"Indeed, he is a magnificent specimen." The human's voice nearby was the first thing he became aware of, his vision still dipping between haziness and the blackness he was trying to struggle out of. "Where did you find such a young, healthy one? The only ones I've heard of before have been aged and weak, or young and sickly."

"He was born in captivity." There was the Master's familiar rough voice. A cruel hand flipped him over onto his back, revealing the ring of leather and metal at his throat. "His mother was trapped up north and she birthed him, before conveniently dying a few weeks later."

"Ah." The first voice said quietly.

The creature on the floor between them cracked an eye open, trying to work out where he was and what his new situation was. Barely inches from his face, he could see one of the Master's thick-soled boots.

The amber eye scanned around the area of the room he could see. No more white walls, which was a blessing. No scientists preparing to strap him down on a table to prod and poke him with sharp tools. No stinging sterile sprays of antiseptic to wake him and leave him with crimson eyes all day.

There was also no Martha, which made him want to whimper. What would she say when she arrived at the lab and found he was no longer there?

It was duller than he was used to, another bonus in the absence of the gleaming white walls of the lab that had been his home for his whole life. Would she worry about him? Would they tell her where he was?

Smothering a groan, he tried to move his arms from behind his body, only to feel the familiar tightness of the leather cuffs. The Master had found that the thick bands of animal hide were the only thing that could bind him, locks of metal cuffs picked in a matter of seconds.

Rolling onto his side, he heard sharp gasps from above him, then the Master pinned him down with a savage hand. "You two!" The voice shouted urgently. "Get him into the cage before he wakes up!"

Two pairs of hands grabbed his upper arms, hoisting him unceremoniously off the thickly-slabbed floor, his hind limbs and tail trailing along as he was dragged across the dim room and tossed, head over heels, into a pile of prickly stuff.

Landing on his belly, he tumbled across the spiny substance, groaning as his head smacked off the stone beneath it with a hollow-sounding thump.

Behind him, he heard the ominously familiar clunk of a metal door being slid into place. A buzz and beep made his heart sink. They used keycards, like the Master. With keycards, there was no lock to pick, no escape.

Remaining slumped on his belly, his eyes closed lightly, he calmed his breathing, letting his nostrils flare to take in his surroundings without having to risk rising and being attacked by an unknown assailant.

Whatever he was lying on, it had a dry, sweet scent. Straw? Perhaps that's what it was. The strong scent of the fluids the humans splashed on their skin to stop then smelling bad made his nose prickle and his eyes water.

Then he registered something different in the air. The scent of something strange, yet uncannily familiar. The scent of a female. A single frightened, confused and angry female. A female that didn't smell human at all.

Managing to turn his head, his eyes slowly opened, taking in his surroundings. A wall was pressed against his right side, another directly opposite, maybe ten feet across the floor from him. The third wall was only marred by a small, barred window at the top, inches from the ceiling.

Outside of that window, he could only see darkness, which he assumed meant that it was night. He turned his attention elsewhere, on to the last wall.

It was, however, was made up entirely of a criss-cross of bars, the small door he assumed her had been thrown through – complete with small key-card panel – at the bottom right corner of the fence-like barrier.

So he was taken from a tank and put in a cage? That was progress.

And it wasn't too small a cage either. Around ten feet wide, by eight feet deep, an electric light gleamed on the roof just beyond the fence. The stone floor was covered in a deep, thick layer of dry, yellowish straw.

Two humans stood just beyond the railings and he recognised the taller and grimmer of the two, the Master. He was wearing his blue overalls again, his tangled brown human-fur pulled back from his face.

The other, he didn't know. Whoever he was, he was wearing material that looked like it was expensive and his fur was brushed until it was smooth. He was staring at the captive with undisguised interest.

Struggling onto his knees, the figure in the cage rocked unsteadily back and forward, trying to hold himself upright. His blood was throbbing in his ears, whatever drugs they had used on him still lingering on in his bloodstream enough to make him feel dizzy.

Pressing his blood-shot amber eyes shut for a moment, he regained his balance and blew out a shaky breath. Swallowing, despite the dry, bitter feel on his tongue, he forced himself to look around, his body stiff from being forced to travel in a crate.

