219 lines
9.7 KiB
Plaintext
219 lines
9.7 KiB
Plaintext
Ring 11, 0590
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I heard the sounds of footsteps behind me, and from the rhythm
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and the scent I knew Aaden had come into the house. Usually that's
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good news, but right now I was in such a foul mood that even his
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company was an unwelcome intrusion. He walked in to the workroom
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and, just as I knew he would, he placed his hand upon my shoulder and
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said, "Hello."
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"Hi," I said, not very cheerfully.
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"Are you okay?" he asked. "I heard about the screaming match
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this afternoon. I'm glad you weren't involved."
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"I'm still involved, Aaden. It's my political butt on the line
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here, you know. They want economic concessions, and I'm wondering
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where the Hell they expect to get them when we don't have an
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economy."
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"We have an economy," he said. "In fact, we've got two of them.
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You and I just happen to be in the upper of the two."
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"For reasons I could never understand," I growled, then glanced
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up at him. "I'm not really in the mood for company right now, lover.
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If one more thing happens today, I'm going to start taking my anger
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out on something inappropriate, and I'd rather not do that."
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He nodded. "I'll leave you alone, then." He walked out of the
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workroom, and I heard him leave our quarters entirely, wandering out
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into the hallway of the Castle. I turned back around and satisfied
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myself with reading the reports left on my desk. A few minutes
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later, though, I heard him return, and it sounded as if he were
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walking back towards me.
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Truth to tell, I wanted some company right now. I just knew
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that I wasn't in the right mood to be good company, and I didn't want
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him to have to put up with one of my foul moods. Still, if he was
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going to volunteer to hang around me, that was his decision, not
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mine.
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I felt something solid tap me on the shoulder while a wooden,
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hollow sound repeated in my ears. I turned to look, and found Aaden
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holding a shaft of bamboo, about 75cm long and maybe 4cm in diameter.
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"What's this for?"
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"You said you wanted to hit something," he said. "Hit me."
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The anger I felt subsided momentarily to make room for something
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else. "Aaden, that's not even funny."
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"I didn't say it was supposed to be. I am not an inappropriate
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target. Go ahead, take the staff."
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I took it in my left hand, then shifted it over to my right.
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"It's pretty light. We've got some teflon canes heavier than this."
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He nodded. "That's why I brought it. Go ahead, Ken. Take it
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out, on me. I trust you, you won't hurt me."
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I looked into his deep brown eyes, which have entranced me every
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day of my life since I met him. I could not believe what he was
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telling me to do, asking me to do. "Aaden."
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"Come on," he hissed, and I felt us both shifting into play mode
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slowly. I had a headache and I was still pissed as Hell, but that
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didn't stop me from knowing when the game had begun.
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"I can't..." He lunged at me.
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A clumsy swing, obviously pulled, but a swing nonetheless. I
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struck back with the staff and without finesse, hitting him on the
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thigh with a less than solid strike. He recoiled, and I grabbed him
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by the wrist, wheeling around him with one hand and pinning his arm
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behind his back. "Don't move, Aaden. Dave, get me the manacles." I
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thought for a moment and a pair of gravitics manacles came whizzing
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out of the bedroom. I put one around his left wrist and let it go,
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ordering it up into the air. I did the same with his right. "Okay,
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you asked for it." I walked around him easily. "First, those are
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coming off." I reached onto my desk for a pair of scissors and began
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cutting the baggy, loose-fitting cotton pants off of his body. He
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whimpered softly as I got close to his manhood, but I didn't want him
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damaged. Just hurting.
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The top, held shut with a wide belt about the waist, came off
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just as easily. I recognized the outfit as some form of stylized gi.
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Naked, his tail dropping to the floor, he looked much better. "Fuck
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with me, huh?" I said, swinging the heavy club down and hitting his
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ass.
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"Yeah, I like fucking with you," he snarled back.
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"Shut up," I said, hitting his thighs. "You and your 'I know
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what's best.'" The bamboo came down across his ass again, landing
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with a solid 'thwock.' It was an interesting sound, not quite a solid
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impact, kind of hollow in a way.
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I began to work his ass over, slowly hitting each cheek. I
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could feel the anger he had sought to arouse growing within me,
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slowly welling up from somewhere deep below my heart and filling me.
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"You pompous fucking bastard," I breathed at one point. "I can't
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stand the way you condescend to me."
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"Fuck you," he replied, snarling. "Why should I put up your
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constant posturing anyw... Ugh!" he replied as the staff hit him
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across the chest.
