The small port town of Thesean was a quiet place…Located on the northern coast of Crete, named after the great Athenian hero Theseus it had been thriving for decades off of trade with both the Cyclades islands and from the great Polis of Attica on the Greek mainland…
That didn't mean it was a large town, far from it in fact. The population was fewer than 1500 people, meaning that despite the wealth it had accrued over the years…There wasn't much point in investing it into grandiose building projects like what happened in the larger cities on the mainland like Argos, Corinth, Thebes and Athens…
The town itself was compromised of a civilian sector that lay to the south of the port city, it was where the entire town's population lived, with the larger mansions further north than the other smaller homes, located closer to the agora and port…
The port itself made up around 50% of the entire town, with a gargantuan harbour that connected the town to the azure waters of the Aegean sea, dozens of small ships were docked at the harbour while in the distance, you could faintly see the fishing boats out at sea…Collecting their bounty while at the docks, fishermen emptied their quarry into carts and containers, filling them with fish, crabs and even cephalopods.
Most of the island's populace were rather poor and lacked quite a bit of money compared to most other cities in the Greek world, with all of the money being made by the port town going to the wealthiest citizens, leaving very little drachmae to trickle down to the people who actually toiled and troubled themselves providing for their families.
Instead the wealthy families of Thesean sat around in their large grand old mansions counting the individual coins from their great piles of drachmae while their slaves, servants and other employees toiled away day in and day out in the oppressive Mediterranean sun, either as deckhands, fishermen, rowers and sailors on ships, craftsmen who would wake up early and turn in late forging miniature works of artifice, weapons and armour, or as farmers who toiled hard to provide extra food for the populace.
One such family living in the town of Thesean was that belonging to one Tavros of Lato …A monstrous black bull who was renowned for his volcanic temper, rippling muscled body that made him look like one of the many marble sculptures that were present in the richer part of town…
He had been living within the small town for over 10 years now after being kicked out of Lato for generally being an annoyance to the others in the city…But now, considering his size, wealth and bad temper…Nobody in the place could force him to leave…Meaning that the poor people had to deal with his general unscrupulous demeanour, often they avoided making eye contact with him every time they passed him by, either on the street, docks or market stalls.
However, thankfully for them…The people of Thesean were rarely the things he took his anger out on, unfortunately it was his own slaves that took the brunt of the Bull's anger…Many Thesean's losing sleep over hearing the Bull roaring profanities and smashing up his house alongside the pained cries and begs for mercy from his slaves…And it is with one of those slaves in particular…That this story is about…
…
It was a blazing hot morning in Thesean, the skies the same absolutely stunning shade of blue as the Aegean Sea, who's cool, crystal waters gently lapped at the docks…Small schools of silver, shimmering fish swimming beneath the azure waters…
There wasn't a cloud in sight, with only the deep blue of the sky and the blazing yellowish-white of the sun compromising the only shades in Zeus's domain. Helios's blazing chariot cast down it's scorching rays upon the land and people…The toilers of Thesean sweating buckets as they relentlessly went at their trades with vigour and determination, the shrill cries of seabirds and gentle whisper of the breeze sounding out all around…
It was the perfect environment to try and work or relax in peace, not disturbed by the perils of every day life, where one could instead slowly work at a steady and slow pace…At least that was the case for most people in Thesean at the time, unfortunately for one slave in the vegetable patch outside of Tavros's residence…It was the opposite.
The slave in question was busy digging through weeds that had been assailing the crops growing in the patch as well as sowing new seeds for the vegetables that the weeds had destroyed. Something that the slave couldn't allow to happen lest he receive another violent beating from Tavros for producing results that were less than desirable…And he had to do it with every other patch around the house before going off to help in the town's small marble district…
Considering the labour that was being done in the blistering hot sun…You would expecting the slave to be experienced or at the very least have a good few years behind him…But no! It wasn't close in the slightest…
For the slave, was not an adult…Nor a teenager, they were in fact…Just a small 12 year old boy…He was a fox, rather short and scrawny in frame, with spindly arms and legs and a thin and almost gaunt build…He had almost certainly not been fed well enough and was on the verge of malnourishment…His fur was coloured a golden yellow, however it had lost it's brightness and had faded from a mix of the sun's scorching rays and the dust and grime…Leaving the yellow fur almost sandy in complexion.
