The Boy and the Cat(TrueFudanshi and jdvore)

[TrueFudanshi]

A burning castle. The cries of the innocent. The air is filled with the sounds of conquest and destruction as the once mighty Silvayne kingdom falls to the Dominus Empire. Dominus struck out of nowhere, catching the peaceful nation off guard and conquering it before they could muster any real defense. The Empire completely took over Silvayne, and to squash any feelings of revolution, Dominus executed every member of Silvayne's royal family. However, not every member of the family was slain. In particular, a mysterious shadow jumped from branch to branch of the trees heading away from Silvayne's castle into a nearby border forest. This figure was actually the prince of Valta, a kingdom of nekos and one of Silvayne's allies. He had managed to get word of the attack on Silvayne ahead of time, but was unable to stop it. The best he could do was save the life of Silvayne's young 16 year old prince, who the 18 year old prince was close friends with. So the neko jumped from branch to branch, cradling the unconscious prince in his arms, not stopping until he was certain that they weren't being followed.

Once he had reached a lake town about a day away from Castle Silvayne, he immediately headed towards the tavern. Once there, he spoke a secret password to the tavern owner, who directed him to a hidden back room. On top of being Valta's prince, the 18 year old neko was a high ranking member of Valta's network of spies, and as such had eyes and ears all across the continent. He had brought the young prince to a hidden safe house that they could stay at until the neko could gather more information. As he lied the young prince down on one of the beds in the safe house, he waited for the human to wake up.

[jdvore]

The 16 year old wouldn't be unconscious for much longer. After a bit of time had passed, the human began to stir. He groaned lightly before his eyes would gently begin to flutter open. He wasn't really very aware of what was happening currently, but he could see the shape of a dirty blond haired catboy that he knew very well, and he reached out a hand towards it, only to feel the warmth of this figure's hand gently wrap around his own.

"Max...? Is that you...?"

The young prince slowly woke up, letting his eyes readjust to the dim light and unfamiliar room.

"Where am I...?"

After a moment more of waking up, the human's eyes went wide as he remembered what had happened?

"Silvayne! My family!"

Max shook his head sadly here, his ears lowering here a bit in shame. The human stared at him for a moment before his expression changed to a devastated one, and he lightly brought his knees up to his chest before burying his head in them and beginning to cry, shaking as he basically curled into a ball.

[TrueFudanshi]

Max saw the human curl up into a ball and break down, and it broke his heart. As the young prince continued to sob, the neko walked over to him and lightly wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, letting him cry into his chest. "I'm so sorry Erin... I'm sorry that I wasn't able to do anything to stop this from happening..." He continued to hold Erin like this, even after the smaller boy had stopped crying. Max was very protective of Erin and felt guilty that he couldn't do more to stop this from happening, even though he had done more than enough in saving the young prince's life.

[jdvore]

Erin didn't speak for a moment as he was held by his friend, just still trying to process everything that had happened. Once he had calmed down enough, he spoke again, his eyes still showing great sadness, but also gratitude. "You have nothing to apologize for Max. There isn't much that can be done when a kingdom the size of the Dominus Empire just attacks out of nowhere like that. And besides, you saved my life, didn't you? I can't thank you enough for that." Erin was still devastated, but he managed a smile here, and stretched a little as he began to take a look around. "So where are we?" Erin tried to get up in order to take a better look around, but he immediately ended up doubling over, a sharp pain shooting through his body.

[TrueFudanshi]

Max immediately caught Erin as he double over, lying him back down on the bed. "Don't push yourself Erin. I don't know if you remember, but when I found you, you were being attacked by one of Dominus's soldiers. I had to kill him to save you and I got you out, but you're still in pretty bad shape." With that, Max opened up his satchel and pulled out a small jar. "I know that this will sound very forward, but will you remove your cloak, shirt, and pants? I need to treat your wounds so that they don't get infected, and we need to give you time to recover before we start traveling again."

[jdvore]

Erin listened to Max talk, and he slowly nodded, also beginning to remember what happened to him. He was in his room when the attack happened, but when it did, he immediately used the secret passage to try and make his way through the castle's network of passageways to reach his father's study. However, he got caught when he tried to move from one secret passage to another, and the soldier that had caught him attacked him. Either fortunately or unfortunately for Erin, the soldier didn't immediately kill him and instead began to beat him up. Erin probably would have been killed slowly if not for Max coming out of the other secret passage and quickly killing the guard, though Erin had been knocked unconscious here. Either way, Erin heard Max's request and reasoning, and he nodded here before he began to undo his clothing. Max helped him undress so that he didn't have to get up. Soon enough, Erin was just in his undergarments, and that was when he noticed that his body was covered in cuts and bruises, which would explain why he was in so much pain.

