It'd been two weeks since Eric started pulling double time on his studies. Or was it triple? Quadruple might be even more appropriate to the fox, having taken a special combination of drugs and focus enhancers to keep him on task. He did miss three months of school after all, three months where he'd galavanted into the classless slums to hang with the girl who saved his life and made him want to live more by just existing.
That was worth the crashes and eye twitches that came with his advanced mathematics. Muttering under his breath at the latest chapter, he couldn't help but wonder why he applied to this class. Or Military History. He didn't mind that when it was dealing with older battles, but seeing descriptions of battles his own father had partaken in always led to stares from his classmates. And people wonder why he played hooky.
Though the cage didn't help. He groaned, instinctively scratching against his crotch and jiggling that plastic prison. He couldn't hack the primitive lock, and while finding the proper tool to remove it wasn't that hard, Eric didn't know how to remove it without Skiv seeing any signs of foul play. Granted, this amounted to bolt cutters rather than some hairpin, like shows set in ancient times presented. Not that the fox knew how to use a hairpin.
She held his pleasure in her hands now. His inability to do his thrice a day old habit gnawed in the back of his mind. The focus enhancers didn't help, often making the few moments he slept all the worse with images of Skiv between his legs and giving him a blowjob, then plowing her ass or vagina, all while she mocked or called for him.
He was hesitant to say there was no pleasure coming from the bun. He had been getting used to her hammer of a cock in the few times she came by and he honest to gods couldn't focus on his assignments. Eric smiled, there was something so thrilling about being her bitch in his bed. The terrible taboo of letting a classless dominate you, giving him a rush the boy never thought possible while unable to get erect. Even now his breath shortened, face blushing at the thought of being on his knees, snout deep in-between her cunt and balls to enjoy the fresh scent of her bodyguard training before worshiping her cock. It was more fun than his classes and gave her the respite she needed.
``Damn it, Skiv...'' Eric said. Sighing, he pushed off his desk and lied against his bed. Closing his eyes, he considered taking a quick stint into the net to find some sensory porn out of habit. Instead, he imagined Skiv lying behind him, her black furred arms holding him tight and her teeth nibbling his ear.
``You're an insatiable whore, ya know that?'' The imaginary rabbit said.
``It-It's your fault...you locked my cock...'' Eric whispered back, his finger trailing down his back and under his shorts, circling his pucker like he imagined she did.
``Oh, it's been long before that, Drips.'' She whispered, ``You've been horny for me ever since you saw me. I was your little fantasy brought to reality.''
``That's...that's not true...''
``Don't lie, foxy. You saw it the moment you laid eyes on me. You masturbated to me the first night back, not even firing up your bandit or rebel simulations for a hardon.'' His illusion giggled, her hand reaching under his shorts and palming the cage, ``Just you and your imagination. Such a breakthrough.''
He remembered that night. Remembered how he screamed into his pillow, imagining the then mysterious bun tearing into him like the models online through sensation porn. Back when he was a virgin, back when he didn't see the point in anything and just wanted the pleasure to forget his guilt. For someone to hurt him for being born lucky.
``You found me...but you couldn't just let me go,'' the illusion said, ``So you pretended to be someone you weren't. Lied to me to get in my pants.''
``That's not...not true...'' The fox squeaked, unable to tell if that was a lie anymore. He wanted to know her, but not...not just like that. Her laughter rattled him, strong hands gripping his face.
``And when someone was going to kill me, you didn't even hesitate.''
Eric blinked, standing tall back in that alley of shipping crates. Screams echoed in the distance, classless being rounded up for processing for slavery. A population that never dropped on this island of a city no matter how often they were captured.
She screamed. He turned, seeing Skiv being strangled by a corpo grunt on the ground. He pulled out his pistol, bringing up the laser straight to her mouth. Eric felt his fingers around his own gun tighten, heart pounding in his ears. He didn't even feel his arm swing up and aim, or the finger brace against the trigger. In the span of a single breath, he fired, the grunt falling to the ground.
He killed someone.
``No...'' He whispered, ``No...I didn't...''
