[Mkguild] House Broken Part 1

[Stealth]

I didn't think I'd get this done so fast but here it is and there are three
pictures for it in the works.

House Broken
Copyright (c) 2009 Michael Nastov


    =93A bath?=94 The fox asked.

    The cheetah=92s ears folded and he nodded, embarrassed.

    Misha gently placed a hand on the feline=92s shoulder, =93Are you having
money troubles again?=94 He asked softly, =93How much do you need?=94

    =93What? No!=94 Stealth exclaimed, red faced, =93I just didn=92t have a=
ny coin
on me at the time, it was for Edmund, you see.=94 He cringed.

    =93Oh? What happened?=94 The Long asked, he didn=92t know whether to be
concerned or amused though he was very much confused.

    Stealth looked back to the door then to the fox scout, =93Promise you
won=92t tell?=94

    =93Sure,=94 Misha shrugged as the cat buried his muzzle in the vulpine=
=92s ear
and began whispering. =93Feed Herbert? Who=92s Herbert?=94 The confused fox=
 asked.

    =93Shush, listen,=94 Stealth said softly.

    Misha nodded, =93Oh? ...ah... hmmm, oh! Ack! Hehehehehe!=94

    =93So I gave the bath-lady the extra coin.=94 He sighed and stood back.

    =93Because you tricked your best friend into being pounced by a putrid
monster...=94 Misha said solemnly.

    The feline nodded prompting the vulpine to break his cold countenance
and laugh out loud.

    =93How much do I owe you?=94 Stealth asked bluntly, =93On top of what I
already owe...=94

    Misha waved his hand, =93Nothing you can=92t work off.=94 The fox sat d=
own and
pulled a bottle of wine from his draw, =93I do have some things that need to
be moved by someone agile and strong.=94 He explained and poured some red w=
ine
into a glass.

    Stealth sat down and looked at the Long in discontent, =93Someone who i=
s a
cheetah and a taur...=94

    He downed the glass and shook his head, =93No actually, I was thinking =
of
Padraic, but yes, a taur cheetah will do just fine!=94

    Stealth glared, =93...Is this because of the =91wittle fox=92 remark?=
=94

    Misha laughed some more, =93Relax, I do have things that need to be
moved.=94 =91And I have more imaginative ideas for revenge.=92 He mused...

    The feline stood up, =93Well it will have to wait. There is something I
need to take care of now.=94

    =93Something? You mean a thing?=94 The fox asked and tail wagged.

    Stealth blinked and ear flicked, =93Aye, a thing. An adorable... thing.
Would you like to meet him?=94

    =93I=92ll take a rain check.=94 His jovial mood faded suddenly, =93I am
interested in learning more about this creature...=94

    =93You can=92t do that from a book or even its owner, I must introduce =
you.
He will like you.=94

    =93You think so?=94 He chuckled, =93Go take care of that. I=92ll be wai=
ting.=94
Misha put his paws up on the table and sat back.

    The cheetah softly snarled and closed the door. He should have tricked
Misha into the task too, the cheetah would probably be pink for the rest of
his life but it would be worth it.

----------------------------------

    The two worked with thick cloths over their muzzles. While Edmund was
helpful it was Stealth who, equipped with the large shovel, did most of the
work which involved shovelling copious amounts of excrement from the floor
of the dungeon, most of it in considerable piles as large as him.

    =93Well that=92s done for another week.=94 Stealth said through the clo=
th,
=93let=92s get out of here.=94

    =93Agreed.=94 The paladin said and left ahead of him.

    By the time Stealth lumbered back up to the top there was some sort of
ruckus at the front door. The solid oak structure rumbled on its hinges, the
flower pots nearby trembled and threatened to fall to the floor.

    Stealth=92s ears folded and he scanned the room to find Edmund. The kni=
ght
had already unsheathed his sword from its scabbard and pointed it at the
troubling portal.

    =93Get behind me!=94 The paladin snarled and bared his fangs. His eyes
dilated like an ally cat caught rummaging through scraps and his head fur
stood taller then his ears.