The boy also had patches of greyish white that were dotted around his snout and stomach as well as on his feet and hands…The boy's eyes were sky blue in sheen and yet were strained and tired as the boy toiled away in the tyrannical sunlight…And from the boy's rear sprouted two long, bushy tails…An utterly unique feature that no other fox of his species shared…
When it came to the fox's clothes, he was dressed in a manner not dissimilar to others in his situation, wearing only a very simple white chiton that reached down to just above the boy's knee's which were covered in cuts and scrapes under the fur. And on the boy's feet he wore a set of weathered and worn leather sandals, the leather uncomfortably rubbing against the boy's ankles, breaking the skin and forming rashes and blisters…Making the boy wince with every movement he made.
His tails were droopy and kissed the dirt under the boy's feet, their once bright fur becoming caked in dust and dirt…All the while the boy toiled and toiled away, wanting to remove as many of the weeds as quickly as possible, just so he could get out of the sun and drink some water…Or at least anything to cool down and soothe his muscles which ached with dull pain from the hard labour of the day as well as the day before…
He ran his tongue over his lips, trying to at the very least moisten the dry and cracked skin…Wanting to find at least…Some moisture…But alas it was not to be. Fortunately though, he was able to finish rooting out the last of the abominable pests, throwing them to the side of the patch and then raising one grubby hand to wipe the sweat from his brow and laying back, collapsing to the dry earth and staring up at the sky.
The fox's body felt like it was made of lead…Any longer and he'd end up collapsing from heatstroke…And he wasn't even halfway done with his arduous labour of the day…Why had it been him that Tavros had ordered to work in the garden that day? Just why?
It wasn't like he already had it hard! Tavros disliked and even loathed most of his fellow slaves and yet he seemed to harbour a special hatred for him and he had no idea why! He did everything that was asked of him and more and yet that never seemed to be enough for him! In fact, Tavros even sabotaged his efforts at times just to get an excuse to beat him up violently, sometimes kicking over buckets while he cleaned or dumping waste on the floor in front of him…
The fox slowly closed his fatigued eyes and steadied his breathing, wanting the dull aching all over his body to slowly dissipate away while his mind wondered…Looking back into the past, before Thesean…Before Tavros…Before everything went wrong...
Images of a time long gone resurfaced back in the little fox's mind…Images of a beautiful island faraway from Crete, of stretching beaches with glistening white sands, the shrill yet comforting calls of Seabirds soaring in the blue skies above…Small houses built in the Cycladic style…And then the voices…two soothing voices…THEIR voices…Beckoning him to come inside after a long day of looking for seashells and playing on the beach…
His breathing began to slow as he laid back and started to piece together the images in his mind…One core memory before all of the events that sparked the destruction of the life he had…
It had been a warm, easy going summer's day on the isle of Naxos…5 years ago…Helios's chariot had raced across the sky with not a single cloud afloat to shroud it's glorious golden splendour, Poseidon's domain was becalmed and gently lapped at the beaches of the island…And there had been a large bounty of seashells to collect…
He remembered laughing like a madman as he raced along the beach, hearing his parent's calling for him as they desperately tried to keep up with the youngster's energy…
"Miles! Slow down! You don't have to collect all of the seashells now! Poseidon will always deposit more so no need for a rush!" He remembered his father calling to him as he rushed headlong along the golden sands.
"Do as your father says little one! We came out here to get away from the docks, not just so you can have a play around on the beach." He remembered his mother say next…
While Miles didn't recall much about his family, what he did know was this…He had been born in a small coastal village off the west coast of the Island of Naxos, his father had been a Marine aboard a Trireme when he had been younger, but had settled for a quiet life as a fisherman when he had met the woman who would go on to be his mother who at the time had garnered a small income by weaving clothes.
