Ai No Kusabi Fan Fiction ❯ The Lost Cadre ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Author's Notes: Ai no Kusabi and its characters do not belong to me and I make no claim on them. All rights apply to the talented people who did create them. I make nothing off this except gratifying my own twisted pleasure.

 

But…the characters of Mingan Zenos and Sevilen ARE my own creations that I have plopped down into the Ai no Kusabi world. The things that they do and their interaction with the other characters of Ai no Kusabi are purely my fabrication.

 

Thanks goes to eternajewel, tameiki and Conjure for their assistance in this little slightly AU endeavour. You guys seriously rock. Hugs and kisses all around.

 

 

The Lost Cadre 1

 

“It is an important event, Mingan. I require you to attend. You are also to buy a Pet while you are there for appearances. I will not have one of my top Blondies appearing without a Pet. What you do with it after, is of no importance to me.”

 

The tall man sighed in annoyance and swirled the hard liquor in his glass. No matter how well he knew Jupiter and the latitude she allowed him, he still had to follower her demands just like any other Blondie on Amoi. That didn't stop him from trying to slither out of the party she demanded he attend. He really hated those functions and Jupiter knew it.

 

“Iason will be there. He is the head of the Syndicate. You have no need for me to be there. I don't have any position that anyone can recognize.”

 

“I want you there, Mingan. There have been some troubles in the past with the delegates from Denague, as I know you are well aware. Iason has his job and regardless of what the other Blondies know or don't know, you have your job as well.”

 

Jupiter disappeared from the special alcove that was built in his house. Mingan's fingers tightened on the glass that he was holding until the heavy tumbler cracked and shattered. He looked down with puzzlement at the glass shards scattered at his feet not realizing that his annoyance at having to attend the party had made him shatter the glass. He examined his hand and noticed absently that there were several shallow cuts across the palm and fingers. No glass remained in the cuts so Mingan dismissed the injury from his mind as he moved away from the area of glass shards. The wound would be healed by the time he left the house anyway.

 

A small robot zipped out and sucked up the glass and spilled liquid. It disappeared back where it had come from, avoiding the feet of Mingan along the way. The Blondie made his way to his bedroom and opened the closet to select an outfit for his appearance that Jupiter had demanded. He was tempted to pick something that would annoy Jupiter but remembered the last time he had done something like that. He'd had to share his home with a Furniture for six months before Jupiter had gotten over her snit. Mingan liked his solitude too much to risk having it interrupted like that again.

 

He choose an outfit of solid, unrelieved black. The shirt had no arms and would showcase the intricate tattoo-like markings on both his arms from shoulder to wrist and over the backs of his hands. The pants that went with the shirt had laces down the outside of the legs from hips to ankles. He pulled on tight black leather boots that reached mid-thigh and had highly polished silver metal plates riveted down the front. He lifted a heavy silver torque to his neck and added the earrings that went with the torque. He ran a brush through his hair before wrapping a black chain around the hank and efficiently braiding it with the chain woven through the knee length strands. At the end of the braid, small balls glittering with diamonds were fastened.

 

Mingan looked at his reflection in the full-length mirror and smiled. It was not a friendly expression and had made many a person shake with fear. He knew he didn't look like the typical Blondie engineered by Jupiter.

 

Because he wasn't the typical Blondie.

 

He was a fit, thirty-ish, beautiful looking man; as were all the Blondies. That was where the similarities between him and the other Blondies ended. His hair wasn't any shade of blonde. It was metallic silver. There wasn't a full head of it either. All he had was a hank the thickness of a woman's forearm high on the back of his head. His skin was dusky instead of pale and he had the complex tattoo-like markings on his arms. He was also quite tall and towered over most other people at six foot six. Even his eyes were different. No other Blondie had the violet eyes he did. He was a special creature of Jupiter's and he understood that even if no other Blondie still living did.

 

Satisfied with his appearance, he left his home on the outskirts of the city and drove himself to the party. Crowds like this party was going to have in store were among his least favourite thing. He did know why Jupiter wanted him to attend. He was the one who had dealt with the Denague the last time they had caused trouble on Amoi. He was sure that they'd still have stories circulating about him even though the incident had taken place over fifty years ago.