    Stealth quickly scurried behind him, of the two only Edmund was fully
armed.

    Suddenly the tremor ended and several seconds of silence followed. The
door slowly creaked open revealing a stocky middle aged woman with a cane.

    =93Why didn=92t someone open the door for me? Couldn=92t you hear me kn=
ocking?
I thought cats had good hearing!=94 She scolded and entered the foyer.

    =93Knock?=94 Stealth asked, looking over a shoulder.

    The woman raised a hand and the trembling recommenced for a moment.

    =93Halt! Who goes there?=94 Edmund demanded.

    =93Who goes where? Who goes there!=94 She retorted and pointed the cane.
=93What are you doing in my home?=94

    =93Milord Ithel, this is Sir Edmund Delacot.=94 Stealth said from over =
the
paladin=92s shoulder, easing Edmund=92s sword arm down, =93He=92s been help=
ing me
take care of-=94

    =93Herbert! I haven=92t seen my dear Herbert in two weeks!=94 She excla=
imed,
=93Have you been feeding him?=94

    =93He has been well fed, madam.=94 Edmund said and bowed.

    =93And cleaned...=94 Stealth finished, walking out fully from behind his
friend.

    =93I must see him!=94 She said insistently, =93Give me the key! The Key=
!=94

    Stealth held it out frightfully as if the mage would maul him.

    Ithel instantly ran to the lower door, stopped and turned around, =93You
sir are filthy! Haven=92t you heard of a bath?=94

    Stealth=92s eyes widened, =93But-=94

    =93But nothing! Go down to the bath, I don=92t want to see you two unle=
ss
you=92re clean!=94 And with that she entered through the door and was gone.

    The cheetah sighed and looked at Edmund, =93And that is the Mage.=94

    Edmund nodded, =93Nice lady...=94

    =93Well, let=92s find this bath, I=92ll look upstairs for the key. Let =
me know
when you find anything resembling a bath that we can use.=94

----------------------------------

    =93I think this leads to the bath but the door is locked.=94 Edmund sai=
d. He
stood before an ordinary looking door of timber built into a sandstone
frame.

    =93I expected as much,=94 Stealth sighed and held up a chain with a ple=
thora
of keys and amulets that presumably had the purpose of unlocking things,
=93What makes you think this leads to a bath?=94

    =93I can smell it, of course.=94 Edmund reminded.

    The door eventually opened, it took a test of over a dozen different
keys before the right one surfaced. The key itself had a fairly large and
intricate handle and was made of bronze. Beyond the door the sandstone path
continued and turned before descending down a short flight of stairs.

    Once at the bottom, the two felines found a small room made from
sandstone bricks with a shallow pool in the centre.

    Stealth grinned and looked at Edmund, =93Well, this is nicer then the l=
ast
underground stone room.=94

    =93Much nicer,=94 The paladin agreed, =93The water looks warm and refre=
shing.=94

    His friend disrobed and stepped into the warm liquid, =93It=92s very wa=
rm!=94
He crouched down and lay back against the side, =93I could fall asleep in
here.=94 He murred.

    =93I though water didn=92t agree with you anymore.=94 Edmund commented =
as he
removed his tunic and slipped into the water. The bath was large enough for
several people but still small enough that they had to be mindful of
collision between their limbs.

    =93It usually doesn=92t but when it feels this good the human wins out =
over
the cat, or maybe I=92ve just been spending too much time around Oberon.=94

    Edmund yawned, his digits stretching out. Each time his large lungs
filled with air they propelled his lithe body up from the water and back
down again, it was partially annoying but amusing too.

    Stealth yawned loudly and slid further into the water. =93What is it ab=
out
a hot bath that=92s so draining?=94

    Edmund=92s eyes were now closed and he looked about ready to nod off.
=93It=92s our metabolism.=94 He yawned, =93It slows down in the warmth. Whe=
n we=92re
cold it=92s active and stimulates us to move about and warm up our bodies.
People loose weight faster in cold weather.=94

    Stealth murred in response, =93That=92s... really... interesting.=94

    In a matter of minutes the two fell asleep.

