Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. He could hear the crowd from long down the hall. They buzzed and mumbled like a bug stuck on the wrong side of a window. Narsika's ears laid back in distaste. He hated bugs.

A heavy, gentle hand rested on his hair, just the right size to fit between his ears without squishing them. Narsika relaxed, letting Master lead him toward the buzzing, buzzing, buzzing. The hand twitched, the pinky and thumb flexing, relaxing, flexing, relaxing against his scalp in a pattern that the boy found very comforting. Deep from his small chest, a rumbling hum eased out as his eyes closed at the wonderful sensation. Master always knew how to make him feel good.

Click. Clop. Click. Clop. Shoes. Left foot, right foot, left foot. Shoes scurried towards them, but Narsika kept his eyes closed. Master was the only one that would need to see them anyways. Click. Clop. Click. Stop. Narsika stopped, too, and opened his eyes. Master's stone-grey eyes were burning into petite figure, a paige of some sort that was cowering in fear of Master's gaze. Narsika shimmied back a step; he wasn't ever supposed to be in front of Master, unless Master purposely made it so.

The anthro's eyes went to the clicky-cloppy shoes of the paige as his nose twitched in disgust. Heels the size of his fist connected foot to ground. Completely unmuted. How stupid. Even Narsika, who had never been in this magnificent building before, had known to put velvet on his soles of his boots, to keep them from clicking and clopping on the marble floors.

"Lord Jethro?" Narsika's eyes moved from foot to face, and he glared at the paige. Those of lower standing were not allowed to state a better by their given name. Large, amber eyes glowed with contempt at the boy before them. Master, however, did not seem affected, and offered the answer of an aquiescent hum. "You're late. Lord Kyrot ordered me to find you immediately and inform you that you should have a 'very plausible excuse' or else he would be very angry." Narsika snorted silently.

"Narsika." Said pet stiffened before looking to face his master. He said nothing, as nothing needed to be said, and waited for Master's order. "I'll go on ahead. I want you stay here awhile longer and teach this boy some respect." Narsika nodded once before watching Master continue on past the paige, who seemed very perturbed by the idea.

"Follow me," rang a voice through the hall, Narsika's voice, then he turned and walked back towards the exit, far away from the buzzing. He decided after a few moments of trekking, however, that the click, clop, click, clop, click, clop may have been worse than the buzzing.

Woosh. Through the door to winter solstice winds. The paige shivered and whimpered, but Narsika did not flinch. Narsika was used to cold. He lived in it when he lived with Master. The Sun had gone to sleep beyond the mountains in the far off distance, invisible on the streets, but the Council's villa was on a hill above Kyroshin so the peaks were visible in good weather. Tonight, they played hide-and-find with gusts of snow that burdened the horses and carriages and people.

Narsika turned to the paige and stared at him silently as the younger boy stared nervously back at him, wondering if the anthro was insane. Narsika took in the sight of the boy, and guessed him to be just over 150 years aged. Eighty years younger than him. He also guessed the boy to be Daemon by his large eyes and sharp teeth.

Huff. Narsika sighed from his nose, watching warm air mix with cold to form a tiny cloud of fog that disintigrated as quickly as it formed, then turned to face the boy completely. "Master is angry with you," he started softly. He never talked loud. Talking wasn't supposed to be loud, Master had told him. "You are young, so you are forgiven, but you must learn quickly or else you will be hurt. Master is very kind for letting you go. You should thank him." The paige huffed, his rosey cheeks squished as he smashed his lips together in an angry fashion. Narsika thought it made him look silly.

"What would you know? You've spent your whole life being someone else's lapdog! The Hell would you know about pride?" the paige demanded in a yell. It echoed across the snow-ladden emptiness that surrounded them.

"Oh, so that's what this is about," Narsika mumbled before pouting at the boy "I'm not a dog! I'm a cat!" he hissed, his tail twitching to show his irate state. The anthro crossed his arms, turning to the side with his nose in the air. "Besides, the only thing pride will get you... is dead. I've seen it plenty of times before. You've obviously never been to In-Between; or else you'd have learned your lesson. Your kind of pets are the worst. They don't have to go there, so they think they're better than everyone else. They're self-centered and snotty. They think they're citizens; they think they're people... but they are wrong. You are nothing. You are your master's pet. You are not special, you'll never be special, and you'll either learn your place or be placed in a grave, understand?" The paige growled manically.

"Well, what makes you think you're so much better than me, huh? You're acting pretty high-and-mighty yourself!"

