(Gasp! A delightful and warming twist Hollowcore)
Here's one for Dedicate:
—Thump…thump…thump…
Every step shook the floorboards. Sliding doors trembled in their tracks. The modest manor he had so kindly been set inside quivered as the wooden bones within waned and groaned.
“Kitty—Kitty, come little kitty. Why not you here? I want pet pretty fur,” the voice called with childish delight, every word particular and slow, the tone like wet flesh scraping gravel.
Jiro huddled tighter in the dark. Hanging robes draped over his fur as the muffled words of the beast beyond the closet spoke. His cadence made it hard to think the wretched thing had not learned to speak that very day.
“I have paper little kitty. You mine now. Come out, I show you new home. Have special place. Mmm… make me hungry looking for kitty. Kitty taste good, but lots of fur… You come now, have paper!”
The gray feline, petite as he was and a runt to the rest, winced once more.
That was it. His life reduced to a crumpled yellow scroll he had signed at the age of five. To dedicate not years, but near two decades to constant study, only to be bought and sold like a toy to some terrible monster. Sold by his own father.
This was not meant to be.
Jiro was to be a scholar. One of the greats, a magnificent philosopher pondering the many meanings of life. Languishing in the halls of academia at all hours, toiling in the sunbaked libraries in the heights of summer… no minute spared nor day of break allowed. Every waking moment was dedicated for the test that would come next.
Little else mattered, but perfection. His father accepted nothing less. Only here and now did the fool realize, it was never to make him better. Merely so he might be more appealing to the right bidder.
Jiro clenched his teeth. He scowled, his brow aching his head at the effort. Another thud. The feline jerked and jumped. Folded robes fell from above, padding him in colorful silks and smooth bedding.
His heart raced faster and faster—was the house collapsing!?
Shivering, he huddled tighter on the floor, squeezing his arms around his legs. No more could he hide his breath or calm his aching heart, the sounds of both loud in his ears. The beast beyond would surely hear.
Slowly the thumping began to fade. Still the wooden floor quaked, trembling beneath the tremendous weight of a half-ton beast lurking the paper-thin halls, but now it grew quiet the further away it went.
Now was his chance—he had to take it.
Panting all the same he rose from his place, throwing off the clothes across the closet. With an ear to the door, he waited. There was nothing, at least not near. Somewhere beyond the walls his father cried and begged for mercy, cursing Jiro’s name and promising many gifts to the other beastly things hunting him down.
He cracked the door. Only a peak. The room beyond was bright, the papery walls letting through the light of a vibrant evening sun just above the pines surrounding the manor. Furniture sat crushed and cast aside. Tables and desks were splintered into pieces. The sliding door to the hall had been ripped from its tracks, the frames snapped like twigs.
“You get us new one, runt!” An ogre barked from outside.
“Yes—yes sir, I promise, you can take him too and do what you wish when you find him! Mix him into a stew if you like! I—I heard our feline bones are… are good luck to some! This is a violation of his contract, I assure you. No excuses, this is entirely my fault!”
The words tugged at his chest. A momentary lapse, but he shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts, turning his gaze back to the hall.
Now or never. He only need make it outside. Ogres were big, fat, corpulent giants that lumbered as they walked. Once in the forest, he would be safe. They would give chase, but he would be faster, more agile among the many trees.
Running to and frow from class to class for fear of being late was a skill he had honed since he was a child. Now it was needed more than ever.
Confidence renewed he flung the closet door wide. The air rushed through his hair as he scurried for the shattered hall. His paws gently smacked the wooden floor with a frantic meek thump.
“Caught you!”
“Gah!” Jiro cried.
A giant paw grabbed him from behind.
“Bah ha ha!” the ogre bellowed, his tremendous belly bouncing with every breath. The dog stood ten times his height and one hundred more his weight! His short tail curled like a crescent moon. His limbs rippled with muscle, each thick as a tree. Their fur shined a sandy brown and a soft white.
Like savages they were shirtless to display their corpulent midriff. Only sheets of thick colorful cloth, and polished leathers tied with wide ropes wrapped around their waist to keep them in modest taste. This one wore puffy leather gloves and some fur pelt over his shoulders.
“See kitty? Aren’t Junji smart?” the ogre beamed with pride, pointed ears fixed forward and tail wagging. His mouth hung open in a wide smile while his tongue lolled to one side. He lift Jiro higher, face to face with his terrible jaws and dark yellowing teeth. The beast’s spittle and humid breath flecked across the feline’s fur as he spoke.
“Junji pretend he walk away… and speak lower until he stop. Then he wait quiet. Junji is smartest dog, yes?”
Jiro winced, cowering still with his eyes shut tight. With a whimper he continued to tremble. Quickly he nodded in agreement to placate the beast. Still he tensed, waiting for the moment the monster would snap his bones with a single paw or tear his arm away with his teeth.
“Then… cat think Junji good to teach?” the canine inquired, hopeful with gleaming eyes.
Jiro opened an eye to look back at the giant. The white brows over his eyes quirked upward in hope. His ears sagged, fearing the wrong answer.
“You… want to be a te—teacher?” Jiro’s words came with caution.
“Oh, Junji not that smart,” the giant shied. “They say cat be teacher. Cat think Junji smart to teach?”
Slowly Jiro uncurled in the ogre’s grip, both eyes opened wide as his nerves went still. “Well—Yes? I suppose, well I mean of course. Anyone can be taught. It just… takes the right attitude… I guess.”
The wide smile returned, tugging from ear to ear across the dog’s muzzle while his tail swayed rapidly behind his enormous form.
“Then Junji be best student! He never disappoints teacher! He always on time, and do everything he say. Be most dedicated student ever! Promise, if teacher make Junji smarter.”
“Well—sure,” Jiro’s own lips erupted with a smile as the fear melted away. “I can be your teacher. I would love to! Is that really all you want? Is that why you bought my contract?”
He nodded quickly, still holding Jiro in the most undignified way. “Father say it be a good smart idea. He and mother idea, but Junji like it too.”
“Oh—Oh my goodness. That is… not what I expected!” Jiro laughed, letting his body go limp while the aches of tension faded. “I’m terribly sorry, I’m such a fool. I’m an academic… I should know better. I’ve only heard terrible stories of ogres. Truth be told, I thought you wanted to eat me!”
Jiro chuckled nervously, ashamed by his claim. Junji offered his own boisterous bellow, accidentally shaking the feline as he did.
“Oh! No thank you, Junji already eat cat today," the ogre replied, patting his belly. "But new teacher not worry, Junji try not to break like last teacher. I make sure sister not try to steal you. Cat last much longer this time!”
Next Prompt: Intelligence
