Conley Brothers

Keith was not wrong, his instonct was to hide and run and not yet skilled at longer "jumps"

Star quickly jumped again, and again, and again until this time Keith was waiting for him.

Getting frantic and scared Vlad would be upset he kept jumping from place to place trying to think of somewhere Keith would not follow or predict.

That's when he saw the tarp covered cage. Whatever was in there couldn't be as bad as Keith and he didn't have the energy to keep going at this rate.

He jumped, stepping out nervously into the cage, not sure what to expect but the poor kid was terrified
 
Claudius woke with a jolt and turned to see who it was that had invaded his space.

Keith slammed against the bars and thrust his head through. He could fit! Turning his self sideways, he started wriggling into the cage, snarling with effort. This little brat was less fun the more he chased him! He didn't realize he'd chosen a spot right next to Claudius' nest.

Claudius snarled, reacting instinctively to the creature trying to force its way into his cage. He lashed out, his clawed hand making solid contact with Keith's face. Keith fell back with a howl, his head catching between the bars. Claudius struck again, claws swiping across the pale face. Keith fell free and rolled away, scrambling out from under the tarp and running.

Claudius growled low and deep, glaring at the spot where the thing had dared tried to enter. The tarp blocked his view, and the sound of running steps assured him whatever it was would not be back. He settled down and looked at his hand. It stung slightly from the force he'd used to hit Keith, and one finger had actually struck a bar, not his face. Was it broken? Ignoring the smaller, quieter presence entirely as long as it was still, he inspected the finger, muttering soft, almost comforting noises to himself.
 
Starnacht stared at Claudius as he attacked Keith and made him run away, his heart pounding in his chest from both the adrenaline from the chase and from wayching this formidable person make the scary one go away.

He huddled in the opposite corner trying not to make too much noise but his breathing was heavy. He had used much more energy than he was used to.

He didn't dare move even after the other one settled, worried he'd be attacked too
 
Claudius frowned at his little finger. Broken, he thought, finding it to be an idle annoyance, less than others might treat a stubbed toe. He curled his hands to his chest and hunkered down. After a moment, he pulled his new blanket around himself, feeling chilled. Careful, so as not to rip it! Then, and only then, did he look at Starnacht.

The little thing was hard to see in the dark, huddled in the cage. If Claudius hadn't already known he was there, he might have missed him or it. He would have given himself away, eventually, though, his ragged panting loud and clear to Claudius' sensitive ears. He'd never seen something like this before, but that wasn't unusual to him. He wondered if it had escaped its cage or if it had been recently bought like him, but those were idle ponderings, the answers to which he never expected to learn. Whatever it was, it seemed terrified. He said nothing, just stared, his amber eyes barely glinting in the near pitch dark.
 
When finally the other in the cage looked at him, and did not attack, he relaxed just a little, his breathing slowing a bit "you..not..hurt me?" He asked timidly
 
Starnacht shook his head "no, never hurt" he promised "just...ran out places to run..Keith bad.."
 
Claudius looked at the tarp. Keith. What was a Keith? He decided it didn't matter. He studied Starnacht for a moment. "Hide here," he said dismissively. "No one comes. Quiet. No Keith." He liked the quiet. It was nice after all the screaming.

~~

Whimpering, Keith dragged himself up to Felix' wagon and scratched on the door. He never knocked, only scratched, and never went into any wagon except Felix' unless ordered. He scratched again, leaving a faint smear of red. One side of his pale, perfect face was swelling up, deep scratches marking his face. It looked almost like a giant cat scratch.
 
Starnacht hesitated a moment before he got into his pocket and found the candied apple. Unwrapping it he carefully picked out an especially caramel covered slice "want some...good..as thank you for safe place" he tentatively held it out between pinched claws
 
Claudius studied the thing suspiciously. What was that? He hesitated a moment before slowly slinking forward and reaching out with his own clawed fingers. He accepted it while taking great care to get no closer than needed or touch the other. Then he sat back and studied the piece. He vaguely remembered something like this... it was so long ago, though, it was like a memory of a memory.
 
He took out another for himself after pulling back. He wrapped the remaining two pieces up and put them away. "Miss Camilla gave it me...very sweet treat" he saif softly before taking a bite of his own, savoring the sweet goodness and the memories that came with it comforting him. Camilla, vlad, the twins...
 
Camilla? He'd heard that name before. Other people used it. He watched the boy eat then carefully popped the treat into his mouth. Ugh! So sweet!! How could he stand this massive onslaught of sweetness?? Still, it was food. So he tried to eat it. Only to find the caramel was gluing his mouth shut. He tried to chew, his face twisting oddly as he slowly forced his teeth apart then back together again.
 
He watched him, tilting his head "let candy melt then not so hard chewing" he explained his tactic. He had mostly sharp teeth, not meant for this sort of food
 
Claudius could only grunt painfully. This was a very interesting treat. He seemed to love it, that little creature, but Claudius didn't think he'd take another bite. He waited for the candy to soften then hastily chewed it up and swallowed it down. The apple part was good.
 
"It's ok if you not like" he shrugged and put the rest of his in his mouth to eat. He was slowly less and less scared. This person wasn't mean "why in cage?"
 
Claudius looked at the little fellow blankly. He didn't comprehend the question. A chill breeze blew through, and even with the tarp, wiffs of cool air licked up into the wagon.
 
He didn't mind the cold so much, well, if it got too intense maybe, but this wasn't bad so he stayed put "are you hide here too?" He asked, trying to understand why he was in a cage. Animals sure but he wasn't an animal
 
He shifted around, carefully pulling one of the least shredded blankets from his nest. He folded it loosely then tossed it toward the little fellow so it landed in front of him. "This where we belong," he said.
 
Though he didn't necisarilly need he appreciated the gesture so took the blanket and wrapped himself up in it "why?" He asked innocently

--

Felix had been just sitting? Drinking and chatting with Leon. A fee beers and he loosened up.

Hearing the scratching thpugh he stood up and answered the door "Keith what..good god come in" he opened the door wider "Leon get my first aid kit!"
 
"Because. That's where masters keep us," Claudius said, not even sure why he was explaining this. It made no senese. Shouldn't this little fellow understand by now?

~~

Keith almost crawled in, whimpering. "Master? Master, it hurt me!" he keened like a child.

Leon grabbed the kit and looked around Felix to the bloody mess that was Keith's face. "Did he try to kiss a lion or something?"
 
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