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"Because," I said, "You're the one who's fucking tied up. Now
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take it, you pain in the ass." I struck him five times swiftly on
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the backs of his thighs, and soon he was dancing. "Stand still,
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dammit. I can't torture you properly if you don't stand still!"
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"Maybe I don't wanna!"
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*CRACK*. I struck him soundly across his upper chest, hard, and
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the bamboo staff split at the ends. "I'm sick of your shit," I
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growled. I began to work him over viciously, almost carelessly.
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Never once did I hit him anywhere in a 'danger zone,' but his chest,
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back, butt, and thighs were free game, and he began whimpering and
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cursing and finally he was screaming in pain as the anger and the
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hatred I felt... for Terra and for him, welled through me and
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expressed itself in the swiftly swinging bamboo. Pieces of it began
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flying across the room; blood appeared in a white region of his fur.
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I beat him until he began trembling, until he was crying and
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begging me to stop. Finally, the crack in the bamboo worked its way
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into my hand and the staff lost all integrity, falling apart into a
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thousand splinters and most of it dropping to the floor.
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He was still standing under his own power; his head lolled to
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one side and he was breathing hard. The bloodstain on his chest
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spread slowly now. I opened my hand and the small piece of bamboo
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that remained fell to the carpeted floor with a thunk. "Aaden."
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He picked his head up slowly and looked at me, a small smile on
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his face. I reached up and stroked his cheek. Tears welled in my
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eyes to look at his, to see the pain I had inflicted there. "My
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Gods," I said, "I'm sorry."
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"Let me go, first," he breathed.
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I nodded, and the manacles snapped open. He dropped to his
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knees fast, and I reacted, grabbing him about the waist and guiding
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him down to make sure he didn't hurt himself on the way down.
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"Aaden?"
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"I'm okay." His voice sounded raspy; he did not sound okay.
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"Oh, Gods, Aaden," I said again, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to
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do that to you."
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His arms wrapped around my torso slowly, weakly. "Yes you did,"
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he whispered softly. "I love you."
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I held him close and sobbed against his chest, and he held me
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and cried just the same. We were quiet together for a few moments,
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and then he said, "Thank you."
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"'Thank you?'" I sobbed. "How can you thank me for that? That
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was... that was horrible."
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"It was necessary," he said, his hand slowly stroking my hair.
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I pushed him away and slowly laid him on the ground, looking at the
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fur where I had broken fell. The bleeding seemed to have stopped. A
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quick scan between my extended perceptions and Dave's indicated that,
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other than a little stress fatigue, Aaden was going to be alright.
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He grabbed my hand and held it. "See?" he said. "I know your
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limits, Ken. I knew you couldn't hurt me in any permanent way."
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"Aaden, I wanted to kill you! I was hating you!"
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"No," he said, shaking his head. "No more than I wanted to die.
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You do hate some things about me, just like there are some things
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about you that I find insufferable. You have a longer list for me
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than for other people, Ken, because you know me better. I have the
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same kind of lists for you, too. But it's because I love you that I
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stay with you. I can't ever hate you, Ken."
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"But... why... this?"
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"Because I wanted you back. When you're angry and you stew like
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that, it's no fun living with you." He reached and ran his hand over
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my face. "I know you don't want to harm me, Ken."
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I looked down at him. "I know," I said. "I love you, Aaden."
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The tears came back, just a little, as I laid my head on his chest.
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"I do feel better."
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His chest rumbled as he laughed. "I bet you do."
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"It's good to get it out," I said. "I'm just glad I didn't go
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overboard and do more damage."
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"Why do you think I picked the bamboo? As long as you didn't go
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for my face or my kidneys, I knew that weapon couldn't do any
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damage." He stroked my hair. "Now, will you stop worrying about
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it?"
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I nodded. "Promise me that if you ever need to, you'll do the
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same thing to me?"
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"I promise." He laughed. "In some ways, though, the fact that
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I was snarling and fighting back made me feel better too. I'm glad I
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didn't have to keep it inside."
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"Come on," I said, rising up. "I'll get you some ginger ale."
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"I'd appreciate that." I helped him to his feet and we wandered
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into the kitchen. Behind us, a small robot descended from the
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ceiling and picked up the shattered splinters of bamboo.
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--
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"Anger"
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The Journal Entries of Kennet R'yal Shardik, et. al.
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are copyright (c) 1989-1994 Elf Mathieu Sternberg. Distribute freely
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via electronic media. This copyright permits individual users to
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make single hardcopies for their own use. The Journal Entries may
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not be sold or otherwise distributed for profit.
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