The slave's punishment

Featuring Iona, Zephyr, Malicia, Nazira
Y106 After the Great Release, Winter
Giza House, Zitar Territory

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IONA
Slowly but surely the young creamy red female was growing used to her new house chores. Of course from the time she was able to understand orders she had been trained as a house slave, but of course a yearling can only learn so much. She was doing what she could to keep her new master happy, working hard to not disappoint her. Malicia had been relatively kind to her so far, seeming to understand a reasonable expectation for such a young slave and not punishing her harshly when she didn’t do something perfectly, merely chastising her and perhaps giving her a quick cuff to the ear. She had yet to really try to harm Iona, and for that the youngster was greatful and strove to work even harder. She didn’t want to risk being sold off to someone who wasn’t as good to her.

Rushing about the den that had grown familiar to her she worked on her clean-up routine, giving the den a thorough cleaning and rearranging the bedding so it was nice and soft and plush, sure to clear out any old meals and return with fresh food for Malicia’s breakfast. Everything was to be clean and perfect, and Iona would be ready to do any of Malicia’s bidding that she was ordered to do. Resisting the urge to hum lightly to herself she instead let her tail give subtle flicks to an internal rhythm, working through her chores with a subtle happiness and ease.


ZEPHYR
The young cub was alone again, like he had been many times in his short life. He still didn’t understood why he wasn’t allowed to be around his mother, like his sister was. He was grateful for the attention his aun Malicia was giving him, but she was often gone and he was left with just his toys.
So it was also now that he was playing with a camels tail and some bones to keep himself busy. Playing on some furs, he was trying to not bore himself out, but what could a cub do alone? Aunty Malicia had said he was alone because he was a male, but he had no clue what this all meant … at least not at this point.

After deciding that catching the camel tail for the tenth time was becoming boring, he curled himself up on the fur and gave a deep sigh.


IONA
It was a strange thing to be trusted in the presence of a cub. Granted she was hardly more than a cub herself, but she had never been a babysitter. Malicia had left for some errand and it somehow made Iona nervous to be left alone with the little blue bundle. What if something happened to him? She would be blamed for whatever it was and likely killed. What if she failed to keep him occupied and happy, or he complained to Malicia about her? It sent a small shiver of nervousness down her spine. After she finished tidying up the den she cautiously eyed the boy, watching as he sighed heavily while he curled up on the furs he was resting on, seeming bored of playing with the toys Malicia had for him. Iona had never had the spoils of toys growing up, but she could imagine that simple things like bones and dead animal tails couldn’t be that entertaining.

With a slight hesitation she moved to sit near the bed of furs, not daring to get too close to the cub but still sitting nearer than before. Even as young as he was, and a male, he was still much higher up the ranks than herself.


“Do you require anything, young prince?” she spoke softly, diverting her violet eyes to the floor beneath her.


ZEPHYR
Minutes passed by, while he was still curled up like a soft furry ball, when suddenly a voice spoke and he turned an ear towards the source of it. He saw a bigger Shedu (well, for him everyone was big) that he had seen before already. He had seen her doing chores around in their dens and home, cleaning up stuff, delivering food. But he had never talked to her. He had noticed that aunty Mel was talking to her, but in a way different tone then she would be talking to him. It sounded so … emotionless. Aunty Mel had also said to not bother her ...

So Zephyr shook his head, not wanting to be punished by Malicia because he bothered the slave, but his own urges and boredness were stronger then his still young mind.

“You … wanna play?” He said. His bright blue eyes looked to the pale colored female, having that expecting shine in them, waiting for her answer.


IONA
The young creamy red slave was clearly a bit nervous, shifting her weight on her paws every now and then which echoed her levels of discomfort. She knew she was not supposed to speak out of term or look at her masters, and this young cub was still her master, wasn’t he? But he seemed innocent and bored, and it was her job to keep her masters happy and taken care of.

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, knowing she likely shouldn’t be doing this. Would Malicia be upset with her if she came back and found her speaking with the young prince? Iona hoped she could avoid too harsh a punishment if that was the case. The blue cub spoke and her pale purple eyes cautiously drifted over to him, a bit surprised to see his bright blue ones meeting her own. He didn’t seem put off by the idea of a slave looking at him, instead his eyes remained bright and expectant, shining with youthful hope and naivety.


“I… I have never played before. If you instruct me, I will do my best.” she spoke, voice almost a confused but still robotic tone in a way. This was okay, wasn’t it? Even if Malicia came back, she couldn’t possibly be angry with her for following the commands of the young master, if he was asking her to play.

ZEPHYR
The odd colored cub looked confused for a second. She didn’t knew how to play? Well frankly he didn’t really knew what he was doing would count as playing. Malicia had just always said it was.