----------------------------------

    Ithel left the dungeon beaming with pride. Her handsome pet was so
lovely and she always loved it when she could show him off to visitors.

    =93Now where are those cats?=94 She mused, =93That=92s right,=94 She sa=
id, peering
over to an open door in a sand stone archway. =91They sure have been bathin=
g a
long time. Perhaps they need to restore their mana.=92

    The mage travelled down the length of the hallway and found a room with
a pool. No cheetahs in sight.

    =93Oh no, they didn=92t use THIS bath, did they? They must have disturb=
ed my
new- OWW!=94

    She spun about to find a cheetah gnawing on her leg.

    =93Oh, aye, they disturbed my experiment...=94 She said and picked up t=
he
CUB by the scruff.

    The cheetah cub squeaked and flailed about as he was held aloft.

    =93Now where is the other? Ah!=94 No sooner had she spotted him, the se=
cond
cub bolted past and ran up the stairs. A moment later, his friend leapt out
of the mage=92s arms and followed after.

    Ithel gasped, she never closed the front door!!! With all the locked
doors in her house she really should look into locking or at the very least
keeping that door shut... Making a note of it, the mage ran to catch up,
finding the felines in the hall, sniffing things. They began to scurry
toward the open portal to the outside world until they were both scooped up
in an arm. The mage kicked the door shut and then set the two back down.

    =93No!=94 She said, =93Do not go out, stay inside!=94

    The cubs squeaked at her in the approximation of a juvenile pout.

    =93No! Bad! Stay inside! Now off to the living room with you two.=94

    One of them blinked and batted the other=92s ear before scurrying off in
the direction of the living room. His friend squeaked and followed. Were
they playing tag?

    =91So they retained their human minds... but the minds of children.=92

    Ithel pondered how to revert the cubs back into men. She=92d need
ingredients from the keep=92s guild tower. She could revert them back into
morphs but they=92d need to be willing and perhaps even taught how to. The
components to any potion would need time to be prepared so it would be best
to handle that first, in the mean time full form cubs can=92t be that much
trouble, right?

    Her musings ended with a jolt when a loud crash could be heard from the
next room followed by a hiss and spit.

    Ithel rushed into the room and found the two cubs attacking each other
in the midst of a broken vase. One of them had rolled onto its back and
looked up with bared fangs at his attacker who had pounced from far above
and was now in the process of biting the sprawled cheetah cub.

    =93PUSS!=94 The mage shouted. Both cats immediately jumped to their paw=
s and
bolted to hide behind a couch.

    Ithel sighed, she really needed to reach the keep and get those
components as soon as possible. No doubt she=92d have a lot to answer for. =
And
how would she keep them occupied in the mean time? Perhaps...

    The mage walked into the kitchen and promptly entered the meat locker.
The whole room had spells cast on its walls to draw away warmth leaving a
cold cell full of dead meat. She took a smaller chunk of meat from a hook, a
chunk of beef, and spun it. Surprisingly the object continued to spin and
even levitated, just above her open palm. As the meat rotated and hovered it
began to sizzle and crackle.

    =93I hate having to do this.=94 She mumbled. Thawing meat fast like this
always destroyed its flavour, leaving behind something that was just, more
or less, edible. She=92d never feed it to dear Herbert =96 only the best for
him.

    A sudden chirp brought the mage=92s attention back to the cubs and she
almost dropped the beef. Satisfied with the thawing, she placed the entire
and still raw meat on a large plate on the bench top and returned to the
living room.

    Inside she found one cub again attacking the other, this time biting and
tugging on the other=92s tail.

    =93Stop that now!=94 She ordered loudly.

    The cheetahs became fully attentive and stared at her, still in their
stance of conflict.

    =93...Stealth, come forward.=94 She said =96 it was about time that the=
 two be
told apart.

    Neither cat approached, they just stared.

    =93Stealth forward now or... or no muffins ever again for you.=94

    The one who had been tail biting quickly came scurrying up and sat on
his haunches before the woman, looking up with wide eyes.