"I'm not acting," Narsika stated simply, meeting the boy's eyes calmly. "I am better than you. You're a horrible pet. I am a good pet. I do what I'm told; I respect my betters; I care for my master. That is what I should do and that is what I do. You, on the other hand, do not. You are stupid if you think that you can get away with insullance." Another growl. And a pounce. The snow that covered the ground stabbed his body with terrible temperatures while the stone steps stole the breath from his chest.

Gasp. A punch landed across his cheek. Gasp. Another to his temple. More buzzing. It rang inside his head as the angered paige and the building behind him swam together then refocused. Hisssss. A punch at his nose. Warm blood oozed and gushed before cooling on his flesh in the night, winter air. Growl. A punch at ready, aimed for an eye. Narsika lashed out first, his claws catching cheek flesh and tearing it open to the night. A yelp. Another scratch- a returning yell. A bite- a scream. Bite- scream. Scratch- yelp. Narsika didn't let up, didn't let the other get another punch in.

Squealing and whimpering, hands weakly up in a pathetic attempt to protect his face, was the only thing that saved the paige. Narsika finally stopped, glaring down at the Daemon as he tried to catch his breath from the cold, dry air. His throat was dry, making him hack on the blood that dribbled from his nose and through his open, gasping lips. "You are pathetic," the anthro gasped breathlessly. "Learn your place or die. No one else would have stopped. You're lucky Master is so kind. Get up. Follow me," he demanded as climbed to his feet. He did not wait to help the boy. Once he was on his feet, he headed to the door to be inside the warmth of the building.

Woosh. Warm air surrounded him, making his cold, exposed flesh burn. A shiver attacked his spine before he continued down the hallway, following the dim sound of buzz, buzz, buzz that slowly, slowly grew louder before being accompanied by a slow Click... Clop... Click... Cl-op. Click... Clop.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Like one hundred angry bees. Just beyond the door, they buzzed and hummed and murmured. Another paige stood infront of the door, inbetween to very stoic looking guards. The paige smiled weakly, taking in the anthros bedraggled sight before bowing deeply.

"I will introduce you to the Council, yes?" He had a strange accent. Maybe he was from the East? "What would your name be?" Narsika bowed, a hand before his face to keep blood from dripping on the marble floors.

"Narsika. Pet of Lord Bovetre," he mumbled before standing upright. The kind paige nodded before slipping into the room silently. Silence. Finally, the buzzing stopped. Instead, only one voice was heard as the anthro's words were repeated to the crowd of angry bees on the other side of the doors. Hushed, excited buzzing, then, that grew louder when the door was opened for him to enter.

Twenty regal chairs were situated in a perfect cirlce around eachother. Each throne had a Council member sitting in it, while their most favored pet sat on a cushion on the ground beside and behind each throne. Three were empty.

Gasp. Voices mumbled to each other, giving him a wide variety of looks. Narsika had never felt so naked... even when he was naked. He'd never had so many judging eyes on him before. His tanktop that barely reached his abs, his shorts that did little more than hide what was necessary from open viewing, and his leathery, to-the-knee boots did little to hide his body, still recuperating from the cold weather, from prying eyes.

Slowly, the anthro stepped to his Master's chair. The dark, long-haired man raised an eyebrow at his two bruises and bloody face. Narsika smiled weakly. When he reached his Master, he stopped and waited for directions. Master held out a large, calloused hand for Narsika's small, clawed one before he pulled the pet onto his lap.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. His eyes glanced frantically around the room of people that all stared at him, but his master did not seem to notice. Instead, he gently took his pet's face inhand to lick away the blood. "Are you injured any more?" a rumbling, thunderous voice demanded. Master never simply asked anything. Narsika shook his head slightly, his chin still caught by his master's hand. "Good. And him?" The pet opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the hushing of the buzzes.

"Merlyou. Pet of Kyrot Doshbient." The mangled body of the bad paige dragged itself into the room with a ClickClop... ClickClop... ClickClop. More gasps and more buzzing. It was painful to his poor, sensitive cat ears. Narsika whimpered, burrying himself against his master. The man calmly stroked the pet's head, soothing Narsika. Master, however, was shaking slightly with a chuckle that came up when he saw the paige's decrepit form.

"What happened?" A beautiful, genderless voice bedraggled with worry. Lord Doshbient.

"I... learned my lesson." A voice filled with newly-gained submission. The paige's head was bent to the ground. There was no reply except the constant buzz, buzz, buzz.