Miles allowed a small smile to cross his lips as he vaguely remembered all the times his father told him stories of being out on the waves, battling pirates on a Trireme, catching spectacularly large fish such as small sharks, while being seated at the dinner table while the boy enjoyed intently listened on, munching on a meal of olives, cheese and bread.
And after, once the evening meal was finished, he remembered being gently tucked under a blanket of animal furs by his mother while his father told him a bedtime story…Setting the boy's imagination alight and letting him picture them in his head before letting the boy drift off to sleep.
Miles chuckled as he recalled it all…He missed it…He missed the feeling of warmth and safety that Naxos brought to him, he missed being able to fall asleep and not having to worry about being beaten for the most minor of slip ups…He missed his family…
Unfortunately thought, they were long gone by now…They had been dead for 6 years and it was the circumstance of how they died that was the reason why the fox was now a slave in a faraway land…
…
It had been a day like any other on the island of Naxos, with a nice, cool and gentle breeze…With a nice amount of sunlight. Perfect weather for playing outside, something that the fox had done far into dusk, where the blue skies darkened to a deeper tangerine orange in sheen…
He had been called inside like he usually was for his dinner and for his father's storytelling at the dinner table…And then being taken to bed and being told the story of the wine god Dionysus and his run in with Pirates…A wonderful tale that had excited the young boy and made him thirsty for more before his parents left him in the small bedroom to sleep…
However, the night wasn't peaceful…Miles didn't know how it started, or how they had gotten onto the island but…All he remembered was being awoken by his parents rushing into the room, shaking him awake and telling him that they had to leave as quickly as they could…All the while there was a terrible, horrible sound coming from outside…A cacophony of screams, battle cries and crackling fires…
His parents had rushed him out of the house and when the ltitle fox had seen the world around him, he couldn't have believed his eyes…It was like something out of a horrible nightmare…His home was burning, houses caught up in blazing pyres, sometimes with their frightened owners still trapped inside and crying out as the flames consumed them…
Blood ran in thick streams as men, women and even children were butchered without mercy in the streets…the sound of their death throes making the horrific scenario even more nightmarish…But why was all of this happening? How was this happening? The young fox had no idea at the time…But…In the aftermath he had learned the grizzly and terrible truth…His home village had harboured the attention of a particularly large pirate crew who were seeking to make their fortune through sacking the town of all of it's coin.
Said pirates looked like beasts pulled from the darkest pits of Tartarus when he had first seen them as they tore up the place In a frenzied search for riches and blood, eagerly laughing as they butchered the people of the village in the few short glances that the boy got of them as his parents rushed through the streets, seeking to escape the slaughter…However…They…They…
…
"COME ON AMADEUS, WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Rosemary Prower roared over the din of the sacking going on around them, the young mother fiercely clutching onto her terrified and confused son…Pushing and shoving her way through the crowd of terrified civilians who were mindlessly running around like headless chickens…
"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT ROSEMARY?! OF COURSE I DO! I'M MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE NOT BEING FOLLOWED!" His father called back, frantically looking around to make sure there were no pirates who's eyes were set on them…
"Mummy, daddy?! What's happening?!" Little Miles squeaked, clinging onto his mother for dear life as they slowly battled their way towards the exit of the town…
The older fox looked down at her petrified 6 year old son and immediately pulled him close to her, stopping temporarily amid the sea of slaughter to comfort the scared child,
"Don't pay any attention to it sweetie, Mummy and Daddy are here and we're not going to let anything or anyone hurt you alright? I- AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!"
She was cut off when she let out a horrible shriek of pain that lasted for a second…The sound of it reverberating in the fox's ears and he screamed in fear when he saw his mother…The woman who had loved and raised him and promised to always be there stare at him…Her eyes wide and filled with agony and shock…As if she hadn't fully processed what had happened to her.
Blood slowly trickled from her mouth in small red streams…Staining the white cloth of her peplos tunic before the thick red liquid slowly drained into the earth below…Rosemary Prower slowly looked down, staring at the source of the agony that was coursing through her veins…And there she saw it, poking out from her chest was the pointed, gleaming end of a Xiphos short sword…The tip of the blade soaked and coated in the woman's blood and ichor…She had been run through.
