15

Things went mostly the same for the next few months. Life for a slave does not often vary. In the spring, Hyder got his chains off, and was now able to be without manacles or leg irons. Orion had watched somewhat jealously as Blackmoor removed his friend's bonds, but he did not dare say anything.

Hyder did, though. He asked Blackmoor if Orion's would be taken off as well, and the jackal had only
looked at him malevolently for questioning him and he did not ask again. Later he told Orion that he would
probably get his off soon too, but the cub was not too enthusiastic.

Spring became summer once more, marking a year Orion had been at the labor camp. He was now six,
Hyder nine. Orion did not cry for his parents every night anymore, only sometimes if something reminded him
of them. He had settled into the routine of the place, and gotten to know just what he could and could not get
away with, the things he could get away with was small compared to most the others. But still he managed.

Over the months, Orion and Hyder were given many different tasks to do here and there. Orion was
finally sent back to the mines every now and then, but now he was terrified of them, and did not often do well.
Blackmoor only sent him there when he did something wrong.

In the middle of the fall, Orion did get the shackles and the leg irons taken off, months after his
friend. He looked down at his wrists, which often were rubbed raw or bled from the metal, and rubbed them
numbly. After over a year of wearing them, it felt strange to have them off, and now he could move his arms
farther apart than a foot and a half, which is as long as the chain was.

"Well don't just stand there staring like a moron, brat, get to work!" Blackmoor shoved the child
outside of his office as he spoke. "Next week you'll be serving at a dinner I am having with a few other higher
ranking Mutants. You'd best be on your best behavior or you'll be in more trouble that you can handle. Be
ready for it."

The cub stumbled and fell, having to get used to walking without being restrained again, but that was not
what he was worried about as he sought out his friend at the junkyard, and told him what Blackmoor had said.

"Oh one of the other slaves said Blackmoor does that every year. He has a bunch of other Mutants, like General
Rataro, and some of his officers, and Governor Jackalron, and...' He stopped when he saw Orion had no idea
who these Mutants were. Of course not, he was from a different planet. "Well it doesn't really matter. They're
just other Mutants. Just be really good and you should be fine."

"Well, okay..." Orion was still uncertain as he rooted in a pile of junk for an air circulator.

"He wants you to serve? He doesn't like cats though...oh, I bet he wants to show you off." He blinked
as he noticed that Orion was not bound. "Hey! you don't have chains on anymore!"

Orion suddenly grinned at this notice. He had been too worried about what Blackmoor had said to tell
his friend at first. "That's why I was in his office...I thought I-I was in trouble for something. but I wasn't."

Hyder laughed. "Cool! Now you can run better and climb and stuff."

Orion nodded, and then made an exclamation. "Hey I found it!" He pulled at a large piece of
equipment under the junk pile. Hyder had to help him get it out, but they managed to get it back to the
mechanic they were helping. "Wh-what's he gonna make me do?" Orion asked his friend as they headed back
outside to search once more.

"Well, just...serve. Like serve the drinks and serve food and stuff. you just give it to his guests, and
don't drop anything on anyone." Hyder laughed. "It would be funny to see...but you'd get in trouble,"

Orion laughed a little bit. he'd actually like to see some hot soup or something get spilled on them. Or
trecka syrup, that was extremely sticky and did not easily wash off. "Yeah, I wish I could do something so
that it spilled on them, but I did it from far away so they wouldn't know it was me."

"Maybe you could make a little catapult, and put the food on it, and hold the string from the other room, and pull it." Hyder laughed. "Then you could drop the string and leave."

"Yeah!" Orion giggled as he listened to this idea. He would never try such a thing, but it was fun to talk
about. What slaves did not talk about their masters behind their backs? "Or use a slingshot to shoot it at them then pretend you don't know where it came from."

The boys came up with a few other bizarre ways to launch or drop food at their masters as they worked,
stilling the talk when they went inside.

The next few days went, more or less. Nothing extraordinary happened; Orion and Hyder only worked
in the junkyard the whole time. And that kept them happy...as happy as they could get in the slave compound.

It was their favorite work, and depending on what mechanic they were assisting at the time, they got little
breaks here and there. One day, they'd been working with Phiron again, and he'd given them each a piece of
something he called chocolate from his home world. Neither of the cubs had ever heard of it, but when they
tasted the sweet candy, both fell in love with it. "Wow...this is good!" Hyder said, as Phiron looked on amusedly.