``You saved me, Eric.'' Skiv said from the ground, spreading her legs and letting her cock flop out of her naked form. He didn't remember he being naked. ``Come on now, come get your prize.''
He stepped back, dropping the gun. ``I...that's not why I...'' His back hit a wall of flesh. Craning his neck, Eric was met with a beady glare from a whole where the eye should have been in the grunt.
``Then why did you kill me?'' The grunt asked, ``I was just doing my job.''
``Y-you were hurting...'' The grunt grabbed his arms, fingers locking tight and squeezing, ``Stop! Stop!''
``She's only classless!'' The grunt screamed, ``There's a million slaves to play your fantasies back home! Why did you kill me?! To preserve your little perverted dream.''
``Stop...'' Eric pleaded, tears streaming from his face, ``I didn't mean to. You were hurting her. Please, stop...''
``You killed me!'' The grunt shouted, ``You murderer! You think you're better?''
A knock against the door had him crashing upwards from his bed. Panting heavily, the fox hugged himself, feeling the tightness in his chest loosen with each breath. Checking the time in his HUD, he discovered three hours had passed. Cursing, Eric rubbed his eyes and sat across his bed. Three hours of schoolwork, wasted with a nap. Another knock banged the door. Sighing, he waved his hand to open it, ``Mallory, please make sure to bring me stimulants more frequently. I can't be wasting time asleep.''
``A good soldier adapts to the situation, brother. But everyone needs sleep, that's why the military has rotations.''
Rolling tired eyes, Eric rested his forehead against his palm, ``Hello, Mavis. For what do I owe the pleasure of having you barge into my room?''
Stepping into his room, the white fox made no notice of his disdain, ``I did not barge in. You opened the door because it was the right thing to do.''
``No, I opened the door because you were gonna force it open eventually. Because no one in this family respects privacy.''
Eric could see his sister smile in her reflection against the window. The white fox still stood tall, like she was giving him a routine inspection. He saw no point in telling her to stop doing it, it was second nature to her at this rate. If he didn't know any better, he'd have assumed she just slept with a stick up her tail hole.
``You've plenty of privacy,'' She stated, ``Stop aching spoiled about your family worrying for you.''
He opened his mouth to speak, only to shut it and trudge back to his desk. ``Whatever. I have studying to get back to so if you don't mind-''
``What do you plan to do with the classless?'' Mavis asked, still staring out the window into the back fields and cityscape below them.
He froze. The tension of her tone holding his heart in place. The fox could feel the bitter hate in her words, restrained but spilling out slow. She was the second person he feared figuring out about Skiv, being the more aggressive towards what Mavis considered to be bottom feeders of society. In her eyes, it was their fault the vixen had a cybernetic arm. He disagreed, knowing that she knew what she signed up for.
``Plans?'' He asked, ``She's going to be my bodyguard. That's it.''
``Is school really so troublesome that you need protection?'' Mavis asked, ``According to father, we live in this neighborhood to avoid such needs.''
``And yet Mallory is more than capable of killing three people before they drop,'' Eric muttered aloud, ``You ever think that dad is just full of shit?''
Her hands gripped into fists at her back, ``As your older sister, I won't smack you for that out of respect as family, something you clearly lack.''
``Respect isn't the same thing as putting people on a pedestal, sis. But you wouldn't know that, would you? Military life doesn't require much heavy thinking.''
Laughing, the white vixen took her place behind him, resting a hand on his shoulder, ``Oh, Eric,'' she said, slowly squeezing down on him, ``I'm so glad you never enlisted. With a mouth like yours, they'd have you cleaning latrines with your tongue.'' Leaning in, she softly asked, ``And if you are so worried for your safety that you need a bodyguard, why not contact me or father? I myself know of many soldiers capable of being your guardian. And if not, I'm sure father could find a properly trained slave your age to enroll in the academy as a shadow protector. I've heard there are even professionals who do that if you're one of those bleeding hearts who are somehow uncomfortable with slavery.''
