Thread: Unwanted Pet? (PsionicCuttlefish & zach74374)

Snow crunched beneath Bardon's thick and heavy winter boots as he approached the odd shape, with his candle-lit lantern held high. As he got closer, he saw that the snow-covered shape was in fact a furry figure. An animal? Might be wounded. Might have to put it out of its misery... Bardon thought to himself...that is, until he stepped close enough to be within a foot of the figure. He then realized, furry though it may have been, it was in the shape of a person . Arms, hands, bipedal legs. An...anthro!? Bardon thought to himself with shock. He had never seen an anthro before. To him, they were the beastfolk of far-off, foreign lands. But that didn't matter at the moment--the anthro was obviously near-death, if they weren't dead already. Hurriedly, he knelt down by the anthro and reached out with his hand to press into the anthro's back. It made a weak sound and lifted its head barely, but noticeably. It was alive! At that moment, that was the only thing that mattered to Bardon. He didn't care how an anthro had gotten this far out in the middle of nowhere. He didn't care why it seemed to be naked. And he didn't care that the anthro might not survive even if he helped them. This was a person, and they needed help. Bardon set down his lantern on the ground to the side, then reached down with his arms, covered in layers of thick hides, to pick up the anthro in the very dim light of his lantern. He lifted the anthro up and carried it over to his sled, then momentarily set the anthro down right next to his sled. Next, Bardon unstrapped the deer carcass that was secured to his sled, then unceremoniously shoved the dead body right off. He then picked the anthro back up and laid it out onto its back on his sled, then gently tied a few of the straps together so the anthro would not slide off. Bardon then removed his outer heaviest layers of hide-clothing, going down to a mere cotton shirt on himself. He laid his clothing out over top of the anthro, to give it as much protection from the cold as he could for the moment. Bardon quickly retrieved his lantern, re-attached it to his sled, then re-strapped the sled's harness to himself. Thus prepared, Bardon set off at a faster pace than the lazy trudging he was doing earlier. He didn't care that he was wearing only a thin shirt on his upper body in the snowy cold now, all that mattered was getting the anthro to his home as quickly as possible. His home wasn't far... The lock on the door rattled, clicked, and then Bardon threw the door open, rushing into his home, with the anthro--still blanketed in his jackets--carried bridal-style in his arms. His home was a log cabin in the woods, a simple house for a man with simple needs. Currently, it was lit only by the embers of a fire to keep the house from getting too cold while he was away. Bardon carried the anthro right up to the fireplace and laid them out in front of it, then quickly threw some more firewood into the fireplace and used a bellows to stoke it up until the fire was crackling away on its own again. The man then went over to his metal bathtub and got a fire started in the firebox beneath it as well. He spent a few minutes filling the tub with water from the storage tank in his house, then checked the firebox beneath the tub to make sure it was still going. He rushed back to the anthro to make sure that they were still breathing, and beginning to warm up next to the fireplace. Bardon then went around his home to light some candles and lanterns for more illumination, then went back and forth between the bathtub and the anthro, until the water in the bathtub was finally lukewarm. He could not warm someone up too fast--they might go into shock. With the bathtub prepared, Bard went back over to the anthro one last time, pulled all his jackets off of them, then carried them over to the bathtub and gingerly laid them down in the semi-warm water. Now, for the first time, he was finally able to get a good look at the anthro. The beast-person looked dog-like, with a light creamy-tan fur color. And, with a slight blush of embarrassment, Bardon realized that the anthro was a she , judging by the now-noticeable swell of her furry chest while she was sunken in the clear water, with only her head above it. Bardon continued to tend to the firebox beneath the bathtub, and monitored the water to make sure it was getting steadily warmer, but not -too- warm. He also very carefully touched his fingers through the fur of her arms, legs, shoulders, belly, and back, checking for any other injuries. No signs of frostbite, thank goodness. She seemed to have a fresh cut or two, probably just from being in the wilderness unprotected, minor, nothing to worry about...but, on the other hand, as he examined her as respectfully as he could...he found more and more bruises. Old ones. What had happened to her? He stayed at the anthro's side for the most part as her body was returned to a normal temperature, leaving only once to begin to prepare a warm dinner before returning as quickly as he could. He waited until she finally became fully conscious again. When she did, and opened her eyes, she would find herself in a cozy wooden cabin, gently lit by many candles. There was a faded, but still noticeable and pleasant scent of pine and tree sap in the air. She was of course resting in a bathtub of soothingly warm water, but then there was the man sitting on a stool off to her side, watching her with obvious concern on his features. The human male was wearing thick pants but only a thin, slightly sweat-damp shirt. He was well-built, tall and noticeably muscular in his arms and chest. He had brown hair on his head, and his face also looked rather young. Can you understand me? Bardon asked her in a deep, but quiet and gentle voice. If you can, how are you feeling?