"Bai Yu... Bai Yu... my pretty little jade.... wake up.... a brand new day is waiting...."

Her voice was starting to fade away. He couldn't remember as much as he could before, but those words were still vivid in his dreams. Every morning she would whisper that into his ear. A giggle... a wisp of warm breath against his ear and the fragrance of incense and fur filling his nose. It was all so clear to him until he would open his eyes every morning, hoping to see her face.

"Mother...."

The name whispered from his lips before he could catch it and he could hear light snickering in the corner of his dark room.

"Ohhhh.... Maazaaar.... ohhh... I miss zooo..... ohhh.... maazaar..... ohhhh." The owl perched on his large dresser moaned out sarcastically and giggled at the man laying in his bed. The bird's beak did not move as he spoke, and resonated in the room like a thought in one's own mind. "Ohhh.... Bai Yuuu..... ohh... how you thrashed.... oh oh! It was quite funny. Crying out your mother's name! It was a riot!! OH! OH!!!" The Owl screeched and flapped its wings with glee, wafting them in the air and letting the brown molting feathers fall off. "Oh, tortured Bai Yu, Oh, poor little Bai Yu, OH-!"

Before the bird could finish another malicious comment Bai Yu took his pillow in hand and chucked it at the owl as hard as he could. Out of shock and fright the bird took flight and soared through the room, looking down at the, obviously, agitated man.

"Shut that beak of yours, or I will cut it off." He snarled out as he ran his fingers through his hair to move they away from his serious glaring eyes. "Go back to where you belong! I did not give you permission to look into my dreams and memories!"

This was a regular occurrence these days ever since he had gotten that owl. The cursed thing would always convinced one of the larger and smarter birds into unhinging the cage and letting the owl out, just so he could slip into his master's room and taunt him in his dreams. It creature meant for good... to give peaceful dreams and retelling them, but this one had a very poor attitude.

Bai Yu sighed and finally raised up from his bed and changed into a loose summer yukata. It was nearing the end of spring and the rain was pouring behind his covered windows. He could hear it beating against his tile roof. He paused for a moment, thinking about the rain before he smiled and remember.

"That's right, I'm getting that shipment today... the Pesantas, Nekomata, Bakeneko, and two species of Pi Yao." Bai Yu smiled and bit his lip in anticipation, he was very excited... very excited.

For those who didn't know, the reason for Bai Yu's excitement lied within the what these creatures were. Yes they were felines, but not any ordinary cats... no these cats were very special.

Pesantas were generally dogs, but he got his hands on some information that led him towards a huge black feline with steel claws. It was the eyes that captured him the most. Those vicious red eyes of a demon. This cat was prone to crawling on their master and suffocating them and if not to choke off breath then to give horrid nightmares that would haunt any soul.

Nekomata and Bakeneko were cats from Japan. They are the most ordinary looking cat with strange personalities. Nekomata were known for their split tails. Bakeneko had the same strange powers as foxes and raccoon dogs such as shape-shifting. He enjoyed watching these cats stand on their hind legs and walking around and talking like they were humans. Once in his life he found an entire village of these cats with their own culture and clothing. It was fascinating.

Now then the one he was most anxious to meet were the Pixiu (or Pi Yao). They looked like winged lions. The ones he was receiving were only cubs. Good for fortune and luck. These were hard creatures to find, but he was actually able to find a one horn, Pi Ya, for those suffering from bad luck and a two horn, Tian Lu, to keep the wealth in the household from disappearing and flowing away. These were beautiful creatures with silver grey fur, perhaps developed because of their appetite for silver and gold, and long strong fangs.

They should have already arrived, meaning that his 'dogs' should have already made a home for these creatures. He walked down the long hall way, filled with a looming fog of incense, and found his pets standing before a new red door. The human looking men stood tall and silent. Their eyes were sharp as daggers, a reason that Bai Yu had chosen them. These were his loyal dogs. One was a german shepherd, trained by Germany's specialty armed forces, that he had saved from being euthanized for a bullet wound from chasing a criminal. The other was a doberman he had received as a puppy and trained by Bai Yu himself.

"Good boys." He said, petting the two dogs on the head and then entering the room. Inside it was dark, to keep the animals from being jittery from the move, and filled with pillows and couches for their comfort.

The special shipment was transported in animal safe boxes and they were pretty comfortable as well. However, there was a small mistake made while organizing the order.

A small ordinary neko had been added to the order accidentally. The creature was very young and didn't look like the others, the boy looked more like a human being than a cat like pet.
The two black ears peaked out from the red short hair. As his hurt tail was curled around his body. A pity, thats what people would say when they saw this cat.

Since they were still on the truck he just sat in the back of his cage. He had been scratched and bitten by the others at the warehouse where they were shipped from.