``I'm fine with Sk-Sarah,'' he said, pushing his big sister's hand away, ``I don't need someone that you or dad picked.''
``You don't need a bodyguard either,'' she growled, grabbing his chair and turning him to face the wrathful gaze of her amber eyes, ``So stop lying to the family of your excuses. We all know why you picked her, and I know you're making a big mistake in it.''
``And who decided that for you? Dad?''
``Father, and I hesitate to say this, is making a mistake in his judgment of you,'' she said, ``When he told me of your actions, I was shocked that you could even do half of what he explained. To willingly endanger yourself for months on end with those...well I'd call them scumbags but bags serve a purpose, either way it's dangerous. Taking one up from the gutter and having Mallory train her as some sort of bodyguard is asinine. At least install some hardware on her so she can never-''
``She won't,'' he growled, ``And since when did you support turning people into drones?''
``The classless aren't people. They are closer to ferals. And those movies you see are rotting your brain otherwise. No heroes comes from the classless, Eric. No sexy rebels are going to fight from the dirt and topple their betters. Stop living in a self-destructive fantasy and grow up.''
He didn't blink. Didn't snarl, or grit his teeth despite the overwhelming rage building up from his gut and flaring behind his tired eyes. He should grow up? Eric would have laughed if it didn't remove his restraint. Mavis had no right to demand he `grow up', not when she was still playing soldier to get dear old dad's attention.
Taking a deep breath, Eric closed his eyes and exhaled. ``Message received, sis.'' He said, waving his hand to the door, ``No can you leave? I still have some calc to catch up on.''
``You can catch up on it later,'' Mavis said, unmoved by his self-control, ``I have set up something in the gym that requires your attention.''
``My attention?'' Eric asked, giving a confused blink, ``Sis, I don't use the gym.''
``Well you should, lying around while surfing the matrix will only lead to muscle atrophy. But this isn't about you using the gym, it's just something that needs your attention. Now get up, Mallory will wait but I don't wish to keep her.''
Mumbling something about schoolwork, Eric pushed off the desk and followed the military brat vixen down the halls and the elevator. The gym in question hadn't seen much use if at all after Mavis moved out into military academies, being saved from cobwebs by the dutiful maids of the Karbon estate. The fox had been there a few times, finding it too big for his liking. Sure, their mansion had a lot of extra space, much of it wasted in his eyes, but the gym itself had a wide ring where Mavis had teachers spar and train with her as a young cub.
The stopped the floor above. ``Um...'' Eric pondered aloud, watching his sister step out of the lift, ``We still have one more floor.''
``No, we don't. Come along.''
To his surprise, Eric found Mallory waiting for the two of them between two synthleather lazyboys, giving a curtsey as they entered a small room with a large window. ``Greetings, Mistress Mavis and young Master Eric, your slaves are stretching as we speak.''
``Stretching?'' Eric said, ``Mavis what's...no...'' his eyes widened, rushing to the window. He found Skiv in the training ring of the gym, dressed in tight blue workout gear and stretching her arms and legs. Across from her was Leif, Mavis's personal enforcer and property, standing as broad as always while stretching his muscles. Skiv caught his glance, giving a short little wave but no smile. The usual for her.
She had no idea what was about to happen. ``Mavis, what are you doing?'' He asked, glaring over to his sister, now sitting down with a glass of wine being poured for her.
``I'm testing your choice of a bodyguard,'' she said, swirling the red wine in her glass, ``That seems obvious, doesn't it?''
``Testing? It's only been two weeks!'' He argued, fists clenched as he stared down his sister, ``That's not fair to her.''
``Bodyguards do not work in fairness. They must be prepared to adapt. Besides, I have been reading Mallory's reports on her progress. She a fast learner from what I can tell, just an annoying student.''
``Reports?'' Eric turned to Mallory, ``You've been making reports about Sk...Sarah? Why haven't I received any? Who authorized this?''
``Your father did, young master,'' the maid said with a bow, ``I apologize for not informing you, but your father asks for reports on all his slaves. And his name is written on her documentation.''