 

As soon as Mingan walked through the doors of the hall where the party was being held, he heard the whispers start not only among the Denague delegates but among the other Blondies, Pets and Furniture in attendance. He ignored the whispers, having grown use to it over the years. Keeping in mind Jupiter's command to purchase a Pet for appearances, he began making his way to the viewing area where the Pets for sale were being displayed. Along the way, he encountered Iason Mink.

 

“Mingan,” the Blondie said with a polite nod of his head. Iason's mongrel pet stared at him with wide eyes.

 

“Iason. I see you still buck the system in your own way,” he said with a dip of his head to indicate the Pet.

 

Iason shrugged his shoulders but his hand tightened on the chain that connected his Pet to him. Mingan could tell that the Pet wanted to say something but was struggling to remain quiet. Mingan tilted his head and regarded the Pet with some interest. Part of his reason of refusal to keep a Pet was the docile; inbreed nature of most of the ones he saw.

 

“You have something you'd like to ask, Pet?” Mingan asked. He noted that Iason tensed and moved fractionally closer to his Pet as if ready to protect him from Mingan.

 

“Who the hell are you? You don't look like any Blondie I've ever seen,” the Pet blurted.

 

“Rikki!”

 

“Relax, Iason. I did ask him a question. It's…refreshing to see a Pet that isn't cowed into total obedience. I believe we have similar tastes in that respect, Iason.”

 

“He said I could ask,” Rikki muttered under his breath.

 

Mingan smiled at the Pet. He was really quite interesting. It was a pity that Iason was so attached to him and that Mingan actually liked Iason. If Rikki had belonged to any other Blondie, Mingan might have used his position to simply take the Pet as his for the evening. He could see that Iason was thinking of the possibility that Mingan would demand Rikki and he was trying to figure out a way to refuse the one person who had more leeway than he did.

 

“I find your Pet interesting, Iason but I won't ask for him. I'm not that cruel no matter what others say. Watch that Jupiter doesn't find out how highly you value him. She will use him against you if she feels she has to.”

 

“Ask for me? Who does he think he is, Iason?” hissed Rikki as he edged closer to Iason.

 

“I am Mingan. I am The Blondie. I am Jupiter's in a way that no other Blondie is. Ask your Master to explain to you what he can and then decide if you were very lucky or unlucky to not have my attentions.”

 

Mingan nodded to Iason and continued on his way to the Pet viewing area. He could hear the mongrel Pet, Rikki, demanding Iason tell him what that had been about. A smile ghosted across his face at the quickly worded explanation and the subdued `oh fuck' from the Pet. Mingan wondered what would happen if he just showed up on Iason's doorstep one evening and asked for his Pet to entertain him. Judging from what he had heard and just seen Iason would refuse even if it meant risking his anger. He hoped, for Iason's sake, that Jupiter had no idea how much Iason cared for his Pet.

 

Mingan approached the Pet viewing area and began the task of selecting one for the evening. He tried to hold his impatience with the Pets offered. It wasn't their fault that they had all the things that would make them interesting to Mingan bred out of them. They did try and catch his eye with seductive poses but Mingan wasn't moved by what he saw. The man in charge of the Pets knew better than to approach Mingan or say anything. He waited anxiously for him to choose the one he wanted.

 

Mingan was almost at the end of the viewing area and was beginning to think that he'd have to settle for the least fawning of the Pets when he spotted a small Pet that was standing as far away from the others as he could get without leaving the viewing area. His head was down but not in a submissive pose. It looked more like the Pet was simply enduring the viewing until he could go back to where ever he was kept. He stopped in front of the Pet and let his eyes travel over him.

 

He was small, barely five feet tall and probably only weighed 100 pounds soaking wet with clothes on. His skin had a greenish cast giving him an exotic air. His hair was a lavender shade very close to matching the violet of Mingan's own eyes and reached his hips. The exposed skin of his arms, chest, back and thighs were covered with what looked like blackened brands of strange swirling symbols. Mingan wanted to see his face, his eyes in particular. A person could tell much from another's eyes.

 

“And what is your name, Pet?”

 

The head jerked up and wide gold eyes stared at him with a mix of surprise and recognition. Mingan wondered at the recognition as he had never seen the Pet before. He would have remembered a creature as exquisite as the one in front of him. The Pet said nothing even though his mouth had opened in a startled little oh.