“Well … Aunty Mel calles this chase.” He said before he picked up a round ball looking item. It was a leather looking ball, filled with something to make it heavier.
“Normally I play this on my own … but it goes like this. I push the ball … and you try to catch it.” He looked up, slightly with a hopeful face, hoping that she would understand what he was saying.
“And then you push it and I need to catch it.”

IONA
Iona paid close attention as the cub spoke, having learned quickly as a cub to be attentive when her masters spoke to her to make sure she understood what was being asked of her. Several slaves would get beat if they had to ask for an order a second time for clarification. Her head tilted slightly with interest as the cub picked up a small leather ball, giving her a short explanation of the game. Chase, he called it. He nudged the ball with an eager push and she watched it roll across the den.

The cub seemed so eager and hopeful that she would catch on, and she hoped she was doing things correctly. Still somewhat a bit gangly and clumsy at her age she chased after the ball, tail flicking with focus as she pounced and grabbed the ball in her mouth, looking over to the cub with some sense of confusion to be sure she was doing it right before quietly setting down the ball and pushing it in another direction for him to go after.

ZEPHYR
Zephyr showed a smile when the young female went after the ball and pushed it in another direction. With a happy flick of his tail, he got up from the ground, his eyes following the ball before he went in a pounce position. He launched himself in a fake attack, getting the ball and tried to grab it with his claw, kicking it eagerly with his hind legs. He suddenly looked up to the female to then give the ball a push in another direction.
“You catch it now.” he said eagerly.

IONA
She watched curiously as the blue cub launched himself playfully at the ball, rolling around briefly with it to kick with his hind legs. His eyes were bright and happier than before, and it gave Iona a small sense of relief. It made her feel somewhat successful, having made the young prince happy and content here instead of listlessly curled up on the pelts. She felt her own stature relaxing, violet eyes gaining a glimmer of contentment and excitement as he pushed the ball in another direction and told her to go and catch it.

She obeyed, bouncing after the ball for a brief moment before tackling it and doing as Zephyr had done, rolling a bit and kicking at it with her hind legs in a mock attack. A small giggle escaped her before she could help herself, kicking it with her back feet across the den again and watching it roll, getting back to her paws. This was… fun. She had never really had fun before.

ZEPHYR
Zephyr giggled shortly, bouncing after the ball, trying to catch it. He rolled over a few times, sometimes missing the round thing in his bouncing, but he didn’t minded that he failed for once. He kicked the ball around and waited for Iona to catch it again, to then throw it back around so that he could catch it. Both were giggling, laughing and playing around, probably making to much noise that was in fact wise. For they had lost their surroundings and a sudden ”What is going on here??” Made the cub flinch and pull back to his corner. For the voice that said those words belonged to the one cat he feared so much, his own mother.
Once his eyes had caught her in the entrance of the den, he saw her piercing red eyes, that weren’t standing friendly at all. In fact, you could clearly see the rage building up. Next to her stood his young sister, who had the privilege to be in their mother’s presence most of the time.

”You! Slave!! Who do you think you are to play with this with my son!!”
The silver haired female came closer, making herself bigger than the young female.
”Your disgusting paws should not touch my blood, you disgraceful thing! Who is your master!” The words were spit out with the uttermost disgust and you could see it in the Matrons eyes as well that the image she had seen, her son playing with a slave, was the most hideous thing she had ever seen.

IONA
Just as her guard was beginning to lower as the young female relaxed into the art of play, wrestling with the ball and tossing the ball in turn for the younger cub to catch and wrestle with as well before it returned to her, a sudden sharp voice cut through the air, silencing the giggles as the ball rolled across the cave, hitting the cave wall, and rolled to a stop with neither cub paying attention to it any longer.

Instead Iona was wide-eyed, ducking down submissively with her tail tightly tucked between her legs, fur flat to make herself look as small and insignificant as possible. She hadn’t met this cat before, but she’d seen her… she was the reigning matriarch of the house she had come to live in. A small shiver of fear rolled through her body. Her red eyes, the color of rich blood, pierced through the air between them, boring into Iona.

The slave diverted her wide, horror-filled eyes, staring at the ground before her as she stammered. “I-I-I’m sorry, I-I was j-just doing what he t-told me!” she squeaked, wincing as if physically hit as Nazira spat her words, calling her disgusting and disgraceful. She could feel her body shivering with terror.

“M-Malicia, my master is Malicia.” she spoke in a hushed whimper, only hoping that her master would have a kinder reaction to the situation than the silver-haired female before her.