"Yep, I think so," he said, as he munched on his own piece.

Orion's face broke into a grin as he ate the chocolate. "It tasted almost like jentt...that's on Thundera."
He bit his lip, then shook his head, banishing his sudden longing for home. He was sadly finding it easier and
easier to do so. "But not the same. It's softer and it's sweeter too."

Phiron chuckled. "Master Blackmoor let me order some from my home planet, called Tispitii, as a
reward for working hard this month." He sat back in his chair. "And boy...I sure missed it." He looked a little
wistful himself.

"How...how long have you been ehre?" Hyder asked.

"Twenty three years."

Both cubs' eyes widened. "Twenty three?" Orion said. He had been there for much much longer than
Orion had even been alive! He thought that one year was bad...the cub didn't think he could stand twenty
three.

Phiron nodded, hs eyes blank as he thought about his home. "Yes. The Plundaarians were invading; they are power hungry. They captured children and women..." he'd only been three at the time.

Seeing that he was upsetting the two young cubs, he smiled. "But don't worry about that, kiddos. Why
don't you go and see if you can find me a wing stabilizer for a Skycutter? I'll show you how they work." he
grinned and added confidentially, "Just don't tell anyone."

"We won't!" both of them vowed in unison, and ran off.

"Well? Are you ready, slave?" The week had gone by very fast, too fast for Orion. The young

Thunderian was very nervous this day. It was the afternoon, and he had been working in the morning unloading
a transport full of supplies for the compound. Blackmoor had surprised him, coming up behind him to ask if
he was ready.

Orion jumped and spun around, looking up at him, but then remembering to cast his eyes down. "I-I
guess so, M-master..." He hoped the uncertain answer would not get him in trouble.

Blackmoor might have normally whapped him upside the head, but now only chuckled amusedly.
"Well you'd better be ready, Orion. If you mess up tonight, you will be very unhappy."

"Y-yes, M-master." His stutter became worse when talking to the jackal.

"Get over to my manor." Blackmoor lived in the compound, in a large manor right in the middle.
"Knock on the door and tell Yevri that I said to get you into more suitable clothing. Then get back here to the
loading dock to let me look you over."

After answering, Orion did just that, and apprehensively stepped in the gates, and headed for the front
door. He'd never been there before, and he could not shake the feeling that he was doing something wrong.

When he stood on his toes to use the heavy knocker, a tall, willowy, pale reptile answered it. "Yes?" he said
emotionlessly.

"I-I-I'm Orion," the child said uncertainly. "M-master B-Blackmoor said to tell Yevri to get me something to wear..."

The reptile nodded and gestured for him to come in. "I am Yevri. Follow me."

TImidly, the cub followed.

He was led to a bright room with a lot of different uniform type looking outfits. Yevri looked through the
room until he found a small sized suit of dark gray material, with gold braiding on it. It was long sleeved jacket
and pants. "Here. Put these on."

Being Thunderian, Orion was not shy about stripping in front of others. In fact if he had had a choice, he
wouldn't be wearing clothing, period. He donned the uniform, and Yevri looked it over. "Turn around," he said
gruffly, and when Orion did, the reptile made a noise of aggravation. "Why aren't you an inch taller?" he grumbled, as he got out a needle and thread.

Feeling a mild indignation that he did not dare express, Orion held still while the less-than-friendl;y
reptile altered the cuffs of the pants. "There. now go show Blackmoor so I can keep the blasted thing hung up."

"Yes, sir," Orion grumbled, and left the house.

Blackmoor nodded as the little slave ran back, and approached him cautiously. "You may look at me."

Orion did so, and Blackmoor gave him the once over. "All right, it looks satisfactory. Go and have Yevri keep
this one for you, then bathe in one of the slaves' showers. Then report to the kitchen and get something to do
there." The meals were already being prepared, and the menus set. Orion would work getting things ready until
it was time for him to serve Blackmoor's guests.

"Y-yes, M-master," Orion said, and scampered off.

Orion helped the older slaves cook and prepare for most of the afternoon. When evening came, and
Orion was again dressed in the gray uniform, Blackmoor came in and told the child that he and another of the
younger slaves were to go out into the dining room and stand, and if any one of the guests told them to fetch
something, that they were to do it immediately. "Do a good job, and you will be rewarded. Do a bad job..."
and here he looked at Orion, "...and you will be very unhappy. Now get out there."