The pirate responsible for the deed merely cackled before ripping the blade out from her body and rushing off to find more prey to kill…Yet Rosemary remained on her feet…Just barely…
Every breath was agony in her lungs which were quickly filling with her own blood, but her will wouldn't let her depart just yet, even though she knew she wasn't long for the world…She had to at least embrace her baby one…last…time…
She managed two agonising steps towards her son before collapsing onto her back…Her gaze fixed on her mortified and tear-struck son…And with what little, fleeting strength that remained in her…She raised her hand slowly and cupped the boy's cheek…One last weak smile stretched across her lips,
"I'll…always…watch over you…Miles…" She whispered…And then, she slowly closed her eyes and fell limp, the last of her strength finally leaving her…Feeling Thanatos's cold embrace wrap around her…The world around her growing white…
Miles however…He was…He was horrified, he feebly reached down and gently shook his mother trying desperately to wake her up…But she wouldn't budge or open her eyes no matter what he did,
"Mummy?...Mummy please wake up…" He whined, shaking her progressively harder and harder, tears being to flow from his eyes now…
"MILES! THANK POSEIDON THERE YOU ARE! I…Wait…no…" The little fox turned his head, to see his father staring in horror at the sight of the woman he loved dead…And his young son desperately holding onto her, hoping desperately that she would wake up…The white cloth of his tunic stained with her blood…
Fighting back tears, he went over to his son and gently tugged on his shoulder, saying in a shaky and breaking voice,
"She's not waking up M-Miles…Come on…We have to go…"
"But what about Mu-"
"We can't…I'm sorry Miles…But we have to leave her behind…"
The little fox rushed over to his father and hugged him tightly, tears streaming from his eyes…Amadeus didn't return it, he scooped up the fox instead and started to carry him away to the docks, taking one last look at his dead wife before heading off…One last whisper of "I'm sorry…" Escaping his lips before they left…
It was a miracle that they were able to get to the docks relatively unmolested, the pirates seemingly fixated on the crowds of shrieking, crying and praying to the gods for mercy and the pirates who freely tormented them while the funeral pyre of their town crackled behind them, making their surroundings akin to the most horrific of nightmares…
However, their salvation seemed to be at hand…For at the docks there remained one last fishing boat that hadn't yet been set ablaze…Seeing their one lifeline in sight, Amadeus began to practically sprint his way over to the small boat…Their salvation was in sight…Maybe, just maybe they'd make it out of there alive…They may have lost Rosemary…But they could at least escape and try to rebuild their lives elsewhere…
10 meters…Amadeus's heart pounded in his chest like a great thundering drum…He could feel the hope begin to rise up, just barely piercing the grief and devastation left by the death of Rosemary…
9 meters…Amadeus looked frantically around him as he sprinted towards the boat, wanting to make sure that no pirate turned their gaze on him…Thankfully there was no discernible figure who's eyes were upon him at the moment…
8 meters…Maybe the god's had blessed them with safe escape from this nightmarish scenario…Amadeus hoped so as he had been begging for a miracle like this…
7 meters…How had nobody seen them yet? Were these pirates blind or stupid? Did they not see them as perfectly valid targets? Whatever the reason for them staying their hand was, Amadeus was grateful for t as it ensured safety for them both…
6 meters…Thank Poseidon that the fishing boat hadn't undertaken any damage from the brigands, hopefully with his sailing experience…He should be able to get it out of the harbour and sail away to another village…
5 meters…Amadeus could tell that Miles was terrified in his arms and a wave of intense sadness overcame him…How was he going to explain what death really was to the kid? He had told him stories where villains and sometimes the heroes met grizzly fates…But to actually see it firsthand would be devastating to anyone…Especially a 6-year-old.
4 meters…Then there was the issue of raising the boy if they survived the boat trip…How would he be able to manage it as a single father? They weren't particularly well off to begin with, but with Rosemary gone and unable to assist, it would mean double the work and less time to raise his son.