 

“You do have a name, don't you?” Mingan asked as he reached out a hand to touch the Pet.

 

Sevilen simply couldn't believe his eyes. The man from his vision stood in front of him. He was exactly as he had appeared in the vision right down to the jewel encrusted balls at the end of his braid. It was the exact same voice that he had heard in his vision as well and what had made him snap his head up in surprise. He was so stunned to see the man from his vision he didn't even shy away from the hand that cupped his cheek.

 

As soon as his skin made contact with Sevilen's, a pained moan broke from Sevilen's throat and rose in pitch until several fine crystal glasses trembled and exploded from the pure, clear note. Blondies around the hall exclaimed and cursed in surprise. Pictures flashed through Sevilen's mind faster than he could process them. He knew they were pieces and memories of the large man touching him but he couldn't make sense of them until he had the opportunity to think about what he had been shown. The rush of images stopped as abruptly as they had started and Sevilen felt his eyes roll back in his head as his muscles suddenly went lax. He collapsed into the arms of the big man in front him and gratefully let the blackness suck him under.

 

Mingan caught the small figure and blinked in surprise. He had only touched the Pet gently on the cheek. He knew he hadn't hurt him. Mingan was well aware of the augmented strength he had and took pains to keep it in check. The man overseeing the Pet's hurried nervously to where Mingan easily held the unconscious Pet.

 

“I am so sorry sir. Please, take any Pet you wish, free of charge,” the man said as he wrung his hands in distress. He knew of Mingan and had no desire to upset the powerful Blondie. “Several of the Pets I have on display here this evening are beautifully trained. Surely one of them would suite your status better than this newly arrived Pet.”

 

Mingan nodded his head and turned with the Pet in his arms and started to walk away.

 

“Sir? Don't you want a different Pet? I can recommend a lovely one, if you wish,” the Trader could feel a trickle of sweat slide down his spine. That boy was becoming more trouble than he was worth. Fainting like that on the viewing platform right into the arms of the most powerful Blondie in attendance. And the other problems they had had with him was going to have to be revealed in the documentation for the Pet. The Trader's stomach rolled and he swallowed hard again.

 

“I want this one. Do you have a problem with that?” Mingan asked with a raised eyebrow. The Trader was nervous about him taking this Pet. Mingan wondered why.

 

The man snapped his mouth closed and shook his head. He mumbled something about forwarding all information on the Pet to Mingan's home and scurried away. Mingan moved to a quite corner of the room that allowed him a clear view of the entire hall. He was aware of the murmur of voices that swirled around him and the actions of the strange Pet he had just acquired. Mingan ignored the curious stares that were sent his way as he held his new Pet. After so many years of enduring the inquisitive looks it rarely even affected him anymore. But this time was just a little different. Now, the crowd was also looking at the intriguing Pet he had acquired. He found himself strangely reluctant to part with the new Pet. At least until the mystery of who the Pet was and why he seemed to know Mingan was solved.

 

Mingan settled himself on the low couch with his new Pet in his lap and signalled for a drink. A nervous Furniture brought a tray over and Mingan selected one at random. He ran his fingers over the marks on his new Pet's arm, confirming that it was indeed a burn. Even unconscious, the Pet flinched at the gentle touch along the design burned into his flesh. Mingan frowned and carefully turned the Pet to examine him a little more closely. While the burns were healed, they were fairly recent. Less than two months was his guess. He was thinking that something had to have been used to speed the healing or the youth in his arms would still be suffering from the wounds.

 

Mingan frowned as he touched his Pet. He wasn't breed to be a Pet. Of that, Mingan was positive. Something was not right about the burns. No one in their right minds would brand a Pet as this one had been without expecting a decrease in the value if he were to be sold on Amoi where physical perfection was highly valued. The boy was stunning in looks. The Blondies in attendance would likely not appreciate the swirling burns that decorated his body but Mingan appreciated the way they seemed to highlight the Pet's delicate beauty. It wasn't something that he would have had done but to Mingan, it added to his exotic appearance. That the burns were self inflicted, he doubted. The Pet seemed overly sensitive to them being touched.

 

The Blondie looked up and motioned a Furniture over. He had the boy go get the Trader who had been in charge of the Pets. He wanted answers and he wanted them now. He didn't want to wait until he got home to find out about his new purchase. The Trader hurried over and stood tensely in front of Mingan.