Nervously. Orion crept into the main dining hall, and stood at one end. The other youth stood at the other, and both were ready to serve the guests as they came in. One of the adults was at the entrance to take overgarments, coats, cloaks, that kind of thing.

The young slaves were pretty much ignored as the Mutants came filing in, but Orion raised his eyebrows
as he saw General Rataro, a face he now recognized from a couple of books that Hyder had showed him. He
stared at the Mutant, feeling more nervous now that he saw just how important the guests were. but then he forgot all about the rat when every one of the guests stood up, and Blackmoor went to the front of the room.

"Good evening, Your Majesty," he said, and went to one knee as a gesture of respect. Orion's jaw dropped. he
had never seen Blackmoor kneel, not in the whole time he had been there. And "Your Majesty"? Was this the
king? As the boy crept to the side a little bit so that he could see, his eyes widened further. It was the king!
Oh lords, now he was scared. What if he messed up? Why was the king here anyway? Hyder hadn't warned
him about that!

The king bowed his head, and Blackmoor stood. The king was a Reptilian, but slimmer than most, and
with well defined muscles. He was a colorful metallic green and gold, with splashed of red or blue ehre and
there. he was dressed simply, but elegantly, with a long, comfortable looking robe of dark green and gold. He
wore no shoes, no head gear, and carried a powerful sword at his side. He was flanked by four of his servants.

Wow, Orion thought. He was impressive looking, that was for sure. "Thank you for your invitation, Blackmoor," the king said. "I believe this is the first time I have been here."

"Thank you for accepting my invitation, your majesty," Blackmoor's replied. The jackal gestured to the
end of the table. "Please have a seat. Drinks will soon be served. What is your preference?"

"Some jek wine will do nicely I think." It was among the finest wines on the planet.

"Of course. Orion! Get the king a goblet of jek, and make it fast!"

The boy winced and hurried into the kitchen. Blackmoor was not to be crossed this evening, that was
for sure.

Once inside, he went up to one of the cooks. "There's a king in there!" he exclaimed, looking panicked.
"I-I have to get him jek wine...I don't know which one it is, i can't read!" If he wasn't fast, he'd get into trouble.

"Easy, cat. Jek's the blue wine up on that shelf." Hadn't Blackmoor even told him what was expected
of him? "Get that goblet, and the bottle, take them out on the silver tray. When you get to the table, pour the
wine into the goblet and leave the bottle there. You take care you don't spill it, understand?" The slave spoke
kindly, but he wanted to make sure the child didn't do anything to get himself hurt.

Orion nodded, and took the tray. Biting his lip, he carefully made his way out the door, which the older
slave held open for him. Trying not to look anyone in the eye lest he get in trouble for it, he timidly approached
the king. how did you address a king again. Your Majesty? Or was he supposed to call him sir? Or was he
even supposed to talk to him at all? The child thought this to be best. He wouldn't say anything unless the king
spoke to him first.

Risking a quick glance to the colorful Reptilian, Orion stood on his toes to set the tray on the high table.

With some difficulty, he got the wine bottle open and managed to pour it without spilling the wine. While the
other Mtuatns conversed, the king looked amusedly at the young slave. "So," he said, his voice deep and powerful. but he spoke quietly this time. "You seem to be a good worker. What is your name?"

Oh, he would have to ask him something wouldn't he? now Orion didn't know what to say!
"O-Orion, s-sir..." he stammered.

"Orion," came the warning tone from the other side of the table. He swallowed hard and looked to see
Blackmoor glaring at him. Now he was in for it! "You are speaking to the king of this entire planet, wretch,
show him the proper respect!"

"B-b-but..I-I don't know how—"

"Kneel! Stupid child."

Not wanting to anger him further, Orion knelt on the floor as he had seen Blackmoor do, and lowered
his head. He really did want to do right, he just didn't know how.

"It's all right,. Blackmoor," the king said, his tone still low. He was known as a strong, powerful king,
respected by most. He was ruthless, or could be. He could be cruel when he was getting what he wanted. But
he was not a man for hurting children. "Get up, Orion," he told the little Thunderian. "I
am not angry with you. When you speak to a king, you are to call him 'Your Majesty' or 'Your Excellency'.
Do you think you can remember that?" His tone was firm, but not unkind.