Eric felt the invisible hand of his own stupidity smack itself across his face. His father did mention that Skiv was his due to the name on the document. That's why he had the power to send her away if he so pleased, and why the young fox had been spending so many nights on stimulants to catch up to his classes.
``Then...then why is she getting them?'' He asked, pointing at Mavis, ``Her name isn't on Sarah's documentation.''
Shaking her head, Mavis sighed and said, ``Dear brother, have you forgotten the chain of command? I am the oldest sibling, and, by default, I am the highest level of authority in the household until mother or father return. As such, Mallory gives me daily briefings on her progress, including reports she sends out. Hence, why I know about this classless girl's progress. Speaking of which,'' the white vixen turned to Mallory, ``May we get your honest opinion of her? Feel free to use colorful language.''
``Thank you, Mistress,'' the raccoon nodded, ``Sarah is a frustrating student. She is rebellious, arrogant, and undisciplined. This came as expected given her background, classless make terrible slaves unless they are mentally wiped, and even then there are better options. She does possess a remarkable ability to adapt, and her tenacity has shown how much she can grow. She lacks training but has experience to build upon. The true difficulty is breaking her bad habits.''
``And why have you not already done so?'' Mavis asked, sipping from her glass before she continued, ``Surely wiping her clean would prove easier.''
``Master Alfred made it clear that I was not to do so.''
``Don't you dare,'' Eric growled, standing over his sister, ``If you-''
``I cannot override father's commands, little brother.'' Mavis said, ``Nor would I ever attempt such an act. We are here to test whether your precious slave is worthy of being a bodyguard. Just a simple fight between her and Leif.''
``What are the conditions of victory?'' He asked, glancing back over to the ring below. He'd only met Mavis's personal slave once, during her last holiday visit. Like her, he walked around with a stick up his ass. But whereas Eric could read his sister's fascination with impressing dad, Leif was a blank page. Considering Mavis's life, he had to be something formidable.
Skiv could fight that...at least, he hoped she could.
Mavis blinked at the question, and Eric knew damn well why. ``Victory?'' She asked, holding back her smug smile, ``There is no winner in this. If she subdues him, so be it, but the fight will end when I am satisfied.'' The vixen explained, shooing off Mallory as the Raccoon finished pouring a glass of water for Eric, ``Come and sit, watch the show.''
Not seeing an alternative, Eric slumped into his chair and watched Mallory entered into the ring from below. Speakers inside their room gave the siblings a rundown of what was being explained to the two slaves. Biting his lip, he watched anxiously as Mallory raised her hand.
The raccoon swung it down, ``Begin.''
Skiv moved first, leaping into Leif with both legs aimed for his torso. Too fast for him to catch, he brought his arms up as a crossguard. The bun flipped off him, only to charge in again once she landed, throwing out a flurry of kicks and strikes for the badger to block and parry.
``Told to subdue, and she decides to maul. Poor choice,'' his sister muttered. Eric ignored her, watching Leif stay on the defensive. Eventually, he had to crack, leaving Skiv an opening to exploit. He'd seen her take on bigger foes, finding a weakness and stabbing into it over and over. Granted, Skiv usually had a knife or some sort of weapon on hand. She never fought unarmed.
Leif swung his fist forward. Skiv dodged by a hair, twisting around to sweep her leg under him, tripping him over. The badger caught himself in time to clock her next kick, rolling backward and building momentum to bring himself back up. Eric smiled, ``Well sis, I think she's doing a good job.''
``She's ignoring what Mallory taught her,'' the vixen grumbled, pulling up a holoscreen in front of both their AR feeds. Videos of training sessions with Skiv and Mallory played before them, each detailing takedown and choking moves for submission. Techniques Skiv wasn't using. ``Her reports told me that your slave prefers to be a striker, but that's not entirely what a bodyguard should rely on.''
``It's only been two weeks. She'll learn.'' He said.
``I would expect she will. Mallory is an excellent teacher after all. Thanks to her, I reached the top of my class in unarmed combat exercises in training.'' Mavis said. Eric rolled his eyes at his sister's boasting, sinking back into his seat and staring up into the ceiling. This was a waste of time for them all. ``But I suppose it's time to move onto the real test.''
