Thread: The Lady's Pet (Mach and HeyThereLittleBear)

Three weeks, Elizabeth. Its been three weeks! Come now, John, you fret too mu-- Bollocks! I was promised that one would be on my doorstep in two months and that I would receive weekly letters detailing the creatures they have found. Ill be damned if they get a penny out of me if this turns out to be sham. The man had taken to pacing in the drawing room, his hands fiddling with the white ivory buttons on his vest as he moved, his face turning red from his own anger and jaw clenched. The damned men had promised him a creature unlike any other to protect his child, a woman grown now truth be told, and yet they had not only failed to deliver, they had failed to communicate. He had grown weary of the fact that the latest letter - received just days ago - gave little information aside from the fact that today they would be giving him the beast he had already paid quite a large sum for. The creatures, in their homeland, were viewed as gods and he had seen why after doing moderate research on them. Drawings had them at the size of a man and a half nearly, with lean bodies and leaner features that reminded him vaguely of dogs, though with bodies as sleek and slender as an alley cats. Hed been impressed with the power hed heard of, stories telling of them able to lift massive stones to build the pyramids to being able to lift entire homes. Hed been impressed, and that was hard to say for the man. At the age of forty-three, John Gooding had made a name for himself in the business world for high expectations and blatantly underhanded dealings. He ran everything with an iron fist and was hated by many, namely those who dared to rent properties from him and found themselves unable to pay their dues. He was a careless man, for many except two - the only two people in his life that mattered Elizabeth, his still fresh-faced wife at thirty-eight, and Ruth , his daughter at seventeen. Unfortunately for the man, they were also his weakness, as his dearest Elizabeth had been assaulted at the market just months previous. It had been enough to make John seek out help, because he was coming to realize several things. First, that his daughter was not quite the child she had once been. And second, an even harder pill for him to swallow, was that he was no longer capable of protecting her as hed thought. Anit was the product of his fears. John was just starting up on another rage-fueled tirade when a swift knock at the door silenced him just as he took in a breath, his eyes narrowing. He swept dust that didnt exist from his front before answering, staring stern-faced at the man. Your beast, sir. The man was of few words, and that perhaps was his saving grace with Johns temper. He was quick to push past the man to get a glimpse of the thing, and he instantly knew it was the ideal choice. The creature stood well over six feet and had impressive muscle tone, his eyes moving over the black-furred skin and lean face. Perfect. Elizabeth, fetch Ruth. He circled the cage much as the woman fetched their daughter, a girl that proved to be much gentler than one would think considering her father. Though she lacked his personality, Ruth looked quite similar to the man - the light hair that was close-cropped to his head had been permitted to grow into long, gentle curls that just barely brushed her waist and her eyes were the same penetrating blue. However, she took on her mothers gentle jaw and oval face, her eyes almost reminiscent of a cats eyes when angled. Her skin was the color of cream, though one could scarcely tell as she was covered from neck to ankles in a dark-blue dress. Elizabeth led her by the hand, the girls face neutral but mildly interested as they approached the cage. John was the one to initiate his idea of conversation, You, beast, He slapped the cage with a flat hand, This girl is my world. She is more than gold to me. Your job is to keep her safe. He motioned to the keepers to give him the key, which he proffered to Ruth, whom had remained silent and observant. Her hands trembled only slightly as she approached the cage, her eyes never leaving Anit as she unlocked the door slowly. For her, there was no one else in attendance to this moment. Though she was ruled by etiquette that had been drilled into her head, she was spellbound. The beast was a lovely thing of power and nobility, a creature born in the harshest of environments and brought to this sad, wet place. He was a god that had been knocked down to the status of a servant, stripped even of the dignity of a name. And she was transfixed. Hello What is your name? Her voice was low, hardly above a whisper and spoken softly as if she were asking him a secret, and perhaps for them it could be.