“Hey mom, what is a {Pet}?”
Responding to the inquiry from her daughter, a Beastkin woman in her early thirties turns from the counter she is preparing lunch at and grins, responding with a cheerful voice, “Oh ho ho! Looks like my little girl has already reached Level 5, and it hasn't even been a month since Dharta granted you your System! You didn't sneak into the forest to fight a monster, did you?”
As the mother of the child wags her finger disapprovingly, the girl who recently turned twelve replies quickly to assuage her mom’s worries, “No mom, I asked dad for extra chores around the village so that I can Level up faster and become an adult as soon as possible! And you didn't answer my question, don't change the subject!”
The little girl with bright orange hair puffs her cheeks out in annoyance whilst continuing to peel the potatoes that will go into her family’s lunch. Seeing this, the girl’s mother giggles vibrantly before going ahead and giving her child an explanation, returning her attention to the meats and veggies she was preparing as she does so.
“Okay okay, sheesh, I guess I can tell you the secret to my endless capabilities as a housewife! You see, while I'm not sure if it's the same for other Beastkin tribes, ours has a tradition where a married couple would divide responsibilities when they become a family by dedicating the part of themself most sacred, their very own Subspecies Evolution. Usually this mostly means picking out a pair of Subspecies variants to work towards that complement each other, such as one being more combat focused and one being related to a craft, but there is a special option that can appear if you truly wish to devote yourself to your partner, and that is anything with ‘Pet’ in its name. While nowadays these Subspecies have gained somewhat of a negative connotation due to the spreading influence of the Theocracy of Pudicit Iustitia and their teachings that we Beastkin are a lesser race, Beastkin have had the {Pet} Subspecies variant be an available option for centuries, long before the Theocracy came into power. Even if others in the village shy away from it due to the preconception that it makes you lesser than others without a {Pet} Subspecies, I believe that it is a representation of trusting and loving someone so much that you are willing to devote yourself to them with all your being, which is why I chose to become a {Tigerkin Housepet} shortly after marrying your father. Now granted, I will admit that it is a massive decision to make, especially if you choose it as your Tier 3 Evolution option like I have, since it will stay with you for as long as it takes to reach the next Tier. As such, I recommend not following in your mother’s footsteps, or at least wait until you are much older and have found someone you truly love like I have. Now enough chatting, lets go ahead and-”
Ember’s reminiscing is interrupted when a scrawny boy tosses a piece of hard bread into her lap as she rests against the side of the slaver’s wagon. Until now, the group of five slavers had been sitting around the campfire with the three debt slaves, eating a simple dinner in this small clearing they set up camp for the night at. The youngest member of this entourage, the teenage boy named Charlie, had left his group to deliver Ember her dinner. Expecting nothing more than that, the Tigerkin girl is surprised to see the Human boy sit down next to her with his bowl of soup he is currently in the middle of eating. She waits for the boy to say something for a few seconds, but as the silence between them is only filled by the chattering of the others around the campfire nearby, Ember begins to devour her dinner instead of starting a conversation. It's not like she is in the mood for one in the first place, after all.
The awkward silence continues between the two for a couple minutes, but Charlie eventually breaks it by asking the question he came over to inquire about in the first place, “So uh, I've been wonderin’, why didn't you turn yourself in to the Church Of Pudicitia when you could? I mean, if you had, you coulda been servin’ the Goddess Pudica’s will instead of Boss Weston over there. Yes, serving Humankind in any fashion helps purify yer soul from its impurities, but the temple I grew up in adopted Beastkin all the time to help out, and they seemed to be better treated at least. We even had a Priest who specialized in healing animals that stayed at the temple.”
Charlie sits there waiting for a response to his inquiry, but Ember had stopped paying full attention to him halfway through his spiel. She knows it isn't necessarily Charlie’s fault that he thought the way he did, as he even admitted to growing up in a temple that worshiped the Goddess of Purity, but that didn't mean she had to give a response to the nonsense he spouted. She learned from experience that the people who were born and raised in the Theocracy strongly believe in the teachings of the two dominant religious organizations that rule there, especially when those same teachings say that they are better than all the “lesser” Species and that it is a Human’s duty to purify those with tainted blood.