He blinked, ``Real test?''
With a wave of her hand, Mavis set up a communication channel with Leif, ``Subdue her.''
Without warning, the badger bolted to Skiv, closing the distance before Eric could blink. She tried to back away, only for Leif to grab her shirt and pull her in, spinning around to wrap her arm around her neck and shoulders, his legs locking against her waist. They crashed to the floor, Skiv struggling to breathe in his hold.
``W-What are you doing?'' He asked, fingers clawings into his arm rests.
``Testing her,'' she said, ``If she can't break out of a chokehold, then she's not very useful.''
His sister was lying. He could tell from the small smirk across her face. Skiv's gags echoed off the speakers, cut off swears and grunts bouncing around his ears with her continued struggles. ``Mavis, she-''
``Leif, hold her until death. But don't speed it up.'' She ordered.
Eric leaped out of his chair, ``Stop!'' He shouted. No one reacted. Of course they didn't, this room was soundproof to the floor. He opened a line to the head maid, ``Mallory, stop this now!''
The raccoon didn't move, staring coldly into the struggling bun. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, ``Mallory, that's an order! Stop this now!''
``She's not going to obey,'' Mavis said, ``She knows who is in charge here.''
Heart racing, Eric saw it again. The corpo grunt pointing his gun down her throat, her life about to end. ``Stop this, Mavis!'' He screamed, slamming the glass to no avail, ``You're going to kill her!''
``And this is why she is a poor bodyguard,'' the vixen said. Eric turned to face her, planning on strangling his older sister. He stopped at the sight of her, standing a good foot over him and glaring down with disgust, ``You care about her. A bodyguard's life is less important than those they protect. If you're going to panic like this whenever she's close to death, then having her as a bodyguard is pointless.''
``Stop with-''
Her right hand slammed the glass behind him, cracking it. ``Stop giving me bullshit.'' She growled, looming over him with burning eyes, ``You fell in love with some classless scum, and you're making her a bodyguard as an excuse to keep her. Get your mind out of the gutter, Eric. She's worthless, and you need to accept-''
Leif's scream cut her off. They turned, Eric's eyes widening at the sight of Leif staggering backward, clutching his left eye where blood spurted. Skiv was on the ground, coughing painfully with her right fingers drenched in blood and...he wanted to puke.
The window behind him shattered. Mavis jumped through it, quiet rage blooming at the surface. ``You arrogant classless scum. You dare...'' She paused, turning her body to strangle Skiv with her right arm only for the limb to stay still. Eric wouldn't let it, having hacked it the instant he saw his sister fall from the room.
Mallory stepped between the vixen and bun, ``Mistress Mavis, I believe your slave requires medical attention.''
``Stand aside, Mallory,'' Mavis said through gritted teeth, ``I'm finishing this.''
``I cannot do that.''
``That's a direct order. I am in charge here.''
``Yes, you are. But your orders do not supersede that of your father's, especially on her products. I am under orders by Master Alfred to keep you from directly harming his slaves with lethal intent.''
``I...you...he...b-but...'' Mavis couldn't form a single sentence, so enraged that even her old speech problems returned. Taking a deep breath, she stepped back and looked up to her brother, rage still burning in her eyes but now properly held. ``Eric, release my arm. I do need it for work later.''
He did, then raced down the steps to grab Skiv and drag her to the inhouse medical room. She was standing when he arrived, held up by Mallory with her left arm hung loose. ``You dislocated your arm?'' Mavis said, confused at first but regaining composure as she continued, ``I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Your background has you used to being desperate.''
``Bi-''
``Sarah!'' Eric shouted, cutting the bun off from making a worse mistake, ``Go to the medical room immediately. Don't you give Mallory any lip when she's putting your arm back in, and wait for me there.''
Returning his demand with a glare, Skiv nodded. With a wave from Mavis, Leif followed the rabbit and raccoon toward the lift, leaving the two siblings alone. Eric peered over to the shattered glass. He wanted to smile, to give his sister a smug little look that showed her how much of a hypocrite he knew she was. But he couldn't, he was too angry.
