The Neko's Tail (Book 2 of Astara)

The Collar

The alien backed away from the neko, holding their hands up.

"Okay, okay, we can finish this later," they said hurriedly.

The fox growled under his breath, and the grey alien glared at him.

"Fontar, he is clearly terrified. The planet Captain Artemis discovered is clearly of no threat to us. I am sure we can afford to give Elias some time to recover."

The alien sat in front of Elias, their voice gentle, soothing. The translator didn't change its tone, and the effect was lost on Elias.

"I will not touch you any more. But I need you to get into the..."

The neko stared warily, refusing to move.

"Please. It is the easiest way to do this."

The fox barked something, and the alien turned on him.

"No! We will not use that! It is..."

The neko drew even further back into himself, feeling cramped. He was just making this worse for himself.

The alien turned back to him.

"We need you to lay down in here," they said, touching the container Elias cowered under.

Taking a deep breath, the neko uncurled slowly, cautiously. There was no point in making it worse for himself.

Standing, Elias stared at the empty container, standing at chest height. The alien smiled encouragingly as he stepped onto a stool and crawled into the container.

He heard the sound of a swarm of bees as his hands pressed into a strange substance. Shuddering, the neko rolled over and laid back into the stuff. It felt like water, but it seemed to hold him down somehow.

There was a quiet hiss, and a glass wall appeared in front of the neko, cutting him off from the universe on the other side. The neko pulled his hand out of the substance, touching the glass in wonder. The inn in Astara had one window in it, a tiny square of glass with bubbles in it. This glass was clear, and it was huge.

Sure, it wasn't the most insane thing he had seen, but still, the glass reminded him that these beings could do whatever they wanted, and he was powerless to stop them.

His breathing quickened, becoming laboured. Elias' head felt heavy, darkness encroaching on his vision. With no warning, Elias fell back again, unconscious.

Artemis scanned the alley nervously as he entered. The place he was heading to was legal, but it was host to many unsavoury types.

Stepping through a door, the tiger relaxed slightly in the well-lit store. He was the only one inside with the exception of the clerk.

"Welcome," the orange blob-shaped alien said.

"Hello. I'm... I'm looking for a collar."

It was hard dealing with some creatures, like this one. With no head, or even eyes, to look at, Artemis was missing the body language he could pick up from other beings. They were reliant on words, and misunderstandings in a situation like this could very well be deadly.

"Do you have the being with you?" the alien asked.

"Um, not exactly..." Artemis said uncomfortably.

"I see."

'Do you really?' Artemis thought.

"I will need size and a type. Will the individual in question need training?"