    So the naughty one was Stealth. Now she can tell them apart. =93Good, n=
ow
follow me, kitties, lunchies!=94

    Like cubs to a mother, they both perked up and followed after. In the
kitchen, Ithel approached the bench with the raw meat. She took the plate
and turned to set it down but both the cheetahs were crowding her, sitting
right on her feet and looking up with their cub-eyes.

    =93Back! Back before I fall over.=94

    They didn=92t listen but just stood there and stared. Ithel sighed and
craned her back to set the plate down on the floor. They immediately ran up
to the plate and began chewing relentlessly, fighting over the meat in a
series of muffled churrs and hisses.

    Ithel nodded and left the kitchen, =93Now behave until I get back.=94 C=
ane
in hand, the mage left the house and started for the Keep. Hopefully the
meal would keep them occupied for a time and afterward they=92ll sleep it o=
ff
with a nap.

----------------------------------

    Almost an hour later Ithel returned. The herbs were brewing in a flask
carried in a saddle bag and the cheetahs=92 friends had been informed. Ugh,
her sweet Herbert wasn=92t this much trouble. Ithel opened the door and pau=
sed
for a moment from pain in her ribs. She entered and closed the door again =
=96
fortunately the cubs didn=92t take the opportunity to escape.

    The mage tentatively entered the living room and found it upside down.
Curtains were pulled from their windows and books spilled from their
shelves. Over in the corner the cubs stood motionless, oblivious to their
own carnage and appeared almost catatonic.

    =93Kitties!=94 The woman called out.

    One of them angled his ear slightly and ear flicked but otherwise
remained fixed on whatever had caught their attention.

    They both had their backs turned, shoulder to shoulder they stood and
gazed at some unknown. The mage approached and tried to make out what they
were looking at but she could see nothing. They were just standing there,
staring at nothing.

    The woman blinked and sniffed at the air. Coming to a corner of the room
she could see something slightly concealed, on closer inspection it appeared
to be...

    =93Oh! In the name of the gods!=94 She turned to the cubs that looked b=
ack
with wide eyes, ignorant to the commotion.

    =93Do you realise what you=92ve done? You=92ve ruined my delicate magic=
al
balance!=94

    One of the cubs tilted his head and then started gnawing on the other=
=92s
ear.

    As the terrible two pounced and gnawed each other, the mage sighed and
looked for a dust pan.

----------------------------------

    After much careful preparation, the brew was ready. The easy bit was out
of the way, now she had to apply it. The mage sighed and stepped down the
stairs leading to the infamous bath. Before reaching it, she pressed a large
and conspicuous stone in the wall. After a moment, a terrible grinding
sounded through the hallway as the path before her began to slide away and
into the wall on the left. The sandstone corridor completely parted into two
parallel sliding halves with the gap in the middle growing smaller and
smaller and then nothing but sliding stone remained.

    From the right, a new gap emerged and expanded in size until a new path
emerged. When the shift finished it looked as it did before with the path
merely leading to a bath. The bath and the room looked identical to the one
that disappeared into the walls. She had several bath rooms all built on a
single spherical base that rotated clockwise, each accessed by the single
corridor in turn. It was a great way to conceal the more... interesting
experiments.

    But this pool held nothing, not even water. She placed the flask on the
stone floor and clapped her hands like a bolt of thunder. A large tap
fashioned into the shape of a dragon churned and water gushed forth from
it=92s open muzzle. The woman clapped again and another dragon opposite
release another gush from it=92s muzzle, this one producing a large cloud of
steam.

    The mage uncorked the vile and poured the small, clear liquid into the
midst of the two torrents allowing the churning surge of water to mix
itself. Ithel left the room, the roaring of the dragons dimming and fading
though still very audible.

    =93Kitties!=94 She called out, finding the two wrestling on the couch. =
=93Who
wants to chase a big, juicy rat?=94

    The felines ignored her, more interested in biting and gnawing on each
other.

    The mage sighed and looked about. One of her few undisturbed bookshelves
had one particular shelf which contained several plush toys. She grabbed a
fox plush by the tail.

    =93Look!=94 She shouted and flailed the stuffed toy about.