``I guess your bodyguard's life is more important to you than you let on.'' He finally said. Mavis retained a neutral pose as she faced him, giving her little brother a blank stare before responding.
``Leif isn't my bodyguard,'' she said, ``He's my subordinate. It reflects poorly on a commander if they do not care for their troops.''
``He's also your slave.''
``By choice, Eric.'' Mavis said, walking back to the lift, ``By choice.''
***
``Just hold still,'' Mallory demanded, rotating Skiv's arm upwards while the rabbit laid out against a cot. She would have complained if not for the dowel in her mouth, shoved in there to keep her from biting down. Gripping the bed with her working arm, Skiv took a deep breath, calming herself for the inevitable pain that would follow.
The raccoon pushed her shoulder back in, the rabbit screamed into the dowel, and the badger chuckled. Slipping her now working arm away, Skiv spat out the dowel, shouting, ``That facking hurt!''
``Of course it's going to hurt, you idiot.'' Mallory said, stepping away to a cabinet across the room, ``You pulled your damn shoulder out of its socket. What did you expect?''
Skiv wasn't thinking about the long term consequences when she did. One rarely did when trying to escape a chokehold from a muscle bound badger. The same badger who now sat across from her with a hand over his missing eye. As Mallory took out bandages, he smiled at her, as if they didn't just try to kill each other.
``I was thinking you classers had some advanced healing tech for it.'' She muttered out, rubbing her shoulder to sooth the pain. It wasn't the first time she'd ever unsocketed her shoulder, but the last time she had to push it back in alone. Not something she ever wanted to do again if she could help it.
Mallory ignored her pain, focusing on wrapping cloth over Leif's missing eye, ``Some things don't need advanced medical care.'' She said.
``Like classless?''
``Like a dislocated limb. We've known how to deal with those for millenia.'' The maid explained.
``I wouldn't put it past her to assume such, Ma'am.'' Leif said, speaking with respect that made Skiv want to vomit, ``She's probably used to seeing technology we take for granted as magical.''
Her eyes beamed to him, ``Fack off.'' She growled, ``And why are you so chummy? I just took your facking eyeball. You just being nice cause there's someone watching.''
A deep belly laughed erupted from him, earning him a quick smack from Mallory to keep still. ``Sorry Ma'am,'' he said to the maid, ``And no, Sarah, I'm not being nice because Miss Mallory is here. I'm being `chummy' because I underestimated the slave of my mistress's brother, and it gave me room to grow.''
She blinked. Skiv held back on correcting the name, being more confused with his logic. Room to grow? She took his facking eyeball, maimed him, and he's seeing it as a lesson? ``Good luck with that,'' the rabbit said with cynical edge, ``That lack of depth perception might be enough for her to throw you out.''
He shrugged. The door opened before he could answer. Her gaze shifted to it, seeing Eric walk in behind his white furred bitch of a sister. Skiv felt her fur stand in the vixen's presence, knowing fully how much that classer wanted to gut her even without seeing her look. She ignored Skiv, focusing her attention on the badger.
``Is the eye recoverable?'' She asked Mallory.
The maid shook her head, ``No, Mistress Mavis. But I believe the optical nerves are still serviceable. A simple cybereye should be enough to replace it.''
``Use the schematics for mine,'' Mavis said, holding the badger's chin and turning his face, ``If nothing else, we can use this as an opportunity to further upgrade you. Take it easy during recovery, but keep your mind sharp. I still need you.''
With a smile, Leif nodded, ``Yes, Mistress.''
The whole display made Skiv want to gag. Eric stood at her bedside, eyes down and hands holding the metal bar tight. ``Sk...Sarah, come with me.'' He said under his breath, almost like an order if it wasn't for his shaky tone. Knowing better than to call him out on it, she sat up.
``She cannot leave yet, young Master.'' Mallory stated, ``Not before I put a sling on that arm. It needs to heal properly.''