His eyes adjusting to first the muted, buttery light, then his surroundings, he was astonished to see something in the far left corner of the cell that he had never seen before in his life: a small trestle bed with a sackcloth mattress.

That was the second he realised that he was not alone in the cell.

Ears and whiskers rotating forwards, his mouth opened in astonishment, his eyes widening at the sight of the figure on the rough mattress.

It was a female of his own kind!

Or, at least, he assumed that was what she was. He had never actually seen what he looked like, but for the transparent reflections he had been able to make out in the glassy doors of his pen in the labs.

Leaf-green eyes stared back at him, wide with terror. Backed into the corner of the grim cell, on her knees, her clawed hands kneaded at the mattress beneath her, her conical ears laid back against her skull, her fur bristling.

The end of her bushy tail was flicking from side to side over her shaking hands, a threatening warning to this intruder of her prison that she was liable to attack her if he dared come anywhere near her.

Staring at her in bemusement, one of the felid male's ears slipped to the side and he cocked his head, trying to work out what to make of her. In response, her lips peeled back from sharp white teeth in a snarl.

"Well...?" The rich-looking human demanded, looking accusingly at the Master. "You said he was a virile male. Why isn't he mating with her?"

The male in the cage raised a brow at that. So that was why he had been drugged, crammed into a claustrophobic wooden box and sneaked out of the illegal lab that had been his torturous home for nearly six years. They wanted to breed his kind to sell.

Well, he grinned tightly, not looking towards them, they could take that idea and shove it up under their non-existent tails. Even if he had wanted to, the little female in the corner wasn't about to let him anywhere near her without him losing some chunks of his anatomy.

Also, being shackled, drugged and left in a crate for days on end didn't exactly put him in the mood for lurve.

"He's never seen another one of his species." The Master hastily explained, clearly determined not to lose his profits. "He needs a little time to get used to knowing that there is such a thing."

"You are sure he will couple with her?"

"He's never had a female." The Master gave the other human what was meant to be a knowing smile. "Give him some time and when he's ready, he'll be on her back, before she even realises what's going on. You'll have your first litter within the year, I guarantee it."

The male in the cage started hacking violently and both humans stared at him. It was probably a hairball, they both assumed, not realising the male was trying to disguise a bout of cynical, bitter laughter.

"You're certain they won't kill each other if we leave them to it?"

The Master nodded with self-assurance. "He's lived a sheltered life. I doubt he knows what violence is." He stated, precipitating another violent coughing fit from the male felid kneeling just inside the cage.

"Very well," The rich-looking one said, scratching his chin. "Come with me and we'll sort out fees and prices." The two men withdrew from the main part of the room, the large wooden doors closing loudly behind them.

The pale light remained on, casting strange striping shadows across the floor and walls of the cage and its two silent occupants.

Turning his attention back to the female, he took the chance to study her. She was still hissing in his direction, but he ignored it in favour of examining her. She looked a little younger and smaller than him, her colouring strangely similar to his own.

More white than he was, she had stripes of the same ginger, gold and black fur, her face white and gingery-gold. While he had more black in his coat, he could see a distinct, tiger-like pattern in both of their markings.

He absently wondered if she could speak the human language. He could, after so many years of being imprisoned by them. They didn't know that, though. They assumed that he was just a dumb, stupid cat.

They never had wondered why pieces of their expensive and pain-inducing equipment inexplicably went missing or were carefully broken or disconnected from their power sources, when he was in a room near it and no one was looking.

A twinge of pain drew his attention back to his arms and he grimaced. There was one way he knew he make it more comfortable, but that involved a good deal of pain, but he didn't trust the female not to rip his throat out if he asked her to liberate him.

Closing his eyes tightly, he grimaced as he jerked his right shoulder out of the socket. Making a loose hoop with his arms, he folded his body to pull it through the loop, the pain sending fireworks of agony exploding behind his eyes.

His arms in front of him now, he swallowed hard, clicking the shoulder back into place, his teeth grinding together tightly as he tried to stem a cry of pain.

Looking up, he found the young female staring at him, her tail's wild flickering growing more frenzied. Her eyes were almost black with terror, her ears indistinguishable from her colourful shock of a mane.

She expected him to harm her.

