Puppeteer

Hello dear readers! A new chapter, again many thanks to Cassiopeia for betaing! Enjoy!

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Eyes and Shopping

"Demoneyes!" I ran through a street, people pressed their bodies against the house walls and staircases to get as far away from me as possible.

"Your eyes are the gates to a murderer's soul." A tall, dark haired man cried out, approaching my way boldly to spit in my direction.

I stumbled and fell, scraping up my knees, elbows and wrists and got up, scurried along the alleys and roads.

Reaching a green shimmering house I opened the door and scampered through the rooms. A woman stood in the living room and I throw myself into her arms, pressing my face into her bosom.

She sifted her fingers through my strands and I felt at peace. Suddenly she fisted my hair and bended my head back violently so that I was forced to look into her distorted and hateful face. She hissed: "Your eyes! They remember me." She started to scream. "Of everything! They are your sin, your deformation." Her grip got more brutally. "These orbs are windows to hell, black pits of peccability. You shall hurt, Niven!" My neck strained and tears rolled down my cheeks while hatred burnt in her eyes. "You must live, Niven. You must live to ache, to feel the pain. Hurt, worthless creature. Live, fight to survive. Receive the torture and punishment you deserve for what you are, demonic spawn!"

I startled from my sleep, cold sweat covering my body, my breath ragged. It took me a moment to focus my gaze and realize where I was. 'Damn, not again.' I saw the first rays of sunshine filter through the windows and tried to calm my breath. 'You can't lose you cool just because of some random catboy.'

I got up and left the room. Entering the bathroom I filled a basin with cold water and looked into a mirror. An exhausted face looked back at me, tired lines around my mouth and dark bags under my eyes -- these eyes that were the cause for all the hatred and enmity. Dark, planar orbs, no pupil, no white. 'Demoneyes!' Like black holes they lay in my sockets, showing everyone who knows about Puppeteers what I am. 'Windows to hell, demonic spawn!' I dipped my head into the ice-cold water and stayed under the surface till my lungs burned and my face felt like a thousand needles were piercing it.

I straightened myself, droplets of water splashing against my bare chest and stomach, and went to open the window, breathing in the fresh and cool morning air. Standing there I massaged my temples, calming down and pushing aside the images and thoughts from former times. 'It's the past, it's not important anymore!'

After dressing I went down to the kitchen where a yawning Elise fired the hearth and looked surprised. "You're already up Master Niven?"

"Yes Elise, I went to bed early. But don't let me disturb you, I'll sit down and drink some water-thinned wine." Grabbing a jug with the red liquid I sat down on a bench in the corner of the room, helped me to a mug of wine and leaned my head against the wall. I was tired, nightmares made my sleep restless. I sighed and tried to empty my mind from everything, sipping from time to time at my cup.

Gerald approached me and asked me in a low voice: "Do you want something special for breakfast Master Niven?"

I shook my head. "A light meal is fine with me. Some bacon would be nice, though."

With fast and trained movements Gerald prepared breakfast; gruel, bacon, roasted bread and a plate of fruits. He placed a bowl of the slimy soup in front of me together with a slice of the fried bread but I pushed it away gently, reached for some bacon and washed it down with the thin wine and nibbled listlessly at an apple, staring at the table.

A half scream, half squeal yanked me out of my reverie and I looked up. Sorr'an stood in the entrance clad in only low-hung trousers. Poor Elise didn't know whether to back away or pounce on Sorr'an so she decided for openly ogling his torso. She squealed: "Cuuuuute!" and then added: "Cat ears?"

Sorr'an didn't seem to notice her, sniffed the air and then stalked to the table. When he passed Elise a bright blush crept on her cheeks and she quickly averted her gaze. Sorr'an stopped in front of the plate with bacon and tested the air again. His hand reached for a strip of the fried meat and stopped midair, looking at me. "Can I eat?"

"Yeah, help yourself." I got up, poured me another mug, took another apple and then turned to leave the room. When I walked past him I detected why Elise was blushing so madly. His tail pushed the waistband of his trousers down and revealed the upper third of his wonderful buttocks. I grinned a little and left the kitchen, walking to the library.

Not caring to knock I entered the bibliotheca. I ignored the play of colors and searched for Arias and found him slumbering on an opened encyclopedia. I took a seat across from and drummed my fingers on the table surface. After a few moments Arias groaned, lifted his head and blinked.