It honestly made Ember sad in a way, as Charlie didn't seem to be that bad of a guy, as he is the one who doesn't really partake in the more abusive activities his group does to her, though he is still an ass no matter if it is because of his upbringing. Even if he was trying to be kind or polite when talking to her, Ember still didn't miss the part where he basically called her an “animal” at the end there. While she is proud of her Beastkin heritage, and fully acknowledges the fact that her kind is part beast in nature, she also knows that when the slavers refer to her as “kitty” or “tiger,” they fully ignore the parts of her that differentiates her from a common cat that even the Beastkin raise as pets.
As Charlie begins to open his mouth again to break the silence once more, another voice calls out instead, that of Pudicity, the young woman named after the aforementioned Goddess Of Purity, “Oi Charlie, you better not be trying to worm your way into the tiger’s pants! I thought a church boy like you would know better than to commit bestiality, even if we aren’t in Theocracy borders no more. If you want to get your dick wet, try asking one of the debtors, at least then you can help a fellow Human out by lessening their debt so they can become honest, free workers once more.”
“I am not! How could you even suggest such a thing! What were your parents thinking, naming such a foul mouthed woman like you after the Holy Goddess.” The blushing teenage boy sputters out in outrage at the accusation, quickly running off back towards the campfire in embarrassment, though on the end opposite the three women adorned in leather collars.
“Huh, his loss. I mean the boss specifically purchased the debt of those three ‘cus they signed off on being willing to reduced their debt with sex work, so all he would have to do would be to ask ‘em.” The woman shrugs, before turning to head over and proposition one of the debt slaves herself, completely ignoring Ember who returns to gazing blankly up at the stars after finishing up her meal, thoughts filled with memories once more.
A spear splashes into the river, piercing into the side of a fish with precision, and the sixteen year old Beastkin girl raises up her catch triumphantly, “Ah Ha! See Ash, I told you your big sis is the best fisher there is!”
The teenage {Tigerkin Cub} turns to her little brother, a young Beastkin boy who hasn't yet acquired his System, and gives him a smug grin whilst she holds the simple wooden stick with a sharpened tip aloft. The six year old boy claps excitedly in response to his sister's shenanigans, giggling at the dramatic display. “Again! Again!” he calls out, “Show me Again!”
“I guess I can, if only to show you the might of one who has reached the 25th Level!” The girl named Ember removes the fish from her impromptu spear into a basket lying nearby, and begins to turn back to the river she and her brother are relaxing by, only to halt as she sees a plume of smoke rising up into the sky. While smoke isn't an odd thing to see coming from that direction in the forest, as that is where her village is at, the problem is how much is flowing upwards. One of the ears on top of her head twitches as a distant scream reaches it, and Ember quickly moves into action. She picks up her brother, and swiftly dashes towards a nearby tree, climbing it up part way, then places him onto a branch before instructing him on what to do, “Ash, stay up here and be as quiet as possible. I'm not sure what is happening back at the village, but it looks like they are in trouble. I'm going to go find mom and dad, and we’ll come right back here to get you. Okay?”
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After getting a scared nod from her brother, Ember drops down from the tree into a roll, and starts sprinting as hard as she can towards the giant plume of smoke rising from her home. While she hopes that the smoke is due to the ceremony celebrating her Evolution into adulthood that is supposed to happen later this evening, Ember also knows that is only a flimsy excuse she is giving herself, as there isn't any tradition of burning pyres or expansive bonfires related to the Evolution ceremony.
This is soon proved true once she breaks through the last trees separating the forest from her village, and is met with the sight of burning houses and mounted Humans galloping around the thatch huts with burning torches in their hands. Ember stands there for a few moments, stunned by the sight, but is soon broken from her shock by another scream coming from somewhere inside the small village. Before she can comprehend what she is doing, Ember runs into the village, darting past burning huts and unmoving bodies, heading straight for her home to find her parents.