His blood stained white shirt and cut off jeans clung to his pale and bruised skin. As the truck came to a stop he looked up and crawled further back, not wanting to be treated that roughly anymore.

his once so beautiful sharp nails were clipped and his cat ear was tagged. It had hurt so much and all had happened when he was a little kitten. The doors remained shut however.

The two men that were responsible for the transport got to the front door of the petshop, ringing the bell a few times.

Bai Yu smiled when he heard the front door bell ring and with a wave of his hand he sent his dogs to do his bidding. Their rough paws scraped against the marble tiled floor. When they reached the door they looked at the men and nodded them away with a glare. "We'll be taking these now." The two spoke in unison, both low and rough and almost seemed like they were one voice.

The cats in the crates hissed and snarled at the smell of canines. They whispered to one another about how foul this place was, but to the ears of the transporters it was nothing but animalistic mews and hisses.

It took a few trips to carry the cats back to their room. The Pesanta took both muscled dogs to carry, while the nekomata, bakeneko, Pi Yao, were carried in stacked high on top of each other balanced on one another with the canines masked as men carried them, even the unwanted cat was carried in.

Bai Yu smiled as he watched crate after crate being carried in but as he counted he realized that something wasn't right. One... two... three... four... five... six.... wait... Six? That wasn't right. That was one too many animals.

He started opening the traveling boxes one after another to expose the creature within. The Pesanta wasn't too happy about being locked away as it was and charged at Bai Yu, but of course his loyal dogs protected him, growling and barking louder than the Pesanta... thus it retreated into the dark corner. He'd have to console that cat later. Then the Pi Yao, and then the japanese mythical cats. The last one puzzled him.

He opened the crate and peered inside, both his knees tucked up under his chin and his head tilted curiously to the side. "And who exactly are you?"

The hisses and barks had scared him so much that he had crawled all the way back, hiding his face in his knees, his ears scared folded back.

When his crate was opened he folded his arms over his head so that part was protected.
"P-please...d-don't hurt me...." he mewled softly in near tears of panic.

When he finally noticed that the man didn't want to hurt him he looked up, his eyes big and scared. "I-I'm Jack..." he whispered as he looked at the human being.
Slowly he took his tail and held it to his chest.

Bai Yu smiled softly, though it might have been dark he knew that these cats could see him perfectly. He extended a hand, making sure that it stayed low to the ground, and he did not look direct at the poor kitten. He knew a lot about felines, and similar to some cultures in the world a hand above their head was a sign of aggression and so was a direct stare from a stranger and Bai Yu didn't want to be thought of as such.

He made a soft clicking sound with his tongue trying to coax the kitten forward. The poor thing looked mangled compared to the majestic state his rare animals were kept in. The Pi Yao cubs came and stood beside his knees, their large paws scratching at the cotton cloth that covered him.

"Not to worry, no one here will harm you under my care.... Jack?" He raised his voice to confirm that he had caught the name right. What an ordinary name as well. This feline was nothing but a run of the mill cat, but then again he was still a animal that needed Bai Yu's help. At least here he'd be taken care of and loved by Bai Yu instead of living without anything.

He made the clicking sound again and tapped his finger against the bottom of the crate. "C'mon Jack, my name is Bai Yu Chen, and you will live under by me for now on." He paused for a second and looked around the room. In a few weeks time the Pi Yao would grow as large as the Pesanta... perhaps it was a bad idea to leave a cat with no powers in a room like this. "Come, I'll take you somewhere you'll feel safer, ok?"

The cat noticed the hand and reached for it, only to pull his hand back scared and took hold of his tail again.
The man appeared to know what everything meant and he started to trust him a bit more.

The clicking sound was really sweet and gentle. At least that's what he thought of it. The Pi Yao scared him. However seeing the mans nice face caught him a bit off guard.

When the other spoke he looked at him, nodding slightly that Bai Yu had his name right. Slowly he moved towards him, being very very careful. When he got from the crate to the human he stayed as small as possible, telling the other animals that he meant no harm and that he was defenseless.

Then a sound startled him and Jack leaped into the mans arms, scared he hid his face in his neck as his hands clawed into the soft fabric. "don't let them hurt me..." he whined in a soft mew. His tail looked like one of a street cat, one that had been broken a few times.

The Pesanta opened her mouth, wide dark fangs shined as if they were begging for some nice a small to gnaw on. "Tsk, what a pitiful thing you are!! A cat should always stay strong and face what if before them, not cower in fear and hide under the protection of someone else."

The Pesanta had a very strong voice, a proud one at that. She grimaced in disgust at the cat that had been scared by a simple sound like that. The Nekomata mew and purred as she found a comfortable place on the couch. "Leave the thing alone. It's nothing special."