3 meters…What about housing? Goodness gracious, he hadn't even taken that into account, they were escaping with their lives and little else, so they'd have no money, no home, no belongings…Nothing, how would they rebuild their lives after this?
2 meters…No! He had to stop thinking and pondering about what ifs and what may happen…What mattered now was getting out of here and ensuring both of their safety…
1 meter…Salvation was so close at and he could practically taste it…It was right there and despite the horrific tragedy that had struck them both, they were going to get out of this living breathing scene from deepest Tartarus …He would do Rosemary proud and make sure that her absence, he would try and be the best father he possibly could…He-The twang of a bow and arrow sounded out…
A burning pain struck Amadeus through the knee, causing him to fall to the floor, dropping Miles in the process who screamed as he fell to the floor below, yelping out as he felt his ankle twist from the rough fall…
Amadeus grimaced through the absolutely agonising pain, the sensation so intense and horrific his body sung with pain louder than any thunderclap…He slowly glanced down to his knee to see that an arrow had pierced right through it from behind, turning his glance back towards the docks he saw a gang of pirates approaching, one aiming a bow directly at him…All of whom with malevolence burning in their eyes.
Sensing his end was near, Amadeus pulled on the arm of his son who was clutching his ankle in pain and yelled at him with panic,
"MILES, RUN YOU DAMNED FOOL! RUN! ARRRGGGGHHHH!" Amadeus screamed as he turned back to the pirates, only to be met by an arrow through the eye…The scream of agony causing Miles to freeze with fear…All before watching with horror as another arrow was loosened…And pierced his father's throat…Silencing him forevermore…
"DADDY NO!" Miles sobbed, shaking the broken and bleeding corpse of his father…The horror of seeing his father die in such a brutal fashion hitting him harder than a punch from Ares himself…His back turned to the pirates and letting them gaze upon the two bushy tails that protruded behind him…
"Awww would you look at that? Kid's a freak as well? Whaddya say we skin im' Barnabas? Could use a new scarf hahaha!" A pirate wolf cackled, the Xiphos in his hand gleaming like a sliver of moonlight.
"We could do that…Although, I have a better idea…I reckon that a freak like him may catch a very tidy price on the market…How about we take him to the ship and sell him off at the nearest port that'll take him?" The monstrous crocodile beside the wolf chuckled, his axe slung over his shoulder…
Miles looked up at them with terror plastered across his tear-stricken face…His bloodshot and wide blue eyes filled with fear of the brutes wo had so cruelly taken his father away from him…All he got back was a set of extremely cruel and malevolent grins directed at him…
…
His memory past that horrible day was horribly blurred…Like he was in a semi-catatonic state as he tried to process everything that had happened to him while he was shipped all across the Aegean in a crowded pirate ship, packed tightly with enslaved rowers and other frightened captives from the town like a sardine in a tin…
He would sometimes look back and see fetters of slave ports and markets in is mind…his vision blurred and strained from the days and weeks without proper food, water and rest draining him of all of his energy…And all of that leading to that one boiling hot day 6 years ago, roughly a month after the pillaging…Where he had been brought into the slave market at Lato and bought by Tavros to work as a menial…
And ever since that day, his life had been a simple and miserable one…Wake up early, eat barely enough to get by for the day, try and do whatever it was Tavros wanted him to do, inevitably get something wrong and then either be insulted and screamed at or violently beaten until he blacked out…It wasn't fair…
The fox felt moisture build up and threaten to leak from his eyes as he felt all of those horrible, painful, agonising memories hit him all at once, with fleeting images of what could have been his life fitting in between…
Sniffles escaped the boy's snout as he looked up at the azure skies above, the colour of it reminding him of the comforting waves of the sea that he used to look out at every day on Naxos…He missed his home, he missed his family, he missed the life he used to have…He missed being happy…Why? Why did it have to be him?...
"Miles? Are you alright?" A worried feminine voice asked from beside his lying form.