She meets no opposition, either due to luck or happenstance, but she soon reaches the building large enough to barely house its four occupants, only to be met with a sight that would never leave her for as long as she lives. Through the open doorway, she spots a heavily injured Human man leaning on a bloody sword currently impaled in her mother’s chest whilst letting out heavy breaths. Around the man are the bodies of several other Humans, as well as the corpse of Ember’s father, the blood of his enemies covering the claws and mouth, showing that he did not go down without a fight. A wet cough from her mother’s mouth tells Ember that she isn't yet dead, so the teenage Beastkin girl acts on pure instinct, pouncing onto the back of the man standing over her mother. Before he can act, she bites down into the unarmored neck of the Human with her fangs, ripping out a chunk of flesh, finishing off the man in that instant.
Ember ignores that though, quickly heading over to her mother, grabbing her hand in both her own as tears start to stream down her face. She can tell that her mother won't make it, the sword embedded into her will soon prove fatal, and Ember wants to just spend these last moments of life with her.
Despite this, Ember’s mother speaks to her daughter once more between bloody coughs, “Oh… Ember. I'm sorry, *Cough* *Cough* your big day is ruined. I want you to know *Cough* that… I am so proud of *Cough* you. I wish *Cough* I didn’t have to leave you *Cough* *Cough* this way. I love you.”
The life leaves the dying woman's eyes moments after her heartfelt words to Ember, and the teenage girl herself moves to clutch her mother’s cooling corpse in her arms as choked sobs escape her bloody lips. This proves to be her downfall though, as a pair of arms grab her from behind, shoving her to the ground and binding her arms behind her back as she flails and screams helplessly, unable to break free from the powerful arms holding her down. As the Human man holds her down, a young woman a few years older than the incapacitated Ember walks into the hut and curses at the sight in front of her, “Shit, did that kitten just kill Weston’s son?”
Ignoring all the bodies other than the man who killed Ember’s mother, the woman turns over the corpse to inspect the small bite in his neck, and confirms that Ember did indeed kill the man by looking at the blood surrounding her mouth. With a sigh, the young woman instructs the man who bound Ember’s arms to bring her with them, and so he heaves the Beastkin girl over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and the two Humans head out with their prisoner in hand. Ember tries to struggle free, but the tight grip keeps her in place, and the man’s leather cuirass prevents her from biting down on his back.
Soon enough, the two take Ember to the center of the village where she spots several of her Tribe also bound and kneeling in a group surrounded by a few Human men and women. Instead of placing her with the rest of her Tribe though, the man carrying her tosses Ember in front of a middle-aged Human with a leather whip in his hands.
Moments later, the young woman who had been following along gives out a report to the middle-aged man seated on a barrel that usually holds the village’s grain, “Boss Weston, we found this one near two dead tigers, as well as several of our people. The worst part though, is that she also looks to have killed your son James Jr. after he valiantly fought off the two beasts who killed our men.”
As he listened, the man known as Weston became more and more enraged, and by the end, he had uncoiled his whip and soon enough began whipping the bound Ember in fury. “How dare you kill my only son! I'll make you pay for that, you filthy mongrel!”
While the Human man took out his frustration on the defenseless Beastkin girl, more of his subordinates came to the village’s center, most with captured Beastkin bound or unconscious with them. While she screamed out at each strike the whip made on her body, pain wracking her in never before felt amounts, she at least felt solace in the fact that she left her brother behind and that-
“Ember! Stop hurting my sister!” a young boy cries out as he is carried by a young man coming from the village's edge.
Ember’s heart drops at the voice of Ash, her last hope ripped away as the man named Weston beckons for the newcomer to bring her brother to him, a nasty expression coming onto his face as he addresses Ember, “So this is your brother, huh. Maybe I should show you the pain of losing a family member by killing him right here in front of you.”
