My Little Kitten

Part Three

Embers POV

He loves me.
He loves ... me?
I gazed up into his eyes, they were so soft and gentle as he looked back at me. There was no hatred or malice in them, just pure . .. love?
'T-thank you m-master.' I choked. Tears had gathered in my eyes, but this time ones of joy and happiness.
Maybe i was finally free? Free from the pain and neglect that i had been subjected to my whole life. My own mother hadnt even wanted me and had sold me off the first chance she got.
You see i was a pure black cat. I once had silky shiny and smooth black fur and took pride in grooming it. However my mother had seen me as an omen. I was unlucky. She blamed me for my fathers death and the death of one of my six siblings. She said it was because i was a black cat. So i was cursed. My previous masters agreed with this theory also, which was probably why i got beaten so much.
'Ember. Its just Ryan okay? I want you to be comfortable around me before we start getting into anything too heavy. Alright?' His smooth voice was pleasant on my ears and it made a purr slip out unconsciously, making him chuckle.
I blushed, 'sorry. It comes out sometime and i cant stop it.' I rush out.
'Shh shh its alright. Its part of who you are Ember. Im not going to punish you for a noise that lets me know your feeling happy.' Ryan soothed. 'Now lets get some sleep ay?'
I nodded and nuzzled my head against his chest, pulling myself as close as i could. The warmth emitted from his body was comforting and i soon found myself drifting easily off to sleep.

Ryan's POV

I awoke that morning to a beautiful sight. My little kitty had managed to shuffle himself onto my chest at some point during the night and was now snoring softly while curled up on my chest. His shoulder length black hair had fallen over most of his face and was mused and knotted from sleep. Drool was dripping from the corner of his mouth onto my bare chest, but instead of finding it gross, it was actually quite cute. I decided to relax for a few more moments while committing every feature of my sleepy kitty to memory. A small frown pulled my eyebrows together as i noticed a small scar running over the side of his head, almost across his temple. It angered me thinking about the inexcusably disgusting treatment that he had to endure, all because they believed in a stupid superstition.
A small whine brought me out from my thoughts and my attention once again fell on Ember. His peaceful expression had now disappeared and was replaced with one of fear, which sent a pang through my chest.
"Ember." I whispered while trying to sooth out some of his tangled hair. "Ember honey, its time to wake up." I chuckled as the fearful expression turned into confusion as my cute little neko began opening his eyes.
He glanced blearily round the room, smacking his lips before a little pink tongue poked out to lick up some of the drool that had escaped onto his cheek. I couldn't help but laugh, which immediately made me feel guilty as the sudden loud noise had startled him awake.
"I'm sorry Ember. You were just too cute I couldn't help myself." I chuckled as i brought my hand up to wipe off the excess drool that he had missed. As i did his flinch didnt go unnoticed but i continued my careful and slow ministrations, watching as his eyes widened in realisation.
"I'm sorry m-master!" He suddenly squeaked as he tumbled off my stomach, which he had been sitting on.
I had to grab him quick before he could fall off the bed, bringing him gently back to my chest, holding him gently, yet firmly to me. "Shush my sweet little kitten. You've done nothing wrong. Alright? Nothing at all. A little bit of drool isn't going to cause me any harm and it is certainly not something to be punished over. Do you understand?" I asked him softly. I wasn't angry with him in the slightest and he needed to understand that. He needed to understand that I wasn't going to punish him for every little thing that he clearly believed he'd done wrong.
A small, shy nod was felt as i continued to untangle his soft hair, careful not to make it tug too hard.
"Good boy Ember." I praised, knowing he needed a lot of praise and reassurance in this delicate transition period. "Shall we get some breakfast then and get to the shops before they become too busy? We need to get you some things" i explained to him so that it wasn't a surprise when we left the house.
"What things master?" He hesitantly asked.
"There's no master Ember, only Ryan ok? And we need to get you the essentials such as clothes, shoes, toiletries and some items that you can occupy your time with when i have to work." I smiled down at the wide bright green eyes that stared up at me in disbelief.
"S-sorry mas- I mean Ryan. I will try harder to get used to it." He whispered.
I reassured him that it was fine and helped him get up out of bed. I managed to run a brush through his hair, although it was hard to do so with him flinching each time i placed the brush on his head. I helped him to dress in some of my old clothes that were small, but still far to big on his tiny frame. Shoes were a tricky find but he had to make do with a very old pair of sneakers that had seen better days. I took a step back to admire my work and let out a chuckle, "these are a bit big for you but they'll be fine for today. Do you like them?" I asked.
Ember looked up at me with huge green eyes and the widest smile i had ever seen. He nodded his little head so fast in response to my question before he launched himself into me whispering thank you's at a mile a minute. I laughed and returned his embrace, glad that he was happy and beginning to trust me even a little.
Breakfast was another big moment for Ember it seemed as he cried over his new found liking for porridge and syrup. His face became a snotty, syrupy mess as he ate and cried at the same time. My heart broke at this. My poor kitty had been deprived of the basic necessities for so long it physically pained me to see him this grateful for the simplest of foods.
After ensuring that my poor little neko was alright and clean we piled into my car and drove the 15 minute journey in a peaceful silence. Ember seemed to be a little drained and embarrassed at his emotional display over breakfast and it had taken a lot longer than i had anticipated to get him to realise that it was okay to show his emotions. I had to explain to him that i wanted to know what he liked and disliked, i wanted to know if he was happy or sad or scared. I couldn't help him if i didn't know.
Embers face was a sight to behold as we entered the shopping centre. His eyes darted everywhere, wanting to see everything all at once. His little pink nose twitched and sniffed at all the new scents as his little black ears twitched and swivelled back and forth as he tried to make sense of all the new sounds. I held him close to my side with a casual arm round his shoulders so that he would feel secure if he felt suddenly overwhelmed.
I managed to steer my excited little kitten into several clothes shops where he proceeded to shyly, but excitedly, chose his own clothes to buy, after a lot of persuading of course. When it came to his hobbies and interests however, Ember became a bit unsettled and upset. It wasn't his fault that he didn't ever have the chance to develop a hobby or have any interests. After a lot of encouragement and praise we managed to pick up a range of things for him to try. These ranged from art items, to jigsaws, to books that contained brightly coloured pictures. Ember had chosen a few larger books that he had made me promise to read to him because he had liked the way they sounded when i explained what the story was about. Ember couldn't read, which had come to no surprise. He had no education whatsoever and i had planned to change that. My friend worked in education and I'm sure he could spare a few hours every weekend to help my little neko get started. But only if Ember enjoyed it of course. No sense in making him do something he didnt like.
By the time we had finished, Ember was dead on his feet, literally falling asleep standing up. I quickly ushered him into the car as i deposited our bags into the boot. After securing his seatbelt i began the journey home, smiling softly at the sounds of little snores that quickly filled the silence.