"EEP!", Miles yelped in fear, shooting up from the ground and clutching his tunic with surprise, blue eyes staring at the person who had just talked to him, his breaths coming out in short, ragged gasps…However, he allowed himself to relax a little when he noticed who the person was…
It was a girl that was Miles's age although she was a couple of months older, not a fox but more akin to a human…With creamy, greenish coloured skin and darker forest green coloured hair that was done up in a Knidian style, two pink rosebuds jutting out from the side of the Girl's head like they were horns and like Miles, she was a thin, spindly being, however she stood almost a full head taller than Miles did.
Her attire consisted of a longer chiton type dress, that too was white in colour however it did seem to have caught some of the dust of the outside world down along the hem of the girl's skirt…She wore jewellery too, with golden bracelets the shape of writhing snakes with small onyx eyes, a set of sapphire encrusted earrings and a small diadem that sat atop her head…Showing off the wealth of the girl.
Her face was filled with embarrassment and shame as she realised what her words had done to the boy and she reached over to place a hand on his shoulder exclaiming as she did so,
"Oh…Miles I am so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you; I just heard you crying, and I wanted to see if you were okay…"
Miles let out a small sigh and gave the girl a shy smile as he replied in kind, gently turning her hand away.
"It's okay Cosmo…You just got me by surprise that's all…And I'm…I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me It was nothing."
Cosmo placed her hand back onto his shoulder, her tone becoming akin to an interrogator,
"Was it the memories again?"
Miles flinched in response, his fur standing up on end before he slumped his shoulders and nodded, his ears flattening against his skull...But Cosmo's own blue eyes filled with sympathy once more and she pulled him into a side hug and gently stroked the boy's back,
"Hey…It's okay…I'm here…You still have me Miles, you're not alone." She whispered slightly, letting him sink into the side hug and rest his head upon her shoulder…
Despite her position as the daughter of one of the wealthiest merchants In Thesean, Cosmo Greenleaf of Argos preferred to defy the gender norms of the day and spent much more time outside and helping with more physical activities than was expected of her, She didn't just break those gender norms though, but also the societal norms too by being Miles's best and sadly…Only friend, ever since she had first set her eyes on the visibly poorly and traumatised fox six years ago…Her caring and empathetic nature drove her to making sure that he at least had someone who would be there for him if he needed someone to talk to, or had a shoulder to cry on during those sad times where the boy had his flashbacks to the past…
It may have gotten her into trouble with other's before, for being so chummy with "Property", but in her eyes…It was worth it, she didn't care what others thought of her because of it…Miles was a regular boy who hadn't even been born a slave…He was more than just some…animal to be sold off…He needed a friend, and she would be that friend…
Not to mention that she thought that the way Tavros treated him was utterly disgusting…In her eye's slavery was already an evil…But to purposefully beat them senseless? That was a new level of cruel and after 6 years of friendship with the boy…She had learned to sometimes bring herbal painkillers and bandages made from reeds, leaves and even torn parts of her peplos or chiton whenever she snuck over to see him…
Tavros despised her for it, but wouldn't dare to touch her out of fear of bringing down the wrath of the Greenleaves upon him…And she would make sure to take advantage of it and use every opportunity she had to try and make the boy's life more bearable…
"Feeling any better now?" She whispered softly to him; the younger fox nodded in response…Pulling away from her side hug with a small smile spread across his rather grimy face…
"Yeah…A bit, thanks Cosmo."
"You're welcome, Miles, now…Mind telling me what you're supposed to be doing? I doubt that meathead inside is kind enough to let you get some rest." The girl replied, a playful grin plastered on her face.
Miles giggled in response, his tails beginning to wag behind him,
"Tavros wants me to weed all the vegetable patches at the moment...I've done a few, but I'm not even halfway done yet unfortunately…It's too hot and there isn't enough shade."
"Yeesh…I can see that, well…" Cosmo grabbed his hand and together they walked over to the next patch, a small wood lined crop where a small group of carrots were growing…Great patches of weeds jutting out from the softer more fertile watered soil, like green fingers clawing their way out of the ground.
Cosmo knelt down and with one quick motion, yanked out a small handful of the unwanted flora and gently placed it back down beside the crop.