Excellency, he didn't think he could remember. Majesty, he could, even if it was in Plundaarian. "Yes,
si—I-I mean Your M-majesty," he whispered.

"Good boy." The reptile patted him on the head. "Now go on and serve the others, they are waiting to
be given their drinks."

Orion nodded and gratefully slipped in amongst the guests. The other wines and refreshmnts were
already set out on the table, and Orion poured out whatever the others told him they wanted. They ahd to point
it out for him, and a few smacked him in the head for what they thought of as stupidity, but he got through that
with little trouble.

Once the drinks were served, he was told to get back into the kitchen until the appetizers were brought
out. He willingly did so, glad to be away from the imposing guests.

With a sigh, he flopped down on the floor. "I don't like this very much" he said to the other young
slave. She was a human, about twelve years old.

"I know," she said. "It's not really easy the first time. This is the third one I've been serving at." she
shrugged. "It gets easier once you know what to do. But we can rest until the appetizers are ready, then we
have to serve them. And then we can sit down again or do whatever until it's time for dinner. And then
dessert's after. Then when they all leave we have to clean up. I never saw the king before, though. I wonder
why he's here."

Orion nodded, a little more relieved now that he knew what they had to do. "H-he didn't tell me anything, just told me to serve...I didn't know what to do then he got mad at me."

"Oh yeah, well that's the king. When you first go up to him you have to kneel to him like Blackmoor
did..." The human girl caught an stern look from one of the other humans, and quickly amended, "Master
Blackmoor..." Then she leaned over and whispered ot Orion, "He's a master pain, he is."

The cub giggled, agreeing with her with a nod of the head.

The appetizers turned out to be a large bowl of some kind of fancy looking fried bread that was put in
the middle of the table, and salads for each of the guests. When dinner came, it was some kind of roast meat,
vegetables, potatoes, and all manner of side dishes. This took a long time to bring out. The king had requested
a different kind of side dish, a specially prepared plate of jorick fruit. Jorick fruit was a round purplish fruit that
was very sweet, whose seeds were pollinated by the deadly ants. Orion didn't like the ants very much, but the
fruit he loved! He'd only had it once, but it was very sweet.

He was carrying this out, not able to see the floor through the tray he carried it on. As he walked from
the door, he made a mistake. He tripped on the ornate rug, and sprawled headlong on the floor. The fruit crashed into the wall. The room went silent, and Orion's face turned red as he crept to pick up the mess.

But Blackmoor growled and stood abruptly from the chair. He had expected this party to go off without
a hitch. "You clumsy, worthless little bastard," he growled in a low tone as he approached the child.

Orion stood and backed hastily away from him, backing himself into a corner. "I-I'm s-sorry,
M-master...I-I didn't mean to—"

But Blackmoor had taken his whip from his belt, and angrily struck Orion with it, across the face. The
cub screamed, and put a hand to his cheek, which had been laid open by the blow. "I give you the chance to
serve the king himself, and you even screw that up. Can't you do anything right, Orion?" he spat out the name
as if it were a curse.

Most of the guests watched this scene with amusement, and some only looked mildly at the pair. He
king frowned slightly. He was never an overly lenient man, but thought Blackmoor's reaction a little severe.
He did not know how much the jackal disliked the little slave. "It's all right, Blackmoor," he said in his quiet
tone. "I can wait a couple more moments, I know it does not take long to prepare. The child can bring it out to
me again."

Blackmoor had been ready to strike the cowering child again, but at his king's words, lowered the whip.
"As you wish, Your Majesty," he said, shooting Orion a dark look. "I wanted to show him off to you, but he
seems to want to give me trouble, even now." Reluctantly, the jackal sat back down. "Well don't just stand
there bawling, Orion!" he snarled. "Go and tell the cook you screwed up, and get the king another plate!"

Orion ran into the kitchen, shakily closing the door. Those inside, were wondering what had happened,
and the jackal that had helped him with the jek went up to him. "Oh, kkrekk," he said with a sigh, and knelt
next to the cub. "Shhh, it's all right. I know it hurts, let me look at it. What happened, little one?"

