The House 10.1

I'm immersed in thought when I feel another pull on my 'clothes'. I wait for the person pulling my clothes to talk first, but he or she just kept pulling me. (The height doesn't match with the girl, it's probably the other kid. I'll just wait, if I'm lucky he gives up.)

Ten seconds quickly turned into minutes. (This little person is truly insistent. I give up.) I open my eyes and turn around, releasing my grip from the bars. I look downwards.

I see a little boy, with white hair and complete pale skin, as if he was made of snow. His green eyes, give me a feeling of danger. A ragged red scarf and the same black shirt as the girl. Then I see his hands. They had an even whiter fur covering part of his fingers, with sharp nails. The same goes for his feet.

Our eyes meet, and I feel a chill running down my spine. (You little troublemaker... You wanted to fight from the moment you saw me.) I sigh. "I'm not in the mood for a catfight, little boy. You can scratch the wall if you want some action." He smiled proudly. "You're afraid of me?" I resist the urge to laugh.

(Ah... He's a child after all.) I bow to him. "Yes, I'm afraid that I would be completely crushed by you if we ever fought. Please spare me!" I try to make it the most sincere plead possible. "Humph! Good that you know. I'm an almighty warrior from the panther tribe, but we panthers, don't discriminately kill."

The words he said really sounded like an almighty warrior, but a four-year-old boy said them. (The beastmans in general are proud of their combat power or intellect. Seems like this one is the first type... I'm bored, I'll play with him a little.) I raise my head and stare at him with a playful face.

"Do you really believe that? The panther tribe is not as great as you think." I even shake my head in disapproval. "Tsk tsk, children should be disciplined when they're wrong. You're lucky I don't have a belt with me..." The boy was dumbfounded. He actually froze in place. Then tears begin to roll from his eyes.

The old man gets up and takes the boy away from me. "You could have played along. He is just three... But I guess that it's better for him like this." He didn't even look me in the eyes.

They sit on the ground of the cell, and the old man scratches the boy's head while whispering something in his ear. He stopped crying almost immediately. (Druidic chant, huh.) The boy fell asleep in the old man's arms shortly after.

I return my attention to the bars. I can't tell how much time passed, everything I know is that we ate thirty-five meals. Every once in a while the man that knocked me out would come with some moldy bread and muddy water. We ate, we had to.

This time, the man didn't have food, but a bunch of keys. "Today is your lucky day! The House will finally host an auction. And the five of you will be the star of the show... Get up and prepare yourselves, you'll be sold against your will as slaves to terrible owners, and will probably die before your first meal. Doubts?"

We get in line and shake our heads. "Perfect. But we're not monsters. Each one of you will receive proper care to be more presentable to the customers, so cheer up." He laughs and opens the cell door.

Behind him were three maids, and two butlers. They wore expressionless white masks and had the same height. (Several illusion spells, coming from the mask. The mana signature is from someone strong.)

The only thing I did besides eating and sleeping was training for the past few days or weeks... Since I'm imprisoned. We get out of the cell, and the butler in the middle gestured for me to follow him. It was dark, even with my dark vision. (The security is tight. I won't be able to escape, not with my current strength.)

I follow him blindly. When I look back, no one was there, just complete darkness and the sound of steps. "Do you have any color preference?" The butler had a robotic voice (another spell from the mask.)

I thought I heard him wrong, but he repeated himself. (Color? Let me see... Yeah, that should be nice.) "Green clothes. Dark green." The butler stop walking and turn around to size me up with his eyes. He nods in approval. "Splendid choice." He turns around again and continues to walk. I follow closely behind.