Running a hand over his face and hair, he asked: "What time is it?"

"Sunup." was my short reply, sipping at my cup.

He yawned and fixed me with his gaze. "Awake that early and already drinking wine? Nightmares?"

I simply nodded. Arias got up, stretched his back and walked to a window, looking out of it. "Did you have them often the last time?"

I sighed. "No... First one in a long time..."

"What happened?"

I scratched my chin and thought about the last night. I blushed a little but then frowned. "He asked about my eyes."

Arias turned and focused his view on me. "And? That's a valid question. Your eyes are a little different."

I rose to my feet, hit a flat palm on the desk and snarled: "I fucking know that! All my damned life I was reduced to my eyes and what they stand for!"

Arias' eyes got hard. "Stop screaming at me. I know your life."

"But you don't have to fucking live with them, with these demoneyes!" I pointed at my eyes.

"Would you calm down? He simply asked. It means he doesn't know and perhaps he doesn't care?"

"I don't need him to know. Don't need him to hate me!"

"You don't know if he would hate you."

I laughed bitterly. "Don't hate me? Don't make me list all the people that hated me after they got to know what I am! Like..."

A knock on the door interrupted me. Gerald opened it and entered into the room. "Good morning Lord Korondar. Master So-rr-an is here, looking for Master Niven." Said catboy stepped reluctantly into the library and the servant retreated, closing the door after him.

The catboy looked tensely around and Arias smiled at him, motioning to the chairs. "Let's sit down."

Sorr'an went to a chair, took a seat and mumbled: "Good morning."

Arias knit his eyebrows, then searched the inside pocket of his coat, brought a little flask forward and uncorked it, drinking its content. "Okay, now I should understand you little guy."

Sorr'an snorted and looked a little disgruntled -- I guess because of the 'little guy' comment. I frowned. "You have a potion to understand him but sent me to Belathia?!"

Arias grinned and seated himself on his chair. "Relax. This brew only helps for about half an hour, so your visit at Belathia's had its purpose." I muttered something intelligible under my breath and plopped down at the last free seat at the table.

"Okay... Sorr'an?" The catboy nodded and I blinked at Arias' perfect pronunciation. "Niven will help you to get home." Sorr'an blinked and fixed me with a questioning gaze. I averted my view and nodded. The kitten beamed and I rolled my eyes. What was I getting myself into here?

Arias got up and rummaged in a map-stand, returned with a huge scroll and spread it on the table. It showed a detailed map of the continent. "Okay Sorr'an, where are you from?"

The catboy looked puzzled at the map and felt over the parchment. Then he shrugged. "Don't know. What's this?"

The Dhuran mage sighed. "I thought so. Niven, where did you meet Sorr'an?"

I searched for the Versetzer that I used to bring us here, estimated our position and circled a region. "Around here."

Arias tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know exactly where Katze tribes are found... Sorr'an, how long were you on your way till you met Niven?"

"Two moons" was the reply.

"Oh, that doesn't make things easier." said Arias. He thought for a moment. "I know of a city about six weeks to the south from there that... knows of Katze. I think you should go there and find out where the next Katze tribe is."

I nodded and got up. "We need clothing and other things for a six week travel."

Arias got up and said: "Thirteen weeks if the weather is stable. No discussion Niven, I won't let you use the Versetzer again. Not with two persons to transport." He stopped any comment by holding up a hand. "No discussion! It's too dangerous! And I will pay for your travel, give you everything you need and in return you deliver two messages to two of my partners -- there will be a good payment for you, Niven!"

"What, you think I travel thirteen weeks into the middle of nowhere and then what?"

My mentor grinned. "You have better things to do?"

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, okay. No Versetzer. But why don't you send these messages via magic?"

Arias lifted a brow. "I have my reasons. Let's say I don't want to ask Belathia..."

I walked to the door. "Okay. We have to shop. Come on Sorr'an."

The catboy stood up and turned, but didn't follow me to the door. "Niven. I sorry for talking about your eyes. But why were you so... weird?"

I stopped in my motions and glared coldly at him. "Stop talking about my eyes!"

Suddenly Sorr'an's fur bristled, his ears laid flat against his head and he approached me with two fast, elegant strides. Poking a finger in my chest he snarled: "I didn't do anything. Why you so angry at Sorr'an?"