The boy whimpered as the jackal touched his swollen cheek. He had bled onto his uniform already, and
he figured that Blackmoor would be mad about that too. "Jeez, he got you good. Let me wash it off. really
quick. It'll hurt, but I'll put some ice on it when you get back, all right?" Orion nodded slowly, still hitching in
his chest as he sobbed quietly. He cried out a few times as the jackal hastily cleaned the slash mark, trying to
be as gentle as he could, while the cook prepared another serving of the fruit.

As the human girl came in after cleaning up the mess out there, she whispered to Orion, "Better be
really good the rest of the night, or Black...Master Blackmoor's gonna be really mad at you. He's not too mad
now anymore."

Biting his lip, Orion took the tray again, and shakily stepped out of the door, now dreading going out
there again. As he slowly approached the head of the table, Rataro grinned maliciously, and stuck his tail out in
the middle of the floor. Orion stumbled, and just barely managed to keep from spilling anything. He shot the
rat a half hurt, half angry look before continuing.

When the boy set the plate up without incident, the king smiled at him. "Good boy," he said, and
looked at his face. "Go on in the back and see if someone can tend that for you, all right?" he said. "Do a good
job the rest of the night, and I am sure your master won't punish you."

Orion whispered his answer, as it hurt to talk, and slunk away. he knew some of them were laughing at
him.

Once inside, the jackal led the little boy to the freezer, and took out some ice. He put it in a bag, and
told Orion to hold it lightly to the side of his face. He would ask Blackmoor later if he'd allow Orion to see the
healer. But for now he had him hold the ice on his cheek to keep the swelling down and numb the pain. Orion
did so gladly.

He had to go out once more to help serve dessert, and gave some ice cream to Rataro and a few others.

Then he only peered out the kitchen door as everyone left. He sat down again and put the melting ice to his face, and was there when the last of Blackmoor's guests left, and he came into the kitchen.

He walked up to Orion, who shrank back from him. The jackal glared at him a moment, then shook his
head. "It seems His Majesty has taken a liking to you wretch. That is the only reason I am not beating the
living hell out of you. Not knowing what else to say, Orion remained silent. Blackmoor nodded. "Since that
was the only mistake that you made, and your behavior was otherwise exemplary, you may eat with the other
slaves."

Surprised that not only was Blackmoor not punishing him, but allowing him to partake in whatever
reward that he was giving to the slaves, Orion only whispered his answer.

"All right, slaves. you did well this evening. Once the dishes are taken back and washed, whatever is in
the serving bowls and on the counters, you may make your dinners from. When you are finished, you may go to
your quarters." With that, the jackal left for his own home.

"Come on, little one, let's get to work. Then we'll get you a nice big dinner with some cake. Sounds
good to you?"

Orion didn't reply aloud, but nodded eagerly to the cook, and went out to help.

Once everything was cleaned, the nine slaves that had worked on the banquet made up their dinners of
the fine food that Blackmoor would just have thrown away. The jackal helped Orion fill his pate with part of
the roasted meat, and some vegetables, and some of the delicious bread that was served. To a child that was
never fed as much as he should be, it was a feast.

The cub ate all the food, and a little more, before the jackal laughed and told him to save room for
dessert. He gave the boy a large slice of what was left of the cake. Even after all the slaves had taken a piece,
there was some left, and that was thrown away.

It was the best thing Orion had tested in a long time, and he happily ate it.

Afterwards, when the last plate had been cleaned, Orion was very tired, and his face hurt a lot. but he
was somewhat happy.

The cook had convinced Blackmoor to let Orion be tended by the healer, and he was given a painkiller
for the night, and his cheek was stitched up. The lash was bad, and would leave a scar, but at least it was not
open. At the end of the night, Orion flopped, exhausted, in his cell. Hyder awoke at the sound and asked how it
went, and Orion told him everything that had happened. The little hyena expressed his indignation at
Blackmoor's striking Orion, but seemed impressed that the king liked him. "He doesn't like cats very much
either," he said. "Wow, that's something!"

Orion grinned, but winced when the action hurt his cheek. "Yeah...h-he's kind of nice. He kept me
from getting beat, too."

In his cell, Hyder nodded. "Even master Blackmoor wouldn't dare defy the king."

"I'm glad. Where are we working tomorrow?"

"I think we have cart duty."

Orion groaned, but at least it wasn't the mines. Closing his eyes, and drawing the blanket up around his
ears, the child went to sleep.

Hyder comforting the disappointed orion, who still wears chains.
Hyder and Orion

Chapter 16

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