Page 33 of Xel: Broken Bond
By the time the evening came around, I was pleasantly sore and tired. We’d succeeded in clearing the upper level, largely through simply tossing all the debris down onto the ground, and then Cole had gone around the walls, checking for damaged planks and assessing the roof. There were several metal sheets that had rusted through, and one that had been punctured by a falling branch, but the repair work to make the building watertight was not excessive. And while some of the flooring planks were rotten, the support beams were all sound. It was a good sign that the building would be usable at the end of our efforts.
It also surprised me how satisfying it was to have achieved something worthwhile. I had always been taught that pleasing my master was the only achievement I needed to worry about. But there was little comparison between putting a sheet on a bed for a random stranger to sleep on, versus renovating a building that could potentially house a research lab for fragile species or ecosystems.
Or maybe it wasn’t just the work itself, but the fact that my master seemed genuinely pleased with what I’d done. As we finished putting the tools away, he put his hand on my arm, and said, “Thank you. We’ve made really good progress today,” and I felt a shiver run through me. My old master had never touched me, aside from the times he was having sex with me. But Cole had been far more affectionate today, often putting his hand on my back, or brushing dust out of my hair. He’d squeezed my bicep at one point and made a wry comment about wearing me out, and I’d spent the next half an hour trying to will my half-hard cock to behave itself. Self control was a matter of serious training for an erotic companion, but we were nearing the end of the third day since I’d had any kind of release, and as much as it shamed me, I was forced to admit that my control was slipping. Was this increase in affection a sign that he was finally going to make use of my skills? Or was it simply a way to express his satisfaction with my work?
“Shall I go and feed the animals in the barn?” I suggested to my master, as we wandered back towards the sanctuary. “Or do you want me to help you feed the dogs and cats?” The afternoon chores were usually fairly simple – putting the farm animals back in the barn and making sure everyone had food for the night.
“You do the barn,” my master replied. “I’ll take care of the kennels. I’ll meet you back at the house once we’re done.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, breaking off from him to head for the barn. I dithered a little, checking on Huckleberry and Rose and her calf, as well as doing the necessary chores, so it came as a bit of a surprise when I exited the barn to see that the lights were still on in the reception building. I would have thought my master would have been finished with the dogs and cats by now, and it was past time for Bo to have gone home.
Curious, I headed in that direction. But when I stepped inside the reception room, I immediately saw what the delay was. My master and Bo were huddled in front of the console, and I could see the holographic projection of the thumbit calf displayed bright and large in front of them.
“Rabihol,” Bo said, scrunching her nose a bit. “It’s a Denzogali word that means white. For goodness sake, some people think that any word that’s not in Alliance Common is automatically a good name. Can’t we have a little more imagination here?”
“What about this one?” my master replied. “Konda, after that character from the action movie. It’s not exactly original, but it’s at least coming from a different angle than a lot of the other names.”
“I’m vetoing all of these,” Bo complained, pointing to the lower section of the screen. “Cottonball, Snowball, Snowy, Ice Cream. Just because the calf’s white doesn’t mean we have to give it such a clichéd name.”
“People are already getting involved in the competition?” I asked, stepping closer. “That’s a good thing, right? Even if the names are a little ordinary at this stage.”
“Oh, it’s fantastic,” Bo said, her usual enthusiasm returning. “I mean, it’s not a huge surprise. Show people a couple of pictures of a cute animal and they tend to take notice. But we’ve also had two offers to adopt the pair of them and three donations to the sanctuary. We wouldn’t let anyone take them until the calf is at least six weeks old,” she added, before I could get disappointed about losing them so soon. “Just to make sure they’re both healthy. But it’s good to be having some interest so early.”
I watched a moment longer, as they pondered the handful of names that had been suggested so far, then, wanting to maintainmy good record of pleasing my master today, I asked, “Have you finished in the kennels? Is there anything you need me to do?”
My master looked up, a little embarrassed. “Oh, yeah, that would be great. I’ve done all the dogs, but Bo distracted me before I could get to the cats.”
“Oh, sure, blame me,” Bo complained, though she was smiling as she said it.
My master rolled his eyes. “They all just need food,” he told me. “They should all still have enough water.”
“Except Mr Beans,” I said, with a wry smile.
My master snorted. “Well, yeah, except for that troublemaker.”
I headed off to feed the cats, lingering when I came to Mr Beans. He hadn’t spilled his water yet, but as I went to close the cage, after placing his bowl of canned food inside, he looked me in the eye, walked over to his water dish, and very deliberately put his paw on the edge of it.
I sighed. “You want company, don’t you? Yeah, I know what that feels like. It’s not fun being left alone every night. But I don’t think my master would like it if I brought you into the house.”
Mr Beans yowled, his voice surprisingly strong for a creature as elderly as him, and then he came up to the front of the cage, rubbing his face on the bars.
I contemplated what to do next. I felt sorry for the poor creature, but my master wouldn’t be happy if I tried to bring Mr Beans with us.
But then again, my master had not strictly forbidden me from bringing him. And last night, Leesha had brought Bribie home with us without permission, and my master hadn’t made her take him back to the kennels.
Speaking of Bribie, I ducked into the kennel room and found him curled up in the corner of his cage, staring sorrowfully up at me. He wagged his tail a fraction, then let out a most heartfeltsigh. He wanted company. And Mr Beans wanted company. And with Leesha and Bo both gone, I imagined that the cottage might be rather quiet tonight. And that it might be nice to have a warm, furry body curled up on my bed beside me.
And then I thought of the food dish sitting in the corner of the kitchen, though my master swore black and blue that Bribie was supposed to spend the night in the kennels…
So perhaps Bribie’s longing for company was not entirely one sided.
I heard my master coming up the hall behind me, and I glanced back when he came into the room. “Everything okay?” he asked. “Bo’s just left, so if you’re finished, we can head back to the house.”
It was rather shocking to me how easy it was becoming to disregard my training. And a small part of my mind wondered if I should be more concerned about that. “Bribie and Mr Beans would both very much like to join us in the cottage tonight,” I informed my master solemnly. It was true; both animals had expressed, in their own way, their desire for company. And in terms of my own obedience, I had not made any demands, nor directly contradicted my master’s instructions. I had simply stated what could be considered to be a fact. It was certainlybendingthe rules, but not strictly breaking them.
My master groaned softly and rubbed his face. “I’ve said before that I can’t adopt every animal that struggles to find a home.”
“No,” I agreed. “But you’ve also said that they’re both too old for anyone to want them.” Once again, I was skirting the very edge of arguing with my master – not telling him he was wrong, but reminding him of his own words. And besides which, he hadn’t given me a flat no – just an excuse as to why it wasn’t a good idea.