Maybe he would have, if he hadn't been dizzy with pain. The after-effects of the drugs had often made him behave aggressively towards his captors before, but now, he was distracted by the throbbing pain in his relocated shoulder.

Giving her a weary smile, he dragged himself towards the right corner of the cell, opposite the small bed. The heap of straw there looked softer and far more inviting than the while tiles that floored his tank had, back in the lab.

His legs pulled up to his striped chest, he yawned widely, his teeth glinting. His aching arms lolling out in front of his body, he smacked his lips several times, his tail curling over his hip and thighs as he settled down to sleep.

Maybe she would kill him while he slept. Maybe he would wake to find his throat torn open. An exhausted grin crept onto his lips, when he realised that as long as he got some sleep, he just didn't care what she did.

***

"Drat!"

Metal clicked against metal. His eyes closed in disrupted sleep, the male's lip twitched. He could feel a hand holding his wrists and something prodding at the cuffs that were still locked in place around them.

"Maybe if this..." There was a clink and he felt warm breath ruffling the fur of his hand.

Slitting his eyes open, he found it was the little female. She was kneeling right beside him, his bound hands resting in her lap, one hand holding his wrist, the other picking at the small catch on the cuffs. Her head was bowed low over his hands, intent on her task.

He winced as a wire pricked into his skin, but she didn't seem to notice, combining a twist of a shard of metal between her fingertips with an upward flick of a tiny metal disc that had been positioned under the rim of the lock.

A crack sounded, then the cuffs went slack. Placing her tools aside, the female carefully lifted the clasp and opened the leather cuffs fully, sliding them over his limp hands and placing them to the side as well.

Rubbing one wrist then the other, she winced at the sight of the raw skin where the rough hide had scraped his fur away in tufts.

"Dat was very clever."

Immediately, the bushed female was crouched on the other side of the cage, staring warily across at him. "I didn't know you were awake." She panted, staring at him, then down at the cuffs she had removed.

"Oi know." He gave her a half-smile, sitting up slowly. "Oi 'ave quite a skill when it comes to pretendin' to do anyfing or nufing." He flexed aching fingers, his knuckles cracking. "Oi'm grateful for dis, d'hough."

Slats of afternoon sunlight created bright squares of light on the wall beyond the cage, the moisture on the stones reflecting some of the sparkles back at them. With that light, he could look more closely at her face and body.

She was very thin, probably through lack of food, he noted with some anger. If she had had no fur on her face, the sunken hollows of her cheeks would have been clearly visible, her eyes huge in her gaunt features.

"You're not...going to hurt me?" Her voice stirred him out of his musings.

"Me? 'Urt ya?" He chuckled softly, painfully rubbing his aching hands together to return the feeling to them. "Nah, luv. If Oi 'urt ya, Oi'd end up goin' roight back at the lab and Oi really dun want that to 'appen."

The female relaxed, releasing a sigh. "They said you were going to do nasty and painful things to me. They were talking about it...one of them said he wouldn't mind trying it, to see if I screamed like a human..." She shuddered. "You won't do that?"

"Not h'unless you h'ask me to, luv." Stretching his body, he cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. She stared at him dubiously. "Oi've 'eard dat it dun 'ave to be a bad fing, if ya do it wif the roight person." She backed away a little further. "Oh, dun worry, luv." His smile widened a fraction. "Oi ain't interested in 'avin' a mate now."

"O-oh."

He twitched his nose. "So, 'ow long you been 'ere?"

"I-I don't remember." Relaxing a little, she crawled towards him, staring at his face closely. A tentative hand rose to touch his cheeks curiously. "I can't remember anywhere different...I remember blue sky, once, but that's all."

"Blue sky? Bloimey...that sounds koinda darin'." He gave her a lop-sided grin. "All Oi evah remembah is white walls an' white roofs an' white people wif white clothes pokin' me and jaggin' me wif needles."

The female lowered her head. "They did stuff like that to me too." She whispered, her voice shaking, and the male couldn't help wondering if she had been degraded down a level further than he had. "Th-they wanted to see inside me, if I could have kittens." A shuddering sob escaped her. "I screamed and screamed, but they wouldn't stop...they said I couldn't feel anything, but I felt it all...I felt everything...it hurt so much..."