ZEPHYR/MALICIA
When the slave told it had been Zephyr that had asked her, Nazira turned her head to the blue colored cub, a snarls escaping from her mouth. The young male cowered already to the ground, knowing that his mother's rage could be furious.
“You! You asked a slave to play with you!!??”
Zeph swallowed shortly, lowering his eyes to not see those piercing red ones.
“I … I was alone and wanted to play. I just asked …”
“You are a Prince of Zitar, you ignorant brat. Don’t you know how to play alone!!?? How dare you to lower yourself to even ask a slave to play for you.”
The blue cub tried to crawls away from his mother, but his path was already blocked by the stone wall behind him.
“I .. I am sorry mother.” The cub squeaked.
“Maybe I should hit some manner into that dumb head of yours!” And Nazira was already lifting her paw in the air to hit her son when another cat came into the room.
“What is going on here?” Malicia said with a sturdy voice. Her eyes shot from Nazira to her cowering slave back to Zephyr.

Nazira snarled again when she saw her sister and lowered her paw to the ground.
“Your slave was playing with my son!” Her voice was filled with anger when she spat the words to her sister.
“Why weren’t you here to stop this disgusting act!?”
While Nazira kept barking around, Malicia kept her posture and tried not lose lose herself under her sisters words.
“I was teaching your daughter the lessons she needed.”
Knowing that she was right, Nazira snarled again to direct her anger to somewhere.
“Why do you even have a slave around here? Apparently not even a good one that doesn’t know her place!”
Malicia quickly looked to the red creamy female, but broke eyes contact as quickly as she could.
“Because I need my time to teach your children about our ways. I can not put my time in their lessons and care, if I also need to keep my own quarters cleaned.”
Nazira her red eyes shot to Iona, before a sleek grin came on her face.
“Fine then, but I demand punishment for this act. Your slave steps over the line, disgraced my son with her filthy paws.”
Malicia gave a soft in mouth sigh, knowing she could net get from under those words.
“Then what do you ask as punishment?”
Nazira grinned again, already eyeing the whip that was used for punishment.
“The whip, I want to see her bleed”
Now it was Malicia who gave a snarl.
“She is just a child.”
“A slave that doesn’t know her place!” Nazira barked, pushing the whip to Malicia’s paws.
“And you do it. It’s your slave afterall.”
Malicia snarled shortly, looking from the whip the Iona. She had no choice. She had to obey. A crime was committed and a punishment was to be given.

The Priestess sighed deeply and took the whip from the ground.
“Turn your back to me and sit down. Do not dare to run. You are punished for your fault.”
Malicia said, trying to keep her voice calm, indicating that this is not what she wants.
“Aunty Mel?” A voice said from the corner, but it was Nazira that walked to the cub.
“Look Zephyr, for this is what happens when a slave doesn’t know her place. They are servant, garbage. They should never higher themselves to our level or even think about this. Remember Zephyr, that is was your inability to play on your own that caused this.”
The Matron picked up the cub and place it on the ‘front row’, so that he could clearly see what was gonna happen.
“Don’t you dare to look away …” His mother snarled to her son and Zephyr turned his eyes to his aunt.
“Do it!” The command came and Malicia readied the whip, whispering a soft “I’m sorry between her teeth, barely able to be heard.

IONA
Her mind whirled trying to keep up with what was happening, how things had so quickly gone from fun to horror. She tried her hardest to be a good and proper slave, to make her master happy.. She loved the sight of a clean den and picking out the best meals for her owner. She didn’t need praise or acknowledgement, just the personal knowledge that she had done a good job. And here… here she had messed up beyond belief. She had been so wary to play with the cub but he had asked it of her. Even though she knew deep down it was wrong, she had done it anyway.

Still, knowing she had been at fault didn’t help the situation nor did it calm the shudders that rolled through her body, quivering in fear as she lay crouched, ears pinned back as Nazira chastised her son. She had never felt so much relief as she heard Malicia’s voice suddenly appear in the den, taking a few tiny steps to slink closer to her. Malicia was no comfort, and she knew the cat would likely be just as angry with her for playing with Zephyr -- if not more since she had trusted her enough to leave her here alone with him -- but somehow it seemed a better alternative to Nazira.

Iona did what she could to silence her whimpers as they discussed, Nazira demanding punishment. Demanding blood. The idea of it produced some tears welling in her eyes. “P-p-please! I didn’t m-mean it! I won’t do it again!” the cub whimpered, too young to know not to speak at such a time. It wouldn’t do her any favors.

Her words made no difference, the adults arguing over her punishment as Nazira handed over a whip. Her tail pressed tightly against her creamy underbelly, shrunken down on the floor as Malicia ordered her to turn away. Whimpering softly to herself she did as she was told, cowering and feeling so open and vulnerable here in the middle of the cave. There was nowhere to run, even if she did want to try it.