“Don’t! Please! He’s the only family I've got left now!” Ember screams through the pain to plead with the man. It seems to only fall on deaf ears though, as he pulls the boy closer to him whilst pulling a dagger from his waist up to Ash’s neck.
Trying to think of anything she can do to stop him, Ember offers the one thing she has left to save her brother, “Wait! I’ll…I’ll become your {Pet} if you free him. Please, he’s just a boy.”
Tears stream down her face as she offers herself up to the man who brought ruin to her family, her Tribe, but this is the only thing Ember has left to bargain with. Seconds pass whilst Ember stares up at the man holding a knife to her brother’s neck, but he finally moves it and gives her a response, “Fine then. I've always wanted a {Pet} or a {Slave} of my own. But I’ll be holding on to him until I see your Evolution complete with my own two eyes.”
Ember stares at Weston for a few more moments, before turning her gaze to her brother, reassuring him that everything will be alright. Then, she brings up her System, and starts the Subspecies Evolution that shows she has finally become an adult, but in circumstances furthest from what they should be.
The teenage Beastkin girl opens her eyes to find herself inside her hut, and hope enters into her as she notices the lack of corpses on the floor, but that hope soon disappears as Ember notices the lack of entrance ways that her parents said was the hallmark of the space where you Evolve at. Now knowing where she is at, Ember is also reminded of why she is here, so she searches for the objects that represent her Evolution options, quickly spotting a ring of six straw dolls with orange hair and striped tails. Tied to each of the dolls legs is a small paper tag with descriptions written on them, but unfortunately, Ember knows she doesn't have the luxury of choice here, and looks at the Subspecies names for one containing “Pet” within.
While it might be possible that none of her six options will be a {Pet} variant, Ember knows deep in her heart that she will have at least one. After all, it has been her dream since she learned about them four years ago to find someone she loved enough to want to spend the rest of her life with, devoting herself to them as her mother did to her father. And she is soon proven right, as Ember picks up a simple doll with features of a tiger, and a red ribbon tied around the neck, the tag on its leg with the name of {Tigerkin Pet}. Without reading the description, already determined to sacrifice everything for the last remaining member of her family, she chooses this Evolution option for herself and unconsciousness claims her once more.
When she awakens, Ember finds herself in the back of a wooden wagon, an iron collar encased around her neck. A deluge of messages enters her vision, but she ignores them to search for her brother. She soon finds him, as the only other occupants in the back of the covered wagon are Ash, bound and gagged, and the man named Weston.
“I did as I promised, and I will devote myself to you if you promise to set my brother free,” Ember speaks after getting the Human man’s attention. Surprisingly, a message pops into her vision at the statement, and based on the expression on Weston’s face, one appeared in his sight as well.
[You Have Offered Your Devotion To Become Another’s Pet]
[Are You Sure This Is Who You Want?]
Ember waits for a response from the other person in the deal, and after a few moments, Weston orders the wagon carrying them to stop, walks over to the cloth leading out of the wagon with her brother, before speaking to Ember once more, “Accept the prompt, and your brother is free to go.”
Weston cuts the bindings around Ash, but grips his wrist, staring at Ember, awaiting her decision. After a moment's pause, she looks to her brother and smiles, accepting her fate.
[As Both Parties Have Accepted, You Have Now Become The Pet Of (James Weston)]
With a smile, the Human speaks once more, “Let it be know that I keep my promises,” and then, he slices Ash’s throat open and shoves the boy’s body outside to Ember’s horror, saying but one more thing, “I have now freed him from his impure existence as a filthy being with the blood of monsters in his veins.”
Ember screams out and charges at Weston, but the collar around her neck glows and an unimaginable pain suddenly fills her entire being, knocking her unconscious in an instant.
A young {Tigerkin Pet}, only twenty years old, closes her eyes as tears stream down her face, and Ember soon falls asleep against the wooden wagon she has been resting against, nightmarish memories of the past her only company.