The Bakeneko just laughed his pretty litle head off at the sight. He sat on the end of the couch like a human would and leaned forward so that his front paws were hanging between his knees. "Nothing is right. He's dirty and ugly too! HA HA HEE!"

Bai Yu didn't seem to change his composure and simply placed his hand on the back of Jack's head, his fingers lacing in the animal's hair and gently rubbing at his scalp. "Don't mind them, they are only teasing."

At the word the nekomata perked her ears and shifted into a human form of a lewd woman. "Tease? Did you say tease? I can do that."

Bai Yu stood up slowly, his arm around the broken soul called Jack's waist before reaching over and running his fingers through the nekomata's hair. "Not now my dear, not now. just be comfortable and I'll send food your way soon."

She whined and nodded her head. Bai Yu pushed gently on Jack's back to move him forward towards the door that they had come in. Now where to put this cat? He coudln't put them with the dogs... and the other common cats were sure to tear apart a soul like this... He sighed and decided to think of it later. "Come, are you hungry?"

That scared him even more and looked at the other cat. He was about to say something but shut up. He looked down to his sore tail that he held close to his chest. His beautiful light blue eyes with cat like pupils looked at the others that were in the room.

Hearing all those mean things got him more upset than he already was. His ears fell sadly down and he seemed as if he was about to cry.
When the soft fingers touched his scalp he started to feel better. It had been a long time since anyone did that to him.

When he got up he didn't change positions and just hid his poor face in the mans neck and shoulder. Slowly he walked to the door and shook his head. "I-i can't ask you to feed me..." he whispered modest.
His tail still in his soft human hands. His slender body moved beside the man carefully, making sure he was walking in front of him.

The cats were only being honest to who they were. They had been always special, always a different from the common house hold cat. It was only natural for them to think that they were different, special.

"I'm not giving you a choice in the matter." He said frankly as he placed his hands on the boy's shoulders and gave them a gentle soothing squeeze. "I can't have a sick emaciated cat on my hands or conscious, do you understand. Please eat or I'll feel horrible and won't smile anymore." He smiled at the cat, bringing the human back body to lean against his chest for a moment as he looked down at the boy. "And you want me to be able to smile right?"

He knew that treating these broken animals like a child often worked, especially with the ones that wanted help like this one. He leaned down and kissed the cat on top of the head and lead him down the hall. "Don't worry I bought you meaning I get to take care of you, right?"

The worn out cat like creature looked at him and looked down at his bare feet. He felt bad that he had made feel the man bad. BLushing he nodded to him and looked up. "I-I'll eat...if that makes Master happy." he whispered as he looked at him.

When he was pulled in closely he blushed deeper and nodded. "Master needs to be happy..." he whispered as he looked at him.

When he was kissed he froze over. He did walk with him though, however the kiss had really startled him. "b-but..." he stuttered.

[ok, now I think I need to head to bed, but I will post for you ^^]

Bai Yu was rather please with himself. The reaction that he had coaxed out of the kitten was nothing but adorable. He smiled and led the cat into the front of the store which looked like a victorian tea room. There were a few docile creature roaming around. A bird twittered on it's perch hanging from the ceiling and a spotted lynx was waving it's tail off the edge of the couch. Other animals, snakes and fish, were littered around, but the place looked nothing like a petshop should.

"Make yourself comfortable." He gestured to the armchairs next to the round glass coffee table. He snapped his fingers once and immediately his loyal dogs were at his side. "Bring us some tea and milk. And perhaps some nice salmon, would you boys?"

The two men nodded and went off their separate ways before returning a few minute later with golden trays. The teapot was a rich green fringed with gold as was the cups while the pink salmon was steaming with heat. The smell wafting from the food was enough to make any mouth water. The smell of herbs was thick. He smiled and poured a small cup of tea and milk. "So tell me Jack, why are you here? What happened to you?"

When he was led to the front he looked around. It was so nice and peaceful here. He got greeted by the others so very kindly. Even the Lynx smiled at him.
He had waved back and had greeted back with a teeny tiny voice. "H-hi..." he whispered as he looked at them.

Slowly he sat down in one of the lovely arm chairs and looked around. His short red hair was a mess, dirty and uncombed.
His pale and bruised skin showed and he felt very insecure all of a sudden.

But when the scent of fish reached his nostrils he smiled and made cute little sounds of hunger. He hadn't eaten in days and this was just all to good.
But he didn't attack on the food and remained polite. He waited patiently till he was allowed to do anything.

"I-I have no idea actually...All I can remember is that a boy gave me my name, and we've been together for some time, then...he had to sell me because they were moving away and that they couldn't take me with them. Then there was this dark room, were I didn't have any rights...And now...I'm here." he said as he looked at the nice man.