Ember's POV

I felt nice and warm. I opened my heavy eyes and noticed that i was back in my room at home. Home. That one word held so much meaning and was so easily taken away. It was strange. I had been here two days more or less and i already felt so comfortable here. I hadn't even been punished yet and I'd done loads of things wrong. I had been sick, i didnt clean my sick up, i was on the sofa, i had slept with master in his bed, i had been talking without permission and lots more. Master had told me not to worry and that all these things weren't wrong or bad and i didnt need to be punished for it. I felt conflicted. Wasn't i meant to serve him? All my other masters had demanded everything of me and i had to comply whether i liked it or not. Just thinking about it set off the waterworks and soon i became a snivelling mess.
My head shot up as i heard the floor creak just outside my door before a knock sounded and the door opened.
Master looked surprised to see me awake before concern filled his features. "Ember what's wrong?" He asked as he swiftly made his way across the short distance and sat on my bed, scooping me up into his arms, cradling my head against his chest while he softly pet my ears.
"I was t-thinking and it made me u-upset." I stuttered out while calming my sobs. Master was probably getting tired of me crying on him all the time.
"And what were you thinking about that got you so upset?" He sounded concerned as he gently wiped my eyes and nose with a soft tissue.
"A-about my o-other mas-sters and you being m-mad at m-me." I snivelled pathetically as master tightened his grip on me in a comforting manner.
He shushed me softly as more tears began to spill from my eyes again. "Ember honey, i hate seeing you so upset. I cant ever change what those disgusting people have done to you but i want to ensure you know that you will be safe and loved now and for the rest of your life. I will never hurt you without reason, I've told you this before. If you ever feel that I've done something to overstep a boundary or that makes you feel unhappy or uncomfortable then i want to know. I cant change it if i dont know." He spoke gently to me as he always did and explained it so that i would understand.
I took in a deep breath before speaking, "it makes me feel un-uncomfortable when i call you by your name instead of master." I'd said it. There was no taking it back now. My breathing quickened as i psyched myself into the beginnings of a panic attack.
"Thank you for telling me Ember." He responded gently. There was no yelling or raised voices as i had anticipated, but it still did nothing to calm the rising panic.
"If it makes you feel that uncomfortable then you may call me master instead. That is fine with me. Is there anything else that makes you uncomfortable?" He asked as he pulled me back slightly so that we were face to face.
There was no hatred or irritation in his expression, instead it was the opposite. It was happy, gentle, kind and encouraging.
"I dont like all the choices."
"Alright. Can i propose a compromise to that?" He asked, to which i responded with a nod. "Because i want you to have some freedom, how about i give you a choice of two options. How does that sound?"
I mulled it over for a second before nodding, somewhat happy with that decision.
A smile graced his beautiful face as he looked at me. I had noticed this yesterday but he truly was a handsome man. His well defined features left no room for any imperfections, his hair a silky soft brown and styled short without a hair out of place. His scruff was the only thing giving him some sort of rugged look, but this was minimal. He was always well dressed, even in something as simple as jeans and a shirt. I was truly lucky that this man had even spared me a glance, let alone let me into his home and his life and spent his hard earned money on someone like me. I was lucky, but a niggling feeling was still in the back of my mind because i knew well that nothing this good could last forever.