The Half-Breed Hotel

A room all to herself

          she woke to the worst headache of her life. When she tried to open her eyes the light pierced her brain and she let out a yelp. She couldn't identify the sounds that entered into her ears, each one only seemed to be a pain inducing stab in her temples. Cringing at each sound she covered her ears as best she could and curled into a ball. Only then did she realize she was being carried. Quickly, even though it hurt, she opened her eyes and pushed at the man carrying her. She was weak from the headache and she couldn't focus very well but she could function. There was a commotion around her as the man put her gently on the ground testing if she could hold herself up. It was the same half breed she had fought against. He looked much better in the light. Light? She looked up, straight up into the sun and staggered where she stood. Pain like no other erupted in her head and she whimpered. It was all she dared to do and not make it worse with the sound. Her eyes watered and she forced them open again. Seeing two black shoes in front of her, she looked at their owner's face. Immediately she fell to the ground and shivered in defeat. It was her new master. By this time she couldn't even open her eyes and her head had taken to throbbing along with her heightened heartbeat. Gentle hands coaxed her to her feet and she wobbled. Her knees went out from under her and the bear half breed caught her. There were many voices around her and she tried desperately to cover her ears from their painful chatter but to no avail. She whimpered in agony and everything went silent with one sharp command. "Quiet!" It sounded like her new master and she immediately shut up. So did everyone else. In a soft whisper, he said another sentence she couldn't make out. But that didn't really matter, because she passed out in the arms of the stranger as he started to move once more.

Soft covers surrounded her when she came too. Her chest felt tight, and when she shifted she felt a thick wrap around her, covering her back injuries. A nice scent filled the air, her headache was gone but she wasn't alone. The half breed rabbit lay on the bed with her, curled up beside her, but not close enough to be touching. His breaths were deep and steady, so he wasn't dead. For some reason she felt slightly relieved. She had never wanted to hurt the little half breed, but her master had willed it. She was about to do as he had said when a thought struck her. It wasn't in words because she couldn't speak, but she knew how to understand. He old master wasn't her master anymore! So what he wanted was irrelevant. Her priority now was to make her new master happy. And hurting one of his half breeds certainly wouldn't do that. She had never seen a half breed like him before. Curious she sniffed the air around him. His scent was strange. Not like the scent of a meat eater. He smelled a bit like plants. Another smell permeated the air and she glanced around, trying to locate it's source. A tray of food lay on a bedside table and she desperately wanted to try some. Her stomach growled and the small furry being beside her giggled. His eyes were open and he lay looking at her. "You're making the funniest of faces" He said, then giggled some more. She scrunched up her nose and touched it with a finger. "Face?" she repeated. The bunny boy smiled "No silly! That's your nose!" Smiling back she poked her nose again. "Nose!" she exclaimed. Her stomach growled again, louder this time. "Eat up!" said the boy, gesturing towards the tray by her. "Teddy made it for you." Glancing at him again, she grabbed the tray and set it in the space between them. She gestured first at the food than at him, when he didn't understand she copied what he had said. "Eat up!" Finally getting it, he picked up one of the strawberries on the plate and nibbled on the tip. Finding it to be sweat, he popped the whole thing in his mouth, green end and all. She followed suit. Grabbing a strawberry from the pile on her plate, she nibbled the tip, than popped the rest in her mouth. Pointing to the fruit, she questioned "Eat up?" "These are strawberries." He said. Then he went around the plate naming the different types of food on it. "Strawberries. Toast. Eggs. Cottage cheese." and she repeated it rite back. Suddenly the boy's ears went up, signaling that he had an idea. Motioning to himself he said "Zeus." Tilting her head, the girl pointed at him "Zeus?" He giggled and nodded his head "Yes! Zeus! My name is Zeus." She then pointed to herself. "Zeus?" Smiling a little. Zeus said "No your name isn't Zeus. My name is Zeus." She sat for a minute then pointed at a the Toast on her plate. "Your name is Toast." She said it with a frown on her face, like she wasn't sure that she was right. Zeus giggled even harder. "Yes, that is toast." Wiping laughing tears away from his eyes, he asked "What is your name?" She contemplated this question for a moment. Then she said "My name is 'stupid mutt!' " The smile on Zeus's face left and he gazed sadly at her. He hadn't really understood that she had had a horrible life, and now he sort of did. More at least than he had. "No, you're not a 'stupid mutt'. You're a person like all of us. And you deserve to be treated that way."