``I'm fine,'' Skiv said, brushing off any attempt to keep her here, ``I've had worse.''
Eric grabbed her uninjured shoulder, pushing her back down into the bed, ``Mallory, put the sling on her.''
She reached for his arm, ``I am fi-''
Brown eyes burned down into her blue. He grit his teeth and growled, ``Shut up and put the sling on. That's an order.''
Sitting in silence, Skiv gave a blank stare to Eric while Mallory strapped her left arm into the sling. ``You can stop wearing this sling in a few days, so we'll ease up on your physical training until then. Once that's finished, I'll put you in a stasis pod to speed up the rest of the recovery. You'll be sparring by the next weekend.''
The two didn't speak on their way out of the medbay, or throughout the house. She expected him to give an excuse for what happened, or an apology. Something to make him feel less guilty about what happened. Skiv didn't blame him for what happened. She saw him banging on the window after all, just couldn't hear what he was saying. If she had to guess, he wanted the damn match to stop. The black bun's throat was sore from the strangulation, enough to wake her up at how far behind she really was in this world. Skiv needed to get better.
Back at his room, Eric tried and failed to push her against the wall. Standing like a pillar to him, the fox buried his head into her chest, hands tight around her shoulders. Ignoring the pain in her left, she grabbed his headfur with her right and pulled him back, ``What's the big...idea?''
Tears streamed down his face. She let go, letting him slump to the floor in a quivering mess. ``Eric...hey...'' she said, kneeling down to him, ``What's the matter with you? I'm the one who got hit.''
He sniffed, brown eyes reddening from tears. ``Skiv...'' he said, looking up to her, ``Am I a bad person?''
She didn't expect that question. Stunned, she just stared back at him, trying to process what it even meant. Skiv had heard the words `good' and `bad' thrown around a lot, and she'd used it to describe her experiences with him before, back when the tearful fox before her was the false scavenger, Drips. He'd been a good thing for her, a good experience. But was Drips a good person? Could she even make that call? She wasn't good. Skiv was good at killing and stealing. At hiding, fighting, and scavenging. The rabbit was a survivor, but she never thought about her morals.
``What's wrong?'' She asked.
``I...I...'' he couldn't form the words. The fox attempted to hide his face, but she wouldn't let him. Forcing those reddened brown eyes back into her blue gaze.
``Facking tell me, Drips.'' She ordered.
Taking to the bed, Eric lurched over his knees. Skiv pulled him close, letting the crying fox rest against her chest when she leaned back into the soft bed. Still felt like sleeping on the cloud, but she could deal with clouds when with him. ``I...I can't get him out of my head.'' He muttered.
``Who?''
``The guy I killed...saving you...'' He said, gripping her workout clothes, ``I see him almost every night, when I'm sleeping. I keep telling myself I did it to save you, but...I'm not a murderer, Skiv. I'm not a soldier like my sister and father, I don't want real blood on my hands. But...but I have them. And now, with all my classes and the worry of losing you, I-''
``Shh...'' She whispered, petting his headfur, ``You're not gonna lose me, Drips.''
``But if I fail-''
``I'm not yours to lose,'' she corrected him. He blinked, looking back up to her. Skiv smiled, ``You're mine, remember? If they send me away, I'll just find my way back. And you're not gonna fail. I don't know what this `school' stuff is, but if you can pretend to be a classless for three months as some ritzy classer, then you can knock that crap out like it's nothing.''
``I...I don't think you understand.''
``Maybe I don't, but what I do understand is that I have faith in you. And I know you don't want to prove my faith wrong.'' Skiv said, pulling him closer and whispering, ``I'm gonna take the training more seriously so I can stop worrying about you and be by your side. Just like back in the gutter.''
He didn't answer. When she looked down to see why, she found him asleep in her arm. She smiled, flicking a finger across that cute face and wiping away those tears drying in his cheekfur. She hated seeming him cry, but felt some strange relief that he did it with her. Closing her eyes, the rabbit let the warmth of her fox and the beating of his heart drift her to sleep without fear of sinking into the bed. He was her anchor.