[TrueFudanshi]

Max quickly went to work on Erin's injuries, applying salve to his cuts and wrapping them up, while also using some ice magic to get ice for icepacks for Erin's bruises. "I'm sorry that I don't know any healing magic. This is the best I can do for now, but it's better than just leaving your wounds as is." After a bit of time, Erin's body was covered in bandages, and he had a few ice packs on different spots of the human's body. While his bruises were being numbed, Max used some fire magic to create a wave of heat in order to warm a basin full of water, which was being added to small waterproof sacks in order to apply warmth to Erin's bruises and soothe them. Max had also made Erin take some medicine in order to soothe his injuries and let him sleep. Once the human was asleep, the neko swapped out the ice packs for the packs of warm water. After this, Max did one more check to make sure that Erin was okay before he got up and left the room, making sure to lock the door so that no one could get in, and left to collect supplies that they would need for their trip, and food for when Erin woke up.

[jdvore]

Erin would remain asleep for quite a while, the medicine given to him by Max allowing him to sleep through the pain he was in at the time. Erin awoke to the sound of a door opening, and when he looked to see who it was, a wave of relief went through his mind and heart when he saw the same familiar blonde cat ears that he had grown so used to seeing over the years. Max had returned from his supply run, and had quite a few different things with him. There were two packs full of travel gear and food that didn't spoil for while they were traveling, some food for now, which made Erin a bit excited, and also a set of travel clothes similar to what Max was wearing. "Are those clothes for me...?"

[TrueFudanshi]

"Yeah. We're mostly going to stick to not obvious roads, but the clothes you have on now are a bit too regal for travel and would give you away easily. I got you some less conspicuous gear, something that doesn't scream 'I"m royalty.'" As Max spoke he removed the warm water packs so Erin could get up and sat him up against the head board of the bed, handing him a sandwich with meat, cheese, and veggies that Erin liked. "It's probably been a while since you last ate. It isn't the best food I've ever made, but it should be good. I know how much you like bell peppers." Max also handed Erin a cup full of fruit juice, a treat that they wouldn't get to enjoy very often, and he began to eat his own food as well. "You're gonna need about one or two more days of rest before we start making our way to Silvayne's border with Valta. I might need to pop out every now and again to gather intel and check reports from my agents, but for the most part I'll be able to keep you company while you recover."

[jdvore]

Erin listened to Max talk as he ate, half focusing on the neko while half enjoying the sandwich he was given, since like Max said, it had been some time since Erin ate anything, and he was more than happy to get a treat like bell peppers in a sandwich. "All right, I understand. Also, thank you Max. Being cooped up alone in here for the entire recovery period would have made me go stir crazy." Erin smiled here as he continued to eat, enjoying the simple comfort of being able to eat in peace with a beloved friend, and the last person that he had in the world.

The two of them continued to hide out at the inn for another two days, Erin spending most of it either asleep or talking with Max about the current state of affairs, or reminiscing about happier times before Dominus's attack. Once two days had come and gone, Erin was well enough to move again, and both he and Max knew that they needed to get moving. So in the early morning of the third day before sunrise, Max and Erin left the inn and departed into the forest, Erin wearing a hooded travel cloak similar to Max's in order to hide his identity. The two of them were following a hidden road used by Valta's spies exclusively since only they knew about it. It became too dangerous to use the main roads since Dominus soldiers were constantly patrolling them, keeping any spark of resistance against Dominus snuffed out, while also looking for Erin, who Dominus considered a huge threat to their conquest of Silvayne.

[TrueFudanshi]

Max led Erin along this path for the entire morning, surprised that the human didn't ask for them to stop for breaks at all. At around noon, they reached a hidden lake in the forest that was hidden by tree cover. "We've made really good time. I wasn't expecting us to get this far by noon. How about we stop here for a break and have lunch? This lake is actually magically enchanted, so bathing in it restores stamina." As Max spoke, he put down his pack and watched as Erin did so as well before he began to pull out some ingredients that could work together for a stew. He set up a fire pit and began to get their lunch cooking.

[jdvore]

While Max was working on making lunch, Erin had set his pack down and removed his sandals and foot wraps before dipping his feet into the water, giving a light sigh as he looked out over the lake and the huge flat leaf trees growing out of the water, providing plenty of shade between some spots of sunlight. "I'm surprised that a lake this beautiful hasn't been discovered yet." Erin sighed lightly as the cool water lapped at his ankles, soothing his sore feet as they rested from their trek from the village, and he was soon joined by Max, who was letting their stew simmer on a flame that he had enchanted to stay low.

[TrueFudanshi]

"Well, no one ever comes to this part of the forest. We're actually farther inside than people ever want to come, and the magical enchantment on this lake makes animals avoid it and drink water from the parts of the river that either feed into the lake or flow out of the lake. Kind of makes it perfect as a rest spot for our agents. Also, the area around this lake always stays this balanced temperature year round, so this lake isn't frozen over in the winter." As Max spoke, he began to remove his clothing, continuing to talk to Erin as he did so. "But I think I've talked enough about the lake. It would be better for you to experience it." Soon, the neko was completely naked, and he moved further into the lake, getting up to his abdomen before turning back to the human, waiting for him to join the neko.

[jdvore]

Erin blushed as he saw Max strip down, but he really felt like he could do with washing up right now, and the water felt heavenly against his feet, so he reluctantly began to strip down to nothing before joining the neko in the water, sighing happily as more of his body slipped into the cool liquid. Erin was shorter than Max was, so what was abdomen deep for the neko was chest deep for the human. Once he was caught up, he let himself float on top of the surface, a look of bliss on his face. "This feels like heaven right now..."