"Easy, luv, easy." Awkwardly putting his arms around her, the male felid gently drew her against his chest, stroking his fingers through her thick coat as she wept softly against the patterned fur of his chest. "They wun do nufing loike dat no more. Oi'll look after you."

"Really?" Her voice sounded small and kittenish.

"Oi promise, luv." He ruffled her mane, giving her a reassuring smile. "If dey even troi to take you anywhere, Oi'll rip d'ere knackers off and eat 'em."

"Nice thought." She said softly, stroking her hand down the stripes of his chest. He looked down at her small hand, lifting it between his own curiously. "What?" She asked, as he turned it over, looking at the pads of her palm and each of her fingertips.

"Oi ain't nevah seen someone else's before." He said, tracing a rough fingertip across the centre pad of her paw. Adding a little pressure, he watched five hooked claws slide out from beneath the nail bed, sharp and lethal-looking. "Bloimey. Dats quite a weaponry you got der."

"Don't you...?" She began to ask, but he lifted his right paw from its position over her palm and slid his own clipped claws out, the blunt stubs that were barely enough to even scratch out the tangles in his coat.

"Dey didden trust me." He chuckled bitterly. "Oi'm just lucky dey didden do the same fing to me teef. Oi wudden be able ter talk yer ear off, if dey'd done dat." He heard her laugh softly and hugged her a little closer. "Dat's the spirit, luv."

"Why do you call me that?"

"Eh?"

"Why do you call me 'luv'? What does it mean?"

The male twisted his face in thought. "You know," His face a study, one brow up, his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth in confusion. "I dun actually know what it means, but it sounds nice, dun it?" She nodded. "So what is you called then? I dun know."

"They call me the Cat here, but I had a name...I think I remember it..." He looked down at her expectantly. "Rumpleteaser."

He chuckled. "Now, ain't dat a roight foine and dandy name for a lady, luv! Rumpleteasah...it suits ya, you know." A nervous smile crept onto her lips. He spread the arm that was not around her in a mock-bow. "Mungojerrie at yer service, Milady."

"Mungojerrie and Rumpleteaser." A soft giggle escaped her, drawing a smile from the male. "We sound like we would be doing something we shouldn't be doing." He gave her a look of mock-shock, amber eyes wide and round. "Not that!" She smacked at his nose. "Jerrie!"

He grinned at the choice of nickname. "Sorry, Teasah." He nuzzled the rough pad of her palm with a chuckle. "Oi coulden resist."

"You're a pig." She giggled again, a sweet, mischievous sound.

"Nah, luv, Oi'm just a great big kitten." Rolling onto his back, he gave her what was meant to be a cute look, but it turned out looking just plain naughty. "Do you wanna rub moi belly?"

Leaping at him, her hands outstretched, she released a squeal of surprise as he caught her and tumbled her over into the heap of straw. His fingers danced nimbly across her ribs, making her shriek with laughter.

"Stoppit!"

"Wot? Dis?" He tickled her mercilessly.

"Yes! That!"

"Do dat? Alroight!"

"Jerrie! Stoppit!" She cried out breathlessly between giggles, grabbing both of his tufted ears in her fists and pulling his head down to hers. He met her green eyes, his already broad grin growing that little bit wider.

A loud clunk from outside the door made them both start from each other with fright, halting the game as they broke apart.

Rumpleteaser shot across the room like a tiger-patterned rocket, diving under the patched blankets on the small bed. Mungojerrie snatched the cuffs from the floor, cowering back into his corner, his hands concealed behind his back.

The door opened to reveal the expensively dressed human again, followed by one of the guards, carrying a large, metal pail and a deep basin. Both felids stiffened at the scent of some kind of foodstuff wafting from the containers.

While it didn't smell particularly good, there was no way it was going to be completely bad either.

Another guard entered, a long-barrelled gun held loosely in his hands. Making sure both cat-humans could see it, he loaded a couple of tranquiliser darts into it, clicking it back into position and approaching the cage to keep the felids back.

The guard with the pail approached the gate and withdrew a keycard from his pocket, sliding through the monitor. The door beeped acceptance and buzzed open. Mungojerrie would have dived forward, but the gun was aimed at him, the human's eye determinedly on him.