 

“Sir? Have you changed your mind about the Pet? You can exchange him if you'd like.”

 

“Tell me what you know about this Pet,” demanded Mingan.

 

The Trader's hands shook slightly as he flipped open a data book that dangled from his belt and tapped a few things in before he started to speak.

 

“I was told his name is Sevilen and that it means `beloved' on his home world. He is about 18, a little old for a Pet but his small size makes him seem younger. He's five feet tall and weighs 100 pounds. Dark lavender hair and gold eyes. Skin is greenish with blackened branding marks on him.”

 

“I already knew most of that, Trader. With the exception of his name and age, you have told me nothing new,” Mingan said with impatience in his voice.

 

The Pet Trader swallowed hard and tapped rapidly into his data book.

 

“He was bought from a ship that had done some trading on his homeworld. The people of his village were eager to be rid of him but they wouldn't say why. The brands were done by them to `ward off the evil and displeasure of the gods'. They apparently wouldn't explain more than that to the captain that bought the boy. I was told he never spoke or made a sound the entire journey to Amoi and he has remained silent for the two weeks he has been with my Trading House. He flinches from the most casual of touches and refused to pair even after sever corrective measures were taken. This viewing was to be his last. If he wasn't bought, I was going to have him made into Furniture or sold to a pleasure house.”

 

“He is undisciplined? Why would you have an undisciplined Pet for sale at a gathering such as this? What were you trying to pull here Trader?” the idea of an undisciplined Pet piqued Mingan's interest but he did wonder at the choice of including the Pet for such a gathering.

 

“I would never…I wasn't trying to pull anything, sir. He does whatever you tell him with no complaint with the exception of pairing. We were not able to get him to pair unless considerable force was going to be used and a Pet forced into pairing is worse than useless.”

 

The Trader saw the frown starting to develop on Mingan's face and hurried to finish his explanation. He was sweating profusely now and wondering just how much of the stories he had heard about Mingan were true.

 

“He performs all solo sex acts demanded and is quite lovely to watch. Very nice stamina as well and for such a small frame, he is quite well endowed. It was a shame that he wouldn't pair but his solo performance is…entrancing. He makes no sound at all but the expressions on his face are exquisite.”

 

Mingan looked down at his new Pet. Because Mingan was a fair man, he felt he couldn't complain much as he had received the Pet free of charge. The Trader sounded sincere about the Pet's ability to perform. The fact that the Pet refused to pair was of little importance to him. He would be setting the Pet free after the evening was done anyway. And after he had found out why the Pet seemed to know him.

 

“As long as you don't touch him with skin to skin contact, he'll do whatever you say. I've never seen him react as he did to you and that was the first time I have ever heard him make any noise even after a fairly lengthy corrective session. Do you still wish to keep him, sir? I will exchange him for your choice of the other Pets I have here this evening.”

 

Mingan was about to answer when the Pet in his arms spoke quietly.

 

“I need to stay with you, Mingan Zenos.”

 

Silver brows rose at the firmness in the quiet voice and the use of his full name. He wondered how the Pet, who he had thought was asleep, knew his name. Sevilen remained as he was, cradled in his arms. Almost everywhere the pet touched him was direct skin on skin contact yet contrary to what the Trader had said Sevilen seemed content to stay where he was.

 

“So you finally speak. You know you are to call the one who bought you Master. You'll be lucky to escape punishment for that,” the Trader said with a frown as he felt more sweat trickle down his back. He should have cut his losses sold the Pet to a brothel as soon as he realized the Pet wouldn't willingly pair. He should have never brought him to this viewing to try and recoup his costs one last time.

 

“I will decide what happens to my Pet. Make sure you include his medical records in the information you send me,” Mingan said with a dismissive wave of his hand as he turned his attention to his new Pet.

 

The Trader paled slightly before mumbling apologies and hurrying back to his viewing area. Mingan looked down at the small male he held. Violet eyes met gold and their gazes held.

 

“Don't send me away. You'll die if I'm not with you,” Sevilen said intently as he clutched at the fabric of Mingan's shirt.