"What…Are you doing Cosmo?" The fox asked with curiosity.
She turned to look back up at him and gave a sarcastic eye roll and smile,
"Uhhhhh…I'm helping? Maintaining the gardens will be much easier with an extra set of hands, especially one familiar with all thing's flora."
Miles's fur began to stand up on end and he anxiously pulled on her shoulder, the motion trying to get her to stand back up,
"Cosmo…I really don't think it's a good idea…"
"Why not? It's true! It'll be way easier to-"
"I know that but…What if we're caught? I really don't want Tavros to think I'm slacking off…He already hates me and the last thing I need is having him think I'm being la-"
"OI MILES YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING BRAT! WHY ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE?!" A loud, booming and angry voice bellowed from behind the pair…
Miles yelped with fear and turned to face the towering, muscled, black furred and absolutely fuming form…Of Tavros the bull…His skinny, small frame beginning to violently tremble with fear…Like a trapped animal staring down a starving apex predator…His eyes wide and filled with terror.
Tavros stormed over to the small boy, his black beady eyes filled with blood boiling rage and hatred for the boy…His much larger form towering over the boy like a monolith of flesh and muscle that was primed to brutalise the youngster,
"You have 5 seconds to tell me why on Gaia's green earth you aren't working…Otherwise I will tan your hide and make everyone in Thesean listen to your screams!" He snarled with rage…
Miles quivered in fear and in a high pitched and terrified voice he could only stutter out,
"Well master…I…I…Uhhhh…Well…Uhhhh.."
Tavros wasn't impressed at all,
"Thought that because I wasn't looking, you'd be able to try and slack off like the lazy disgrace you are did you?!" The bull growled, taking one stomp forward that caused the fox to jump back with alarm.
"N-N-No…I…I…"
"QUIET! I don't try and bluff your way out of this you little weasel…How dare you disobey MY orders! You are a slave you stupid brat, I OWN YOU! You better get back to work this instant…Otherwise I'll make damn sure you won't be walking for a month!"
"B-But Master…Please I-"
Miles was cut off, when Tavros gave out a furious bellow of rage, his anger exploding from him once more like a volcano bursting to life,
"SHUT UP YOU STUPID, INSOLENT TWO TAILED FREAK!" Tavros raised one massive fist, causing the small fox to grab his tails and tightly squeeze his eyes shut, awaiting the violent beating he was likely to receive at Tavros's hands…However, he then heard Cosmo speak up in a calm and formal tone ,
"Mr Tavros, attacking Miles won't be necessary. I told him to rest a moment to savour his energy."
Miles heard the heavy footfalls of Tavros, and he also could hear the bull's irritated snort as he turned to face the young girl,
"Don't you have better places to be Greenleaf? Get out of here now! It's not right for a girl to see a slave getting punished for insolence."
"Not if the slave has done anything wrong, Miles is innocent here…He was just coming over to help me with the weeds…But…I know that a brute like you would be unwilling to listen at all."
Tavros let out a malevolent growl in response, lowering his horns slightly as he growled out,
"Be careful with your words girl before I come over there and-"
"And what? Hit me? You lay a single finger on me, and my family will make sure that you will rot in a prison cell for the rest of your days…Now…I recommend you go back inside and leave us to our work…Go on…Go." Cosmo said, clearly revelling in the sarcasm and insults she was belting out to the horrible bull.
Tavros let out an irritated snarl in response…His gaze turning back to Miles,
"Fine…But I warn you boy…One toe out of line and I will skin you alive…So get to work…NOW!" he growled before stomping back inside his home…Leaving Miles's quivering form alone with Cosmo…
The fox let go of his tails, letting them droop to the floor while his shaking hands were brought up to cover his face…He sighed as he collapsed to his knees…That was close…Way too close…He didn't even want to imagine what would have happened had Cosmo not been there…But he imagined it would have been exceptionally painful…
The girl on the other hand rushed over to the shaking boy and pulled him into a fierce hug once again, concern once more lacing her words as she asked him,
"Are you alright?! It was horrible for him to do that!"