Pushing the pail of food and large basin through the opening, into the cell. Some water slopped over the rim of the bowl. It looked clean and didn't smell too stale.

Withdrawing his hands quickly, the guard slammed the sliding door back into place, the keycard buzzing and beeping. Stepping back, he nodded to the armed man, who lowered the tranquiliser gun and exited.

The richly-attired man lingered for several moments, watching the felines watching him. A smile crept onto his lips, then he turned and walked out of the room, closing the heavy wooden doors behind him.

"Cripes." The male dropped the cuffs, scrambling forward towards the bucket and bowl. "Oi didden expect this!" he peered into the pail, eyes widening in delight. "Luv, d'you want ta come an' 'ave a look at dis?"

Warily peering out from beneath the blanket, Rumpleteaser crawled out and towards him. "What is it?" She asked hesitantly.

Hauling a chunk of dripping, steaming meat out of the bucket, he tossed it to her, grinning, when she plucked it deftly out of the air. "Enjoy, luv! They seem ta want us to have nuff energy for doin' da matin' fing."

Coming a little closer to him, she ripped strips of juicy meat from the chunk in her hand with her teeth, the grease splashing down her chin. "They never gave me anything like this before." She said around the mouthful.

"Dun forget to chew it." Mungojerrie chuckled, as she wolfed down the whole slice of meat, her mouth stained with the juices. Reaching for another, she smiled shyly at him, their hands brushing against one another's. "Enjoyin' it?"

"Lovin' it." She replied, accepting the bowl of water from him and drinking a deep draught.

There was silence for a long while, as they ate their way through the small heap of food that seemed like a banquet to both of them. Handing the last piece of flesh to the young female, Mungojerrie smacked his lips.

"After dat," he decided, rubbing his belly. "Dere's only one fing we can do."

A frightened look crossed Rumpleteaser's face and she pulled back from him suspiciously. "Oh?"

He grinned engagingly at her. "Well, luv, Oi dun know about you, but Oi'm stuffed and Oi want to 'ave a birrova kip." Standing up, he stretched arms and legs, yawning widely. "Moind if I nick the bed for a bit?"

"Th-that's fine." Timidly ducking her head, she tried to smile.

"If ya want to join me, Oi dun mind." He added, wandering over to the small trestle that was stretched along the back wall of their cell. Settling on it, he tested the surface, before lying down on his side. "Ow about it, luv? Fancy 'avin' a noice stroipey piller?"

"Piller?" She raised her head from the bowl of water.

"Yeah. You know dem fings yer meant to put yer 'ead on?"

Grinning faintly, the young female sluiced some of the lingering grease from the fur of her chin, then lowered the basin. "You don't mind sharing?"

"Luv, it's a bed. Oi ain't nevah had one before." He patted the mattress and gave her a warm smile as she crossed the floor, picking up one of the blankets as she approached. "Make yerself comfy and jus' kick me if Oi take up too much room."

Hesitantly sitting down on the edge of the mattress, she lay down alongside him, laying her head on his outstretched right arm, his back pressed against the chilly stone of the wall.

The late afternoon chill permeated the cell and a whistle of wind shrilled through the barred window making her shiver and she pressed back against the striped male's body, his own form curving around hers comfortably.

Pulling the blanket over their bodies, she felt his left arm wrap warmly around her waist, his face burrowing snugly into the curve of her shoulder and her neck. Then, to her surprise, she felt a purr rattle through her chest.

Stroking her fingers down his furry forearm, she wound her fingers between his, turning her head to nuzzle at his cheek. "Jerrie," He grunted an acknowledgement. "Is it normal for me to make this kind of sound?"

"Oi dunno, luv." He murmured, lifting his face and butting his nose lightly against hers. "But Oi'm not about ta complain." He gave a grin and quick peck on the lips, before letting his face sink down to the warm hollow of her neck again.

It was then that she felt his thrumming purr echoing her own.

With a small smile, she snuggled comfortably against his chest, pulling the rough, patched and frayed blankets around them both. His muscular tail curved over his hip and possessively around Rumpleteaser's thigh.

"Night Jerrie." She murmured.

She felt a playful little nip at her throat and smiled again. "Noight, Teasah." He replied softly, both of them falling asleep quickly as night set in.