A short drive later had us pulling into the driveway of what looked to be a pleasant enough one-story house, with a lush lawn, light blue siding, and red roof. Compared to some of the houses I’d lived in before with previous would-be masters, it was downright cozy, leading me to wonder if the lion wasn’t quite as financially well off as previous owners, or if he simply didn’t care to flaunt what he did have.
As the lion parked the car, he looked over towards me. “Welcome to your new home. Might not look like much, but it should be comfortable enough for the both of us with a little time to adjust.” Climbing out, he motioned for me to follow him towards the front door, unlocking and opening it as I approached.
Walking in, he stopped at the entranceway, waiting until I’d closed the door before nodding towards the living-room we were both now standing in.
“Now, time for a little tour, show you where everything is, what rooms are where, that sort of thing.”
What followed was a quick tour through the house, from front room to kitchen, bathroom to office, finally ending in front of two doors at the end of the hallway.
“The door on the left leads to my bedroom, nothing in there for you to do as I figure if I’m going to make the mess, it’s up to me to clean it up.” Turning he took two steps before opening the door on the opposite side of the hallway, beckoning me inside as he did. Walking in the room seemed sparse but well appointed. A decently sized bed, dresser, even a shelf with a handful of books. “This was the guest room, though it should serve you just fine for your room. Not much in here at the moment I’m afraid, so if you need something else, ask and I’ll see about picking it up for you.” Glancing over at the dresser he looked back over to me, apparently only then noticing the rather... basic nature of the clothing that the store had provided, little more than a cheap t-shirt and equally cheap pair of jeans. “Tomorrow we can go shopping for some extra sets of clothes for you to wear, along with any food you may need for meals.”
Looking around, the lion hmm’d for a moment before turning to me. “Well, I’m not sure about you, but I think I could do with some food. Why don’t you relax here for a few minutes, get settled, and I’ll order something in. Pizza sound good?” Still trying to come to grips with the idea of having my own room, and a nice one at that, I could only nod silently. Apparently realizing that he wasn’t going to get much more out of me at the moment he turned to leave before he suddenly stopped and turned back around.
“How could I forget, in all this I never introduced myself. I’m Darrel Gereson, though Darrel will be fine. I’m sorry to say but I must have missed your name on the papers.”
Snapping out of my thoughts, I looked up to meet his gaze as he patiently waited for my response. Again he surprised me, being the first to both give his own name, and ask for mine, as previous owners had insisted on ‘Master’ or ‘Sir’, and never bothered to learn my name at all, preferring to stick with ‘Servant’. “John Karnel.”
Nodding his head he flashed a quick smile at me. “Well, I suppose it’s a little late for introductions, but pleasure to meet you John.”
Not quite sure if he was being serious or just polite, I responded with a simple “Sure”, a reply that seemed to amuse him if the twinkle in his eyes was anything to go by.
“Like I said, take your time and come out when you’re ready, pizza should be here in half an hour or so.” He adopted a teasing grin as he continued. “Just don’t take too long, otherwise I might be temped to eat all of it myself...”
Shaking my head at the humor I watched him leave the room, closing the door behind him as he went. As the door shut I walked the few steps to the bed before sitting on the edge, looking around. Assuming he’d been straight with me, this was now mine, so long as I lived here anyway. ‘My room’, what a strange thought after so long of owning nothing, having nothing to call my own. Falling back I enjoyed the soft feel of the blanket and mattress as I stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, before I remembered the bookshelf and went to see what was available.
**
Joking aside, as I was browsing through what I guessed was a spare shelf for books that wouldn’t fit on other shelves I head a knock at the door, with a slightly muffled “Pizza’s here” before the sound of footsteps gradually faded. Giving the books a last eager look I headed out, following my nose to the ever so delightful smell of pizza, finding both it and the lio- Darrel in the front-room with paper plates and cups of what looked like soda on the coffee table in the middle of the room, the feline already on the couch with a slice on his plate. Quickly grabbing a pair of slices for myself, I settled in a nearby recliner, close enough to reach the coffee table, but far enough for me to maintain some personal space, something I’d come to cherish when I could get it.
For the first few minutes the only sounds in the room were those involved in eating, as both of us focused more on the meal in front of us than the other in the room. After the first two slices however I slowed down, content to savor the tastes, giving me time to look around and more importantly examine the lion across from me. Thankfully he seemed to have a prodigious appetite, allowing me to observe him without worry.
As I’d noticed in the store he seemed to be rather young, with features slightly softer than those on some of the older felines I’d seen, though still firm enough to show that he was in decent shape. With the distance between the two of us it was hard to compare sizes, though based upon previous encounters I’d guess that he was probably a few inches taller than my 6’ 1”, about average for a large cat from what I’d seen. What exposed fur I could see was a golden brown, offset by the darker brown of the modest mane framing his face. Having matched gazes with him several times now, it wasn’t hard to remember his amber eyes, a fairly common feature on large cats.
As I glanced over the clothing he wore(light blue button up shirt and black slacks) I noticed that he didn’t seem to be moving, and my eyes shot up to meet his, a blush forming on my face as I realized that he’d caught me staring. Far from being offended however he merely chuckled a moment before picking up another slice. “Fair’s fair after all, I gave you the once over, nothing wrong with you doing the same John.” Slightly reassured by his statement, I took a glance downward to notice that his feet were of the human-style, rather than the more ‘animal’ style that some sported, before returning my focus to the food in front of me.