I was taken aback and blinked at the enraged catboy. He was right, he didn't do anything, he didn't know. But I didn't want to explain it to him, because... Because I hoped for... I didn't know what I hoped for. I sighed. "Yeah, you're right. You did nothing, but I don't want to talk about my eyes, okay?"

Sorr'an calmed down a little and his finger, that was quite sharp with a protracted claw, retreated. He still fumed but accepted my request with a nod. I opened the door for him and signaled him to step out of the room and was following him when Arias called me back with a big grin on his face: "He's kinda like you. You seem to be well-suited."

I scowled at him. "Stop going down this road, Arias. I don't need something like this."

The mage sighed. "Don't keep punishing yourself like this. Stop it all!"

I turned, suddenly feeling the tiredness crawling back in my bones. "Please, leave me alone Arias. I have to go shopping for a long travel."

Surprisingly it was fun and relaxing to go shopping with Sorr'an. The catboy was walking around with big eyes, pointing at different things and asking about stuff that I took for ordinary and boring but he seemed to find them overwhelmingly interesting. He was especially fond of all brightly colored clothing. It took me a whole twenty minutes to explain it to him that pink and blue dresses are for women and that a yellow, red and green gleeman suite with a purple cape definitely is not a functional travel wear.

This moment I looked at a display of daggers in an armorer's shop. Sorr'an was bored -- weapons obviously didn't catch his interest. I took one richly ornamented poniard in my hand and examined it.

"Mylord has exquisite taste. This one is made of the finest and hardest metal of the north, sharpened with stones of Morroar." I rolled my eyes -- of course this piece is treated with the whetstone of the god of smith's handcraft.

"How much?"

"Two gold coins."

"Holy, I can buy the whole shop with only one gold coin!"

"This is a real masterpiece! And Morroar's blessing is woven in the metal."

He was right; the dagger really looked like a masterwork. Sorr'an stepped at my side and took the dagger from my hands. "Feels weird" were his whispered words. That was one of the first things I told him, that he shouldn't talk too loud so that people wouldn't wonder about his language and we wouldn't draw unwanted attention. The catboy protracted a claw and scratched over the metal of the grind.

Wonderful, so much for avoiding attention. I cringed with the sound and hissed at him. "What are you doing?!"

He scratched once more and this time he peeled a splinter of metal from the surface. I blinked and after a few more scrapes the dagger shimmered and transformed into a simple wooden knife; the kind kids play with. An illusion!

The armorer went pale and looked at Sorr'an and me, screaming: "Witchers! You cursed my weapon, my beautiful and precious poniard!"

I grabbed his shirt collar and shook him several time to silence him. "I don't know about cursing, but if you don't want me to call the city watch and tell them that you sell fake weapons in the name of Morroar I highly advice you to keep your mouth shut and forget the both of us this moment."

With a click the man shut his mouth. Selling forgery in the name of a god normally meant punishment from the watch and then handover to the temple of the deceived god which meant torture and in most cases a painful death.

We left the shop and the owner closed it the moment we were through the door -- I had the feeling he was going to pick out his assortment. I looked at Sorr'an -- he was clad in a grey cloak, a white shirt and black pants peeking out from it. He looked like a small, ordinary young man. A hood over his head hid his ears and I had pushed his tail in one trouser leg to keep it from swishing under the cloak. The catboy complained about it being uncomfortable but better a minor discomfort than raising a ruckus with parading a cathuman through the city. I was dressed equally to him so that we appeared like merchants.

"Okay Sorr'an, no more claws please."

Said catboy grumbled back. "You have weird way of saying thank you!"

I smiled. "You're right. Thank you. But please, no claws anymore! By the way, how did you know?"

Sorr'an shrugged. "It just felt weird, like it was not real."

This was exceptional, because I wasn't able to see any signs of this illusion; even the texture and weight of the weapon felt right. There was no time to ponder on this, though, because my catboy sniffed the air and then walked straightly towards a booth that roasted fresh fish over a fire.

I chuckled. That was another thing Sorr'an was very interested in -- food. Fruits and vegetables weren't his thing and sweets only caught his sight if they were colored -- but if it was meat or fish he was drawn to it like the moth to the light.

To his disappointment I didn't buy any food earlier but it was around noon and I was getting hungry myself so I bought four fish on wooden spits. Sitting down on a crate I gave the catboy two spits who placed one on his knees and dug in, munching happily.