Miles only whimpered in response, wrapping his weak arms around her and sinking into the hug…A few tears shedding themselves from his eyes as he shuffled closer, his returned embrace squeezing the girl slightly as if she was an oversized stress ball.
It hurt a little, but Cosmo didn't mind, she knew that the fox needed someone to hold onto after what had happened, so she merely let the fox hold onto her while she tried to soothe him with calming words, encouraging him to breathe and think happy thoughts…It thankfully did pay off and within a few minutes, the smaller kid was able to calm down to a reasonable extent, his tears ad dried but…He still had a mopey and miserable attitude, his tails and ears drooping like wilting plant life,
"What's wrong now?" Cosmo asked, her sympathetic tone not dropping in the slightest.
The fox looked up at her, his blue eyes dark and filled with misery and despair and he mumbled out sadly,
"It's not fair…I don't know what I did to the gods for them to curse me with a miserable existence like this…I…I hate Tavros…I hate the pirates who murdered my family, I…I hate my life Cosmo…I want to be happy; I just want to not feel misery and pain and yet the gods won't let me…I honestly don't know why you hang out with me and do all this for me…I'm just a slave…"
Cosmo let out a sympathetic sigh, taking the fox's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze,
"Because you deserve to be happy Miles, just because you're in a rough patch, it doesn't mean there aren't people out there who don't care. I'm still here, aren't I?"
"Oh wow…One single girl…Out of countless people out there…If Tavros sells me then I'll lose you and I'll be alone again…"
A sly grin suddenly appeared on the taller girl's face,
"Why yes Tavros will be selling you soon…But you won't be losing me anytime soon."
Miles stopped his sulking momentarily to look up at her and tilt his head with curiosity, wishing to know just what on Gaia's Green earth she was talking about,
"Eh?"
Cosmo's beaming smile only widened as she began to explain,
"Well you see Miles…A new family have recently moved into the area, a decently wealthy family of hedgehogs who just so happen to share my views on slavery…So, the other day, me and father approached them and we told them of your situation and how Tavros mistreats you…They were rightfully disgusted."
Miles's ears and tails perked right back up as he leaned in, wanting to listen intently to what the girl was trying to say,
"Go on."
Cosmo beamed,
"Well, it just so happens that they have a kid a few years older than us who'd be, and I quote, "Delighted to have a little brother." All they have to do is to save up a little bit more and then you'll be outta here!"
Miles's face went white, it felt like every single cell in his body had frozen in shock, like he had just been doused in ice…Was this…Was this really happening? Was there someone out there that…wanted him? Was…was he going to have a family again, he started to hyperventilate at the thought…He didn't know what exactly to feel…So all he could do was croak out a weak,
"Do you mean..."
"Yeah…They're going to buy you off of Tavros and free you. You're going to have a family again Miles, and we'll still have each other!" Cosmo finished, a wide- and bright-eyed smile plastered across her face…
Miles then pulled her into yet another bear hug, practically jumping up and down with joy and quietly exclaiming,
"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!"
Cosmo didn't even say anything in response, merely return the hug and whisper to him,
"It's the least we could do…"
Miles didn't stop hopping up and down though, he was far too ecstatic to calm down…He had lived such a hard 6 years at the hands of the horrible bull…And had fully been expecting to live a miserable life under his horrible gaze…But this? This changed everything, he would have a family again, he would have a sense of warmth and home again…He would feel safe again…All because of the kindness of his best friend…
A funny feeling built up in his chest, like his heart was going to leap out of his mouth…However as it intensified…He quickly realised just what It was…I was a feeling that to him was ling thought dead and buried…But now with the sudden news…he could feel it resurfacing and returning like the sun after a cold, long and lonely winter…That feeling…was hope…
…
Hey everyone, I hoped you liked this lil oneshot of mine, thought I'd experiment a ;little and this is what I came up with. If you liked it then I may do some more AU oneshots focusing on Tails or maybe even expand on this one…Let me know what you think and what you'd prefer.
Thank you for reading 😊