into his back, "She likes Sai. Wanted him to have a choice in this."

He chuckled softly, "A choice?"

"Sai said that he didn't want to sleep with Twenty Four. He wanted to pursue her. Romance her." She said softly, her arms tightening as she hugged him tighter, pressing her breasts into his back, "But... Twenty Four is a neko. We like what we like. She wants to fuck her Sai. Feel him inside her."

He felt something in his pants twitch.

He was tempted to turn her down, feeling like she might be manipulating him. However, her kind were well known for their forward approach to sex.

He had not bought her because he was unattracted, either.

"If I turn around, will I find you disrobed?"

She laughed, "Of course. Well. Almost. Twenty Four thought you liked her bell."

Sai turned.

The neko leaned back, her hands only gently resting on his hips, so that he could see her. Drink in the sight of her.

Silver furred ears, poking up gently through her silken black hair that stretched down to her waist. The hair frames a small and round face, golden eyes, small button nose. Fur almost invisible to the eye, barely noticeable to the touch.