    Stealth and Edmund paused in their fight, drawn to the moving thing. The
human threw the object down the corridor. They continued to stare but did
not follow.

    She sighed and walked over to the couch, evading their sharp teeth as
she picked them both up by the scruff. With the cubs in hand, Ithel returned
to the bath, now full of hot water.

    She set the pair down by the water and closed the door behind. They
stood there staring at the liquid as if they=92d never seen water before.
After a brief glance, Stealth hissed and hid behind Ithel. Edmund continued
to stare at the water and began to walk around the edge.

    =93Well come on you two, hop in. It=92s time for a bath.=94

    Stealth bolted and scratched at the door, Edmund soon joined and they
both tried to scratch their way free.

    =93It will make you grown ups.=94

    The cubs scratched more frantically.

    The human picked them both up by the scruff again and threw them into
the water. They instantly paddled back out and to the door, scratching at it
again. Ithel more forcefully put them back in and intercepted their escape
attempts, continually getting splashed more and more by the pair.
Fortunately the potion only reversed the original spell and did not affect
the age of those untouched...

    They would need a good soak in the water for it to take affect but as
soon as she got one in, the other would escape and run toward the door and
handling both cubs together resulted in a lot of hand biting and paw
kicking.

    It took almost twenty minutes, in which time they didn=92t tire or rele=
nt
one whit, to get them sufficiently bathed in the counter potion. She wrapped
them in towels and placed the two in the kitchen. The cheetahs shivered
slightly and huddled up together for warmth as the mage searched through a
draw.

    =93Who=92s ready for a grooming?=94 She asked and held up a large metal=
 comb.

    Stealth looked at the comb with wide eyes before kicking frantically
free of the towels and running to the door.

    The mage chased him while Edmund just huddled up in the towel and
watched in fascination.

----------------------------------

    By the time Ithel finished readjusting the objects in the room back to
their magical relaying formation the cheetahs had curled up together into a
ball and had a nap but a knock at the door soon woke them. The woman opened
the front door to find another human woman though one younger then her. The
woman had a tabard with a large cross emblazoned across the front. Behind
her a carriage and two mounted riders waited.

    =93I am Lady Terrant Gattaway.=94 The knight bowed, =93I am here to ten=
d to my
leader.=94 She said with a hint of anxiety.

    A large fox like creature followed close behind the human, looking
slightly troubled, =93What has happened to Edmund? Please, I must see him!=
=94

    =93Good! Follow me!=94 She said enthusiastically.

    Terrant turned to the two riders and ordered them to keep watch before
heading in with Bridgette in tow. The two women entered an odd looking room
with all sorts of objects and furniture arranged in a peculiar way.

    =93Where are they?=94 The knight asked.

    =93Why-=94 Ithel began and looked to the bare patch which now only held=
 some
shed hairs. =93Oh, I don=92t suppose you closed the front door behind you?=
=94

    The maned wolf suddenly let out a loud yelp, looking over her shoulder
Terrant could see a cheetah cub biting the woman=92s tail! With a surprise =
she
found another rubbing against her leg. The knight picked up the small animal
and held it out in her arms.

    =93...Edmund?=94 Terrant asked in confusion.

    The cub=92s eyes narrowed and he began to purr.

    =93Edmund!=94 Bridgette said while wrestling with the other cub.

    The two women swapped cheetahs just as Stealth bat the canine=92s muzzl=
e.
When the naughty one found himself in the human=92s hands he looked for
something to bite, lacking a muzzle the woman=92s long hair would have to
suffice. The cub climbed over her shoulder and began tugging on the
ponytail.

    =93Edmund...=94 The wolf whimpered.

    =93I=92ve applied the counter potion to them,=94 the mage pointed out t=
o quell
the morph=92s anguish, =93the spell will ware off and they=92ll be restored=
 to
their former selves.=94

    =93When will they be back to normal-Oww.=94 Terrant asked as she fought=
 with
the other feline.

    =93By tomorrow, in that time you=92ll need to look after them as best y=
ou
can.=94

    The maned wolf nodded and hugged the little feline tight.
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