 

Mingan felt things twist in his belly from the voice of his new Pet. He had been slightly distracted by the Trader the first time Sevilen had spoken but now that he was paying attention, he was entranced with his Pet's voice. It was like warm velvet to his ears. Soft and rough at the same time. He thought he could listen to it the entire night and not tire of it. Then the actual meaning of the words penetrated and Mingan narrowed his eyes.

 

“You are not exactly in any position to make threats, Pet,” he warned.

 

“No threat…Wolf of Jupiter,” Sevilen said softly as he ducked his head down.

 

Mingan's fingers tightened into the flesh of Sevilen's arm. He jerked his head up to look at Mingan. Pain flared in the golden eyes but no sound escaped. Mingan knew he was griping the Pet with enough force to make most people cry out and beg him to let go. It wouldn't take much more pressure to snap the bone in his forearm yet Sevilen remained mute.

 

“Why did you call me that?” Mingan growled.

 

“I know what you are. I know who you are. I know what you have done. I know why. The only thing I don't know is if you'll let me to stay with you.”

 

“You know nothing,” Mingan hissed at the Pet he held.

 

Sevilen closed his eyes and brought his hand to the Blondie's face. He felt the big man struggle not to flinch back and concentrated on the reason for Mingan being at the gathering that night. He bit his lip as the pain in his arm from the crushing grip almost distracted him from what he was trying to do. He began speaking in a low voice, pitched so only Mingan would hear him.

 

“Jupiter sent you here to watch over the delegates from Denague. She's afraid they'll try something again like they did fifty years ago. You lost your friend that night but stopped their plan. You crushed their goals to dust in your rage and grief at Cenon's death. Jupiter's punishment was harsh for failing to learn their plan. You are the last one left of the Cadre…that you know about. You think others survived but that Jupiter is still punishing you for failing her by keeping their existence from you.”

 

Sevilen slowly opened his eyes and looked at Mingan. He couldn't hold back the small smile at the utter shock on the big Blondie's face. To actually be able to tell someone what he saw was a pleasure and a relief that he had thought had died with his mother. But this man needed to be convinced the keep Sevilen with him. He wasn't sure exactly what he could do to prevent the man from dying but he wasn't about to ignore a vision that had come to him during one of the most pain filled experiences of his life.

 

The villagers had turned on him after the disaster he had foretold had happened. His mother had begged him to say nothing. She had urged him to leave the village with her and go to the mountains where they would be safe. The deaths he had seen were horrifying and he hadn't been able to keep silent. He had pleaded with the village elders to send everyone away to the mountains where they would be safe. They had refused. They said that anyone who listened to his madness would be branded and thrown from the village.

 

The wall of water had come just as he said it would and washed away half the village. He had looked for days for his mother. When he finally found her broken and battered body caught high in the branches of a tree miles inland, he had wept for hours. They had found him crumpled at the base of the tree. He had been unable to free her from the branches by himself and the elders refused to have her taken down so he could give her a decent burial. They said the carrion birds would take care of her as was fitting for spawning a creature like him.

 

They had forced some noxious herbs down his throat and he thought they meant to kill him. He didn't care anymore. The one person who had loved him was gone. The villagers hated and feared him. Death would be easy; a relief. But the herbs had simply paralysed his muscles so he couldn't move when they began branding the ancient warding symbols into his flesh. They had rubbed soot into the fresh wounds to colour his shame even darker. It had been hours of pain unlike anything he had ever felt before. He began praying for death to take him. He had screamed until his voice faded to nothing from the abuse to his vocal chords.

 

His mind began to shut down from the agony and that was when a new torture had been visited upon him. For every hand that touched him, he saw their life in rapid flashes to his minds eye. He saw their successes and failures. The moments of pure unselfish caring as well as the darkest points of their souls. Sevilen fought against the rush of pictures in his head and managed to push them away only long enough for that final vision to find him before his abused body finally slipped into the waiting darkness.

 

He saw the man before him, dressed exactly as he was. He was speaking with some other men when a shot rang out. The man had moved with frightening speed and gripped the shooter by the throat, demanding to know why he had just been shot. From that point, the vision had become disjointed and confusing. The big man had eventually fallen. Chaos had erupted around the hall. The vision had flashed forward in time and the chaos from that one man dying had spread through out the city. People lay dead in the streets. Buildings burned and lawlessness prevailed. Sevilen didn't understand why one man dying could cause such a break in society.