After his initial hunger was sated, Darrel placed his plate down on the table, and turned to me. “Now, I think this would be a good time to go over the duties I expect of you.” Following suit with my own plate, I laid it on my lap as I looked over, my cup in my hand. Not feeling the need to respond, I kept silent as he spoke.
“For the most part your duties will be simple upkeep of the house, inside and out. Vacuuming and cleaning inside, mowing the lawn and taking care of the plants outside. I would also ask that you prepare lunches, as I’m often too focused on my work to have time to do so, and take care of the dishes from that. As I occasionally enjoy cooking I was thinking that we would trade off on that, with whoever doesn’t cook dinner being assigned the task of taking care of the dishes afterwards.”
Pausing a moment he rubbed his chin in thought before continuing. “Once I pick up the required supplies I may call upon your services as a masseuse, though I don’t know how often, most likely once a week. Beyond this, I ask merely that you be willing to help keep the house clean and tidy as you’re able.”
Leaning forward he took a sip of his drink to wet his throat before placing it back down on the table. “Should you finish with your tasks for the day, or need a break before moving from one task to another you may feel free to relax as you wish, reading or otherwise, and if you have a request for something you desire, feel free to ask. So long as your request is reasonable, I will more than likely grant or at least consider it. Any questions?”
As I thought over his words, I mechanically took a bite out of the slice of pizza I’d picked up, chewing and swallowing without putting any thought towards the action. The idea of being basically a live-in maid(butler?) wasn’t too surprising, but how he’d phrased everything was certainly new. The way he’d described things it was almost as though I was a lodger that he was explaining the house rules to, rather than someone he’d purchased for the sole purpose of looking after the place.
With my usual bluntness I figured I’d ask the question floating through my mind. “You really bought me for simple chores around the house? That... seems a bit excessive honestly.”
Laughing at my question, he smiled at me. “Other than my books and what few electronics I’ve picked up, I really don’t have much other use for the money I earn with my job, and while I suppose I could pay someone to come and clean and take care of the lawn, financially it makes more sense to pay a larger sum now, rather than many smaller amounts. That’s not all of course, as I said money isn’t really an issue for me, what really decided it was you. I find your personality most interesting, all the more so given your situation, and I believe that you will make for enjoyable company, livening up an otherwise quiet house.”
Simple chores and companionship, interesting motivations for purchasing a servant to be sure. As I reached over to pick up another slice, I couldn’t help but ponder both the situation I now found myself in, and the lion that had brought it about. The former seemed simple enough, but the latter... the latter would definitely be the subject of many a moment of contemplation and watching.
Perhaps... perhaps I’d finally found someone who understood the message, even if not quite consciously. Time would tell I suppose, but for now, pizza.
**
The following few days were interesting ones as the two of us got used to the change in our respective lives. As he’d said the day after my arrival saw the two of us on a short shopping trip, primarily to pick up a few sets of clothing for me(and finding a pair of pants without a gaping hole for a tail was quite the trick, though the looks from the salesperson when they realized that the clothing was meant for me was well worth the hassle), along with ingredients for the handful of meals I knew how to cook. Darrel had even stopped by a burger place on the way home, and oh the taste of a juicy burger after having gone without for so long...
The massage supplies were ordered online, as apparently none of the local stores had any in stock, but already I was determined to put my training on the matter to use when they arrived. The lion was willing to go out of his way to be kind to me, the least I could do was return the favor.
As for the daily bustle at the house, things quickly settled in to a routine. So used to waking up on his own Darrel would often be halfway through breakfast by the time I got up, and we’d share a silent meal together, before he left to his office and I set about cleaning up the handful of dirty dishes that had been created.
A quick check of the notice board that he’d picked up told me what chores were expected of me that day, and what meal he wanted prepared for lunch, leaving it up me to deal with them as I wished. For the most part the chores were easy enough to take care of, neither of us being the type to make messes that needed to be cleaned up, leading to me usually having several hours of leisure time before I needed to worry about preparing lunch, time I spent working my way through his not insignificant personal library, relaxed on the couch with a drink in front of me.
A quick bit of cooking whatever light meal had been listed, sometimes eating together in the kitchen, other times bringing the meal in to his office and taking the dishes back to be washed if he was too focused on his work to leave, and then I’d deal with any other chores I hadn’t already gotten around to, before going back to reading, or relaxing in the back yard.
Dinners were interesting times. After having found my cooking skills to be acceptable for more complicated meals, we traded off on cooking duties for the last meal of the day, based upon a mix of schedule and whether or not either of us were interesting in trying a particular recipe. During the meal proper we’d discuss our respective days, ranging from his latest job as a graphics designer and consultant, to the book I was currently reading.
More than any other time, dinners brought home just how different he was from previous owners. Asking me questions, answering mine, without any worry over our ‘stations’ in the relationship, his actions in the evenings showed that while he did consider himself to be in charge, he saw me as a person, one with needs and wants and a mind the same as any anthro.
‘Servant’ I may be under the eyes of the law, slave in all but name, to be sold and purchased, treated however my owner wished so long as it was within certain ‘humane’ limits, yet even so this lion seemed content to treat me as a fellow sentient, to give me the respect due a person rather than a thing, and for that I was grateful, all the more so given how it had gone with previous owners.
It wasn’t freedom, but if one must be owned, better by far it be by one willing to show respect and kindness to those around them, even to those they owned.