[TrueFudanshi]

"Well we have been on the road all morning, and we did get a lot farther than one would normally get. It isn't surprising that you're tired." Max swam around lightly around Erin as the human floated on the surface of the water, enjoying how the water felt on his skin, and he could feel himself regaining his energy. As he swam around Erin, he couldn't help but blush lightly as he got to look at the human's body, and Erin certainly did have quite the body to look at. He was lithe, almost to a feminine extent, though he did have some muscle tone, and he definitely had child bearing hips. This was a stark contrast to Max's body, which was lithe as well, though he was definitely toned and quite athletic, as one would expect him to be.

[jdvore]

Erin caught Max looking at his body with a blush on his face every now and again, and this made the human blush as well, though he didn't get out of the water yet, as he also caught glimpses of the neko's body, which was quite attractive as well. Erin had known Max his whole life since their kingdoms were incredibly close allies, but he had never seen the neko shirtless until now, let alone fully naked like this, and he knows that Max had yet to see him naked either. Erin couldn't place it, but he felt something new for Max, and Max felt something new for him as well.

Putting these feelings aside for now, the two of them concluded their dip in the lake and had lunch before resuming their journey. The path was long, but it seemed to just pass by them so quickly. They continued to make good time, the enchantment of the lake giving the pair incredible stamina. As the sky began to turn orange with the setting sun, they had managed to reach the border between Silvayne and Valta. However, there was a problem. Dominus soldiers were at the border gate and all along the border of Valta and Silvayne. What's more, they were stopping travelers, even with passports, to examine them. One of Max's agents approached them and told them that the guards were stopping anyone with hetero-chromatic eyes to try and find Erin, who had unmistakable herero-chromatic ruby and emerald eyes. This made Erin incredibly nervous, as he had no way to hide his eye color. "How are we going to get through unseen...?"

[TrueFudanshi]

Max thought about this for a second, but something did come to mind. "What if we tricked the guards into thinking I'm a pregnant animal?" The agent turned to Max for a moment, wondering what he meant, and Max turned to him here, needing his help. "Here's how it will work." With that, Max began to strip down to nothing again, but once he was out of his clothing, he began to focus, and a magical aura began to cloak him, and after a moment, he began to change shape, going down onto all fours and his body growing more and more cat like until he had turned into a large mountain lion. However, he could still talk. "I'll swallow Erin whole in my human form, then transform with him in my body. That'll make me take on the appearance of a pregnant mountain lion. Then, when we're ready, you'll slip the collar in my bag onto me..." Max looked around for a bit before he saw a cage on the agent's wagon and turned to it. "...and lock me in that cage. Then, you can show them my royal seal and we pretend that I'm a pet to my brother, and being taken back to Valta to have my children." The agent listened and nodded along, understanding the prince's plan. "I can see how that will work." After hearing this, Max began to focus again, returning to his human form and turning to Erin. "I'm sorry that I can't think of anything else, but this way the guards won't get near you. Could I ask you to strip down? I promise I won't hurt you."

[jdvore]

Erin heard Max talking and needless to say, he wasn't too comfortable with getting eaten. However, Erin acknowledged that they don't have any other options, and Max was someone he trusted heavily, so he knew that the neko wouldn't hurt him. "Well... You've gotten us this far... And if we get past this border, this journey will get a lot easier..." Erin gave a light sigh here before he slowly began to strip down, making sure that no one was looking at them. "All right... Just please don't digest me..." Soon enough, Erin was completely nude again, and the agent had turned away, not only to make the younger prince more comfortable, but to make sure that they weren't being seen.

[TrueFudanshi]

Max blushed as he saw Erin strip down for him, but he smiled here and gave the younger prince a light kiss on the forehead. "Of course not. You mean too much to me for me to do that. Just relax and hold still." Erin closed his eyes as Max said this, and after a bit, the neko opened up his mouth wide before gently stuffing the human's head into his mouth. After this, he started to lift Erin up gently as he began to swallow, pulling the human's chest into his mouth. Max wanted nothing more than to enjoy this, but he knew that they didn't have a lot of time, so he worked fast, swallowing down Erin at a decent pace, and tilting his head up when it was just Erin's legs that were outside. Soon enough, Max had sealed Erin's feet behind his lips before swallowing one more time, sending the human completely into the neko's stomach, which ballooned out largely and roundly in order to make room for its guest. Max sighed lightly here before he gently rubbed his bloated belly. "Are you okay in there Erin?"

[jdvore]

Erin was quite dumbstruck. He knew that people devouring each other like this was not uncommon, but he still found it weird at how Max could do it so easily. Either way, Erin couldn't deny that it felt rather good, Max's body hugging his own from all around him, and once he was made to curl up in the neko's belly, he immediately noted that it was rather comfortable inside of Max. He felt the rubbing from the outside, and he heard Max talking, so he tried talking again to see if he could be heard. "Yeah, I'm all right... It's actually pretty comfortable in here..."