As Malicia held the whip in her jaw and it gave a thundering crack in the air, Iona screamed in pain as it hit her. She wasn’t used to being beaten. She had been spared such cruelty in her life, her violet eyes giving slavers and slavemasters more leniency towards her faults, only having suffered a few swats and snarls. Never this.

ZEPHYR/MALICIA
The whip cracked in the air each time Malicia raised it. Once, twice, … until the fifth hit the young females body. The leather line left blood red stripes against her creamy coat, dripping blood here and there. Malicia had to breath deeply each time she wielded the whip, to keep herself under control. She did not wanted this. For her a simple scolding would have been enough. But not for her sister. Her sister that was out to see the slave suffer, as she had always wanted to see them suffer.

“Five is enough.” Malicia said after the fifth hit and she turned around, dropping the whip on the ground. “It was a simple child play afterall.”
She could see her sister showing a soft snarl, but she had what she wanted.
“Fine. My payment is fulfilled.” And she threw her nose in the air before she turned around to pick up Zephyr.
“It’s time my son learns some rules from my paw.” And she turned around to walk away, followed by her daughter who had not said a word. Malicia saw the pleading blue eyes of Zephyr when he was taken from the den he knew the best. Malicia waited a few seconds after Nazira had left, to be certain the Matron was far enough.

“You foolish child!” The Priestess said when she turned around and walked to the slave female, who had crawled up in on the spot she had been whipped.
“For all cubs you could play with, you had to pick Nazira’s child. Now you have done it, her eyes are focussed on you.”
With some huffes, the black female quickly overlooked the wounds she inflicted, knowing she was a good enough fielder to hit less vital parts. She would have pain for the next days and feel sore, but with the proper treatment, they would not leave any huge scars.
“Never dare to misbehave again when the Matron Mother is around or one of her children. For she will take any change to punish you again, simply because you are mine.”
Malicia gave a soft snarl, angry at what happened and at herself, for not warning the young slave. When she was younger, she had often seen how her own mother had punished slaves. It had always been her older sister who executed, for they knew Malicia was to weak and soft hearted to do so.
Her eyes went over the wounds again, before she went to a cupboard and picked a small pot with some balsem in it.
“Put this on your back before you go to sleep. Never apply this when you go to work, for no one is allowed to see this. Be careful, slave, for any mistake you make in the eyes of the Matron, can now cost your life!.”
Her eyes shortly crossed the teary purple eyes of the young female.
“Go to your place and rest up for today. I want you back tomorrow morning.”

IONA
The red slave found herself lucky that Malicia was quick and well-versed with the whip. Several cracks rang through the air followed by screams and whimpers of pain, shivers of fear and agony as it cut through her delicate young skin, the feeling of wet, thick blood trickling down her sides. It felt like it lasted for ages, like the sudden strikes of pain would never end, but in five blows it stopped, leaving her throbbing and curled up tightly on the ground. The ringing in her ears nearly drowned out the words of the black cats as they spoke, Nazira seeming a bit unsatisfied with Iona’s wounds but allowing Malicia to reject further punishment.

Her eyes were scrunched shut, blocking the onset of tears. When Nazira left, Malicia turned to her with snapping words, and Iona recoiled from them as if she had been hit by the whip yet again.

“I-I’m sorry.. I’m sorry…” she whimpered in a whispered tone, eyes still squeezed shut in fear and pain. “He asked me to, I-I didn’t m-mean it…” she added in a hushed tone. Malicia warned her never to misbehave again around Nazira, or it might mean further punishment, or perhaps something worse. The idea of it caused a small, choked sob in her throat. “I p-promise, I won’t do it again! I’ll be good, I promise…” the young slave whined softly, slowly starting to soothe herself as the wounds grew somewhat numb in their aching.

Her eyes slowly glanced over as Malicia sighed and walked away for a moment and returned with a small makeshift pot, a gooey balm inside. The smell calmed her somewhat, a rich and Earthen scent, smelling of the nature Iona had never gotten to see first-hand. She tried to stifle her tears, giving a small nod. “Thank you, Master.” she whispered, tail remaining tightly tucked as she stood, wobbling somewhat as her muscles called for her to stop, body aching and sore. For such a young slave, it was a lot to bear.

Not daring to say any more she took the mixture with her, carrying it along as she slunk over to a nearby shallow and shabby den that she called her own after being purchased. Seeing as Malicia had no other slaves, she had the privilege of privacy as she twisted to apply the paste, wincing with every movement she made before curling up on the cold, hard den floor to let her tears lull her to sleep.