• I walked him into my house, thank god my mom hadn't come home yet, in fact I was sort of guessing that she wouldn't come home till work was over for her, she would never leave just to check up on me. Work is more important then me to her. And I understood it entirely. Work put food on the table, children take food off of your table. So I didn't mind.
    He gasped and covered his mouth in awe.
    I blinked. "Is something wrong?"
    He shook his head and took his hand away from his gaping mouth. "Everything's fine... It's beautiful."
    I tilted my head. "It's just a house... I don't see how it could be beautiful..."
    He turned to me, confused. "Everything could be taken as beautiful, you just need to look at things the way I do."
    I cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Do you see in different colors like dogs do or something?" I held out my hand. "What color is my skin?"
    He giggled. "No, no. I can see like all you normal people can, but... everything has something beautiful about it. I don't know how to explain it better than that. Your home is just beautiful, yeah?"
    I sighed. "Sure, sure. Whatever. I still think it's just a house."
    He looked around again and his eyes filled with excitement.
    I shuved my hands in my pockets and walked over to a door in the middle of the hall way that led to the bath room and my dads old office. "Want to see my room?" I ask half heartedly.
    He nodded and ran over. "Yeah, yeah!"
    I rolled my eyes and opened the door, then led the way up the stairs.
    The upstairs was ment to be a large attic, but I wanted it as my room since it was so large, and my mom agreed. So she had a few handy men work on it and polished the floors, put wood walls over the insolation and made sure the sky light window was safe to have over my bunk bed.
    When you get up the steps there's a window right in front of it and then a few feet away there's a pair of stairs leading up to my bunk bed and all my other furniture.
    I pointed to my bunk bed. "I have the bottom and you will have to the top."
    He nodded and sprang around, looking at everything. "I have never seen one of these before..." He said poking a rocking horse. It rocked forward at him. He shrieked and fell back on his butt. "It's going to bite me!" He said pointing at it.
    I smiled. "It's a toy. So it can't hurt you unless you fall off of it, idiot."
    He swallowed and stood up, watching it carefully, as if it were going to suddenly charge at him and try to hurt him. "Yeah. I knew that..."
    Lies... I think looking away.
    His back pack was torn and had dirt all over it, along with his clothes.
    Hmm... Maybe I should have him wash his clothes and crap so he doesn't get dirt all over...?
    "Would you like to take a bath?" I ask.
    He turned to me. "What's that?"
    I blinked. "You don't know what a bath is?"
    "Do you mean a hose off?" He asked tensing up and looking at me in horror.
    "What? No. I won't use a hose. I'll use a tub. I just have to fill it with water and you can rinse yourself off." I explain pointing to the door that led to a bathroom my mom also built for me.
    He walked over and opened the door. "Oh... This is a bathroom... So that's what big bowl is for? A... bath? I've never been in one. Master just used to take me to the cenal and hose me off for a bath."
    I felt my stomach tighten. "You mean, your Master used to put you in a cage and hose you off? That's what he called a bath?"
    He nodded, swallowing hard. "Y-yeah... The water was freezing... but when I got out he would take me into his room and put me in his bed to dry off... than he would come in with me and..." his eyes filled with tears, "I would tell him to get off, but he wouldn't. He would just keep playing with me-."
    I walked over and covered his mouth. "Don't. Say. Anymore." I growled.
    He stared at me fear, nodding slowly.
    I sighed and took my hand away. "Wait here, I'll fill the bath up for you."
    He watched me as I walked to the tub and turned on the water. I put my hand under the flow and felt to see if it was warm enough, or too warm.
    I filled it all the way up and put bubble bath soap in it and looked at him. "Okay. You can use my shampoo and conditioner and body wash." I say half heartedly pointing at the bottles in the corner of the tub.
    He blinked in confusion. "Which one's which?"
    "They're labelled..."
    He leaned forward and squinted his eyes. "Shaw... poo... Coon... di... teoneer... Boody... woosh..." He said. {He tried to read Shampoo, Conditioner and Body wash, but obviously read it wrong, eh?}
    I smirked at his confusion. "Don't you know how to read?"
    He shook his head, still trying to read one of them.
    I sighed. "Fine. I'll help you take a stupid bath, but don't do anything funny, just sit there and let me wash you." I hissed.
    He nodded and started taking off his clothes.
    I looked away and waited from him to get in the water, where the bubbles will cover up his privates for me.
    He stepped in and yipped.
    I jumped and looked at him. "What? What's wrong?"
    He pointed at the water. "It's warm!"
    "And?"
    He bent over and studied the water. "I've never been in warm water before... It's always been cold."
    I sighed. "Would you just get in?"
    Geez... What kind of person was his Master? What did he look like? Where did he live? And why does this kid have to make everything more complicated then it needs to be?
