The Neko's Tail (Book 2 of Astara)

Artemis

The world was bright beyond the neko's eyelids. He felt strange, in a good way, as if Danuva had just healed him. Elias was cold, naked, but otherwise healthy.

Someone spoke nearby, but he couldn't understand the strange garbling sounds. A moment after they ended, another voice spoke, this time in a tongue Elias could understand.

"Welcome back to the world of the living. I am pleased to see I got you to the chamber in time."

Elias opened his eyes and hurriedly closed them again, nearly blinded by the strange torch that hung from the ceiling. His mind raced, trying to piece together the final moments before his blackout.

"Where is Quarian?" he finally croaked out, his throat sore and dry.

His... rescuer? Captor? Spoke again, and the monotone voice translated the garbled words once more.

"I do not know this Quarian of which you speak. You are safe here. If you can sit up, I will do my best to explain what has happened."

The neko did as he was told, hearing a strange buzzing, like that of a wasp, as his back rose from its rest. He opened his eyes again, squinting in the bright light, somehow almost as bright as daylight.

He saw a man- no, a neko of some sort, standing near a doorway, the only egress he could see from the strange cell he found himself in. Elias remembered him from the fight with the wolf. Now that he wasn't falling unconscious, the neko studied the man. He had honey coloured stripes running lengthwise over his arms and his face was slightly elongated. He was dressed in a dark leather suit, a white bracelet on his left wrist.

The man approached slowly, a cup in his hand. He spoke quietly, handing the cup to Elias as the translator went to work.

"Drink. You have been in... for a week."

In what? Elias hesitantly took the cup and sipped at the liquid. It was water, but it had a strange, almost bitter flavour. He realized the voice was coming from the bracelet on the man's wrist, and he stared at the jewellery suspiciously.

"My name is Artemis. I know you will have a lot of questions and I will try to answer them as best as I can. I noticed you do not speak often. I hope you will see fit to change that with me. I will never ridicule you for anything you say."

Elias shivered slightly and Artemis frowned, or at least it looked like he did.

"You are cold. I will get you clothes," he said. "Stay here. I will be back shortly."

The tiger dug through a dresser, irritated. He had to be almost a foot taller than the neko. There was nothing here that would fit appropriately.

This whole operation was foolish and Artemis had known it before he even started. He should have left the system when he found the inhabited planet. It was standard operating procedures and he had been about to jump out when his sensors had picked up the neko's voice.

There was something about the man that called to the tiger, something beyond the poor lot the neko had been dealt in life. He had left countless planets where that had been the case and even on this planet there were those worse off than this creature.

He couldn't leave the neko behind. But he also was prohibited from contacting the neko unless the man was about to die. And so he had waited almost a month, hoping the neko would get in trouble, though the very thought terrified him. There was so much that could go wrong with a rescue.

There was still so much that could go wrong, even now. He would only be allowed to keep the neko on his ship for another two weeks before he needed to ask if the man wanted to return to his world. It was a protection against slavery, and though he was sure many pilots ignored the requirement, he would follow the law. He didn't want to keep the neko against his will.