 

A dream came to him a few nights after the initial vision while he was in the throes of a fever induced sleep. Sevilen was standing beside the big man when he spoke to his killer. The dream had shown him an alternate outcome. Sevilen trusted his dreams. They had always been right. The large man hadn't died and the following chaos hadn't happened. After the deaths he had been unable to prevent in his own village, Sevilen was determined to do what he had to to keep the man he saw in his vision alive. Even if he had no idea who the man was or when he would meet him.

 

“Who are you? How do you know this?” Mingan demanded giving his Pet a shake.

 

“Sevilen. I saw you die and chaos followed. If I'm with you, you won't die. If you don't die, then all the others won't die.”

 

“You've seen me die? How? We've never met before this evening and I am remarkably hard to kill,” Mingan said with utter conviction.

 

“I had a vision,” Sevilen answered as he twisted his fingers together. It was always this way when he told people of what he saw. They never believed him until it was too late. “I'll do whatever you want willingly, as long as you keep me with you.”

 

“Whatever I want willingly? You do realize that you are my Pet and you will do what I want regardless of whether or not you want to,” Mingan said with a little smirk.

 

Sevilen shrugged his shoulder but kept his gaze firmly on Mingan's. The movement reminded Mingan that he had a crushing grip on his Pet's forearm and he slowly released his hold. The skin where he had been holding his Pet was already turning into a ghastly purple bruise the size of his hand. It irritated Mingan that he had marked Sevilen. He hadn't intended to.

 

“The Trader said you don't like to be touched. You had quite the reaction to my first touch although you don't seem to mind it now. You get that reaction to anyone touching you, don't you? To pair with another Pet would be a special torture wouldn't it?”

 

Mingan had the pleasure of seeing fear flash through his Pet's eyes before they closed, shuttering his expression. He could see the increased pulse flutter at Sevilen's throat and smiled in satisfaction.

 

“I'd do it if you'd give me your word that I'd stay with you,” Sevilen said on a whisper.

 

Mingan had not expected that. He wondered if Sevilen understood just what a pairing would mean.

 

“I could have you do that tonight. You would pair in front of the entire hall with whom ever I choose.”

 

Sevilen exhaled softly and swallowed hard. “For your word that you'd keep me next to you, I'd do it.”

 

Mingan regarded his new Pet. That it was obviously something he was dreading yet was willing to do made Mingan realize how important it was to Sevilen to stay with him. Mingan wasn't even going to pretend to know why. Sevilen said he got visions. Mingan was going to have to find out exactly what it was that Sevilen was supposed to have seen happening. Mingan had heard of people that claimed to have visions and dreams of things to come. He thought they were just out to make some fast coin off the gullible. But Sevilen obviously believed he had visions.

 

He wanted to make sure that staying with him was something his Pet was completely committed to. Mingan intensely disliked having his solitude disturbed. Having a Pet underfoot would be an inconvenience. Mingan didn't even like having a Furniture in his home. He wanted to make sure it was going to be worth it to have the package of trouble that he sensed Sevilen could be.

 

“And if I choose a pairing partner you didn't like? What then?”

 

“It'd be only sex with her for the fun of the Blondies watching. I could do it.”

 

“What gave you the idea I'd choose a female? Will you feel the same when I choose another male to pair with you? And if I want that male to mount you? What then? How attached are you to this idea of yours? Just how important is this to you?”

 

Sevilen shivered and a soft sound of denial escaped him before he could stop it. He finally opened his eyes and looked at Mingan again. He knew that Mingan could see the pleading in his eyes. Because the people of the village had both hated and feared him, he had never had the chance to be intimate with anyone. He had been taught at an early age that being intimate with another man was evil and that the gods would punish any who did such a thing.

 

Mingan watched his new Pet and the confusion and denial that rushed into his eyes at the thought that he would be required to pair with another male. He felt tension run through Sevilen at the very idea of allowing a male to penetrate him. Sevilen finally exhaled softly and dropped his gaze to his lap. He wouldn't look at Mingan when he spoke.

 

“It's wrong but if I have to do it to stay with you; I will.”

 

“And if I decide that I want to pair with you? What then my Pet?” Mingan asked out of curiosity.