When I finished my meal halfway, a young man stepped in front of me. "Hey Puppeteer!"

I looked up and froze. "Hello Kip."

"Long time no see, Niven." He fixed his gaze on Sorr'an. "I see you found a new boytoy, hmm?"

I glared coldly at the man who I knew was my age but looked younger with his boyish appearance and received the same glare in return. "Shut up Kip. What do you want? I doubt you want to chat about the good old times."

"Good times with you?" Kip sneered and spat out. "Anyway, give me a gold coin."

I blinked and then snorted. "A gold coin? Are you nuts? What do you want with a whole gold coin?"

Kip just shrugged. "What do you care? It's been long since last time. Just give it to me."

"I don't know. I haven't talked to Arias, but I'm sure he would have paid you if you did a job for him."

"Nah, no job. I just need some money and I'm sure you need my talents again soon enough."

"Don't overdo it, Kip!"

The boy snorted. "Did I ever disappointed you with a job?" He looked around to see if we were observed or raising attention. "Come on, Lord Korondar hasn't paid me while you where away."

I furrowed my brows and searched for hints of a lie but you could never tell with Kip. He obviously mistook my gaze because he took a step back and grounded out: "No, I won't hand over my ass or let you suck me off! Never ever Puppeteer!"

I sighed and searched for a gold coin in my pocket. Kip grabbed it, grinned at me and then looked at Sorr'an. They scrutinized each other with an unfriendly mien and Kip addressed him: "Be careful around this guy. He stuffs his dick into everything he finds. Even men, so watch your ass."

Sorr'an furrowed his brows but didn't reply, so Kip just turned and vanished behind the next corner. He looked at me. "Who was that guy?"

"Kip? He's a nobody."

Sorr'an was... pouting? Yeah, he pouted at me. "But he seemed to know you. And he wanted something and you gave it to him."

I ran my fingers through my hair and laid my remaining spit on Sorr'an's lap. I wasn't hungry anymore. "Do you know the saying: 'Curiosity killed the cat'?" My catboy looked confused. "Okay, I'll tell you. Don't know why, but yeah... Kip's a thief, perhaps the best in whole Arrandar. We met shortly after I arrived here. He saw how I stole some food from a booth and when I was discovered how I... distracted the vendor. He helped afterwards and taught me some tricks; how to survive in this huge city. We became friends, best friends even, as much as it is possible between thieves."

I closed my eyes, wallowed in memories for a moment. "It was a fun and exciting time. He just accepted me and liked me. Then, one day, he saw me kissing another boy and how we... well... we made out. He freaked. We often shared a bed or slept together in the straw in winter, sharing our body heat. He then thought I was trying to get into his pants and that I was in love with him, wanting to... 'stuff my dick up his ass' as he put it."

"Were you?" asked Sorr'an.

"What?"

"In love with him?"

Smiling a little I replied: "Yeah, kinda. I think I had a small crush on him. But I wasn't acting on it; I knew how he thought about love with other men from his talking and we were in a brothel often enough to know his preference. But he thought I was going to molest him and he didn't want to deal with some cocksucker."

"But you gave him something."

"Yeah, I met Arias shortly afterwards and yeah... Let's say Kip's talents were of use to me and Arias. So I pay him for his work and even though he doesn't want to be friends with a faggot my money is good enough for him." I relapsed in silence and sat there rapt in thoughts. I jumped a little when a hand touched my shoulder.

Sorr'an looked at me and smiled, showing his empty spits to me. "I finished."

I nodded and we returned to Arias' mansion. Shortly before we reached the manor I asked the catboy: "Hey, can you ride a horse?" He looked puzzled at me and I pointed to a rider on his horse who passed us. "Do you know how to ride these animals?" Sorr'an shook his head and I breathed in relief. "Good."

We reached our destination and Gerald greeted us. "Master Niven, Master So-rr-an," he still pronounced every syllable separately, "may I take these packages from you?"

I gave him the bags that contained Sorr'an's clothes and the supplies I bought. "Gerald, I need your help with something. When we were at the tailor's and when Sorr'an tried on some pants he complaint that there was some pressure and discomfort around his tail." Gerald lifted an eyebrow. "His long one." The servant's brow wandered higher. "I mean the furry one attached to his lower back. Anyway, I couldn't ask the tailor for help and I think Sorr'an is going crazy when I always push his tail in his trouser leg. So could you cut holes at the right places?"