    Shika nodded and slid in the water. He giggled and started poking at the bubbles, making them pop. He let his tail join in the fun after a few seconds and then he found something more fun to do, slowly let his tail rise out of the water and through the bubbles, he found that funny somehow.
    I smirked and pulled up my sleeves so they wouldn't get wet. "Can I get your hair wet so we can wash it?" I ask kneeling down next to him, but not getting in the tub, of course.
    I knew how weird it would be for two boys to be in the same tub together, naked, wet and dirty. {Me: *Drools* Nice mental image... } So I didn't want to get too close to him.
    He nodded and hugged his knees.
    I cupped my hands and scooped up some water, than pouring it over his head.
    He shivered.
    After I got his hair completely wet I put some shampoo in my hand and rubbed it between my finger.
    He looked back of his shoulder and watched as I reached out. I ran my fingers through his hair and massaged the suds into his scalp. He sat up straight and started to pur.
    I stopped for a second, taken aback by the sound, but kept massaging.
    What a nice sound... I think smiling.

    While I was washing his hair and skin I noticed that almost all of his scars were on his chest, stomach, shoulders, theighs and all over his back. So his Master was probably trying to keep people from seeing the marks he left on Shika... He was smart, I guess... Except for the wounds on his wrists and hands. I couldn't see anything under his leather shackle things, or on his neck, so I wouldn't be able to see if there were any bruises from him choking or grabbing Shika harshly in those areas...
    I walked down and out to the shed with him and took out a metal pliars to but through the locks on his collar and such.
    He stood still as broke off the locks on his wrists.
    I put my hand on his neck and told him to tilt it back.
    He nodded and did as I asked.
    I carefully but the lock between the pliars and pushed the hand peices together.
    It snapped and fell to the floor, almost landing on Shika's feet.
    I sighed and bent down, picking it up and throwing it in the garbage. "There. Now undo the belt, okay?"
    He nodded and took the wrist shackles off easily, but he couldn't seem to get the collar off.
    I smirked and reached out, pushing his hands aside as I got it undone and slid it off his neck. "Okay. There you go-."
    Scars and bruises all around his neck stuck out like a soar thumb.
    I gasped and ran a finger over the largest scar I could see. "Did he give these to you?"
    He nodded, his face blank.
    I shook my head. "Come on, let me clean up the gashes and cuts so they don't get infected, okay?"

    After cleaning this wounds up I walked him back up to my room and went to my dresser, to pick something out for him to wear.
    He stood next to me, looking into the dresser drower. "Whatcha' doin'?"
    "Who taught you how to talk?" I ask cocking an eyebrow.
    "Master."
    "Why didn't he teach you how to read?"
    "Master said I didn't deserve to read, neither does any other cat freak."
    "He called you a cat freak?"
    He nodded.
    I sighed and shook my head. "What an a**hole."
    Shika gasped and covered his mouth. "Ooouuu! You said a bad woooord! I'ma tell your momma on you!" He said with wide eyes.
    I smiled and took out a pair of pajama's for him to wear. "And what's going to happen when she finds out I have you up here?"
    He blinked.
    "She's going to make me get rid of you and we can't be friends." I say shuving the PJ's in his arms and closing the drower. "Idiot."
    He sniffled and started to whimper.
    I turned to him. "Hm?"
    Tears were in his eyes and he was looking at me with misty eyes. "But... But... I do want to be friends, Gabriel!" He sobbed.
    I sighed. "I was just saying that if she catches you she'll make me get rid of you and we can't see each other anymore, you idiot."
    He dropped the pajama's and hugged me tightly. "Bwaaaah! Don't let her catch me, Gabriel!"
    I smiled and hugged him back. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Now stop crying, it's annoying."
    He sniffled and pulled away, whiping his eyes. "Uh huh... I'm sorry, Gabriel." He sobbed.
    I shook my head and petted his head. "You're going to keep my busy aren't you?"
    He looked at me with tearful eyes. "Huh?"
    I grinned. "Nothing, never mind."
    He walked to the bathroom to change from the single pair of underwear and new tank top I gave him, to the pajama's the temporary pair of clothing I would give him. He came out wearing the paw print PJ's and looked down at himself. "I like it. It looks like cat prints." He beamed.
    I cocked an eye brow. "No duh."
    A rumble came from his stomach and his face went red. "Uh..."
    "What was that?" I ask.
    He pointed to himself. "Tummy."
    "Are you hungry?"
    He nodded.
    "Geez, kid." I sigh taking his hand to lead him down stairs, but when I pulled on him he didn't move. I looked at him in confusion.
    He blushed even more and looked at my hand holding his. "Your... holding me..."
    I narrowed my eyes at him. "No, holding you would be hugging you. Right now I'm just holding your hand. There's a difference, Shika."
    He nodded slowly, obviously learning something from me.
    I smirked. "Come on already."