 

Sevilen looked up, startled. He had been told that Blondies didn't touch their Pets in a sexual way. He had been told that it was taboo. Oddly enough, the idea of allowing Mingan to use him in such a way wasn't as terrifying as the thought of another Pet driving into him. Sevilen was a little disgruntled at the way his mind was working and frowned in annoyance. His mind had refused to do what he wanted it to since the villagers had branded him.

 

“Blondies don't pair with Pets,” Sevilen said.

 

“They're not supposed to. But I am different from most Blondies and I do what I please. I'm thinking that it would please me to have you.”

 

Sevilen shivered and wasn't sure if it was from fear or anticipation. He had been required to masturbate for the pleasure of others during his time in the Trading House. It had been carefully explained to him that Blondies derived pleasure from watching their Pets during sexual release. It had taken him some time to get use to the sensation of being watched as he brought himself to orgasm. Sevilen shifted in Mingan's lap. He froze when he felt an unmistakable erection pressing against his hip.

 

“I won't take you here in front of the assembled Blondies. Even if I have much more leeway than any other Blondie, not even I am willing to publicly take a Pet. But if you really do want me to keep you with me, I will take you.”

 

“I need to stay.”

 

“Then consider this fair warning, Sevilen. I will keep you with me for the time being. You have piqued my interest with your talk of visions. I also find you exotic and erotic. I will expect you to welcome my attentions when I make them known. If you refuse me, I will set you free just as I have every Pet I have ever purchased. Are we clear on this?”

 

Sevilen nodded his head and whispered yes. He gnawed on his lower lip for a moment and Mingan waited for whatever new bit of information he was about to be gifted with. This Pet was turning out to be the most interesting thing that had fallen to him in ages. It was almost enough to make him want to thank Jupiter for insisting that he attend this party.

 

“I …I haven't... I wouldn't pair at the Trading House. They beat me but...”

 

“Are you saying you are a virgin, my Pet?”

 

Sevilen felt a blush rise up in his cheeks and nodded his head. He tried to drop his gaze to his lap again but Mingan took a firm hold of his chin and forced him to meet his eyes. Sevilen watched satisfaction move through Mingan's purple eyes and shivered again.

 

“Well then my virgin Pet, I would like to see just what it is I have acquired with my rash actions,” Mingan said as he lifted Sevilen from his lap and stood him before him.

 

Mingan grasped the tie at Sevilen's hip and undid the short cloth that was all that kept him from being nude. Sevilen coloured even more but managed to keep his hands at his sides. He resisted the urge to fidget from foot to foot as Mingan simply looked at him. He almost jumped out of his skin when the Blondie stroked his flaccid member and murmured approval. Mingan turned him around and ran his hands over his buttocks a few times, squeezing gently. When he spread Sevilen's cheeks apart, Sevilen had to bite his lip to keep from voicing a protest. He sighed in relief when Mingan did nothing more than look at his puckered opening before turning him back around.

 

“I think I'll be well pleased with you, my Pet. Dress and follow me. I've spent enough time dallying with you. I have things to attend to.”

 

Sevilen took the cloth back and covered himself once again. He waited for Mingan to stand and followed him across the room. He felt self-conscious about the way they were being stared at. He knew that several of the Blondies had been watching them, probably from the moment he had collapsed into Mingan's arms. The blush returned to his cheeks when he thought of the others watching Mingan inspecting him as intimately as he had.

 

Mingan approached a group of Blondies and their Pets. There were foreigners among the group and all tuned to stare at the big Blondie and his small, exotic looking Pet. Sevilen schooled his face as best as he could to show nothing but he remained close to Mingan. Since he had gotten the initial rush of information he was able to touch his new Master without any fear of a repeat performance. If he wanted information now, he'd have to concentrate to get it.

 

Mingan looked over the Denague delegates and felt his internal alarms go off. They were up to something. There was an air of menace about them. None of the other Blondies seemed to notice. One of the delegates reached out a hand and trailed a finger over one of the burn marks on Sevilen's arm, commenting on the unusual markings. The reaction of his Pet was instant and shocking. Sevilen plastered himself to Mingan and turned an unhealthy pale shade. He began speaking too quickly for Mingan to follow but all those gathered in the loose circle clearly heard him repeating one phrase over and over.

 

Kill the Cadre and Jupiter dies.