What had it been? Two, maybe three weeks? Hard to say. It had been
exactly one week since the little window was opened, allowing the
skunk to look out at the rather large yard. "Prime real estate, in the
middle of Talmirion, and they use it as a playground," the skunk
mused. To himself of course. Regulations had run their course, and
judgement had been made. The tandem of padded black-pigmented
kid-leather gloving his face along with a soft rubber gag in his mouth
would see to it he remained quiet to the end of his days; such was the
judgement of the goddess' servants, and the price he would pay for his
crimes.

Lifting himself from the padded bench, he walked to the window and
stared out. The first day had been the hardest, seeing the other wards
of the temple outside playing or training, as their age or position
would have it. The Guardians knew this of course. Was it a reward?
Punishment? Test? All of the above, really, in the skunk's estimation.
As he watched a slender lion throw a ball a good thirty yards across
the field to a fellow feline of some sort, the ward of the temple
caught himself trying to mimic the motion. Tension grew in his
shoulder as his arm failed to lift, cinched down by the sturdy leather
straitjacket that would be his uniform, that no amount of struggling
had loosened these past weeks while it had held him in its embrace.

Things were slowly returning to "normal", or at least, the odd
version of normal that existed for him and his friends in these
strange times. The first days he had been given nothing, and very
little contact, forced to come to terms with his new life following
the time on the road, deeds done in Karbedjul, Red Shore, and beyond.
Following that, one of the acolytes had come to at least read to him
each day. He had noticed how they always watched his eyes, as if
expecting him to try something. After some cycles of that, they got
braver, even enough to approach him and brush his fur. His tail had
rarely been softer, but he wasn't convinced about the shampoo they
used on his hair; he prefered it wilder. A smirk curled his lips under
the muzzle. Any little detail to frighten someone or make them
hesitate worked to his advantage. At least, it had used to.

Pondering came to an abrupt halt as the door to his padded room
opened, and the skunk's blue eyes stared in shock. "Hello, Master,"
said an all-too-familiar voice, and the body to match, though it took
him several seconds to associate the two. Her hair had grown, the long
pink locks reaching to the base of her tail. It was tied back into a
ponytail, but her pointed feline ears would not be kept hidden. A
cream-colored robe... a robe! It hung from her simply, without so much
as need for a belt to hold it in place. Her collar had been replaced
by one used to indicate temple property; it attracted his attention
only for a moment before he lifted his eyes back to meet her.

She smiled and stepped forward, quickly locking the skunk in her own
embrace after quickly dropping a basket to one side, leaving him
doubly squeezed for a long moment. "I missed you, I wanted to see you
but they wouldn't let me, they said you weren't ready yet," she went
on. "I'm sorry. Are you comfortable? I heard about what happened," she
said, not the least bit shy about placing her hands at his cheeks,
over his muzzled face, sliding them down over his shoulders and
elbows. She gave the vertical strap over his arms a couple of quick
tugs, her smile renewed. "Just right!" she said, remembering her
training: if she was going to be able to take care of her owner, or
former owner as it were, she was allowed to be kind, but procedures
needed to be followed. Most notably -he- would need to be under
control, and -she- would need to be in control. He would always test
his limits, and he must always fail, she had been told, nodding
inwardly as she observed him struggling after having his restraints
checked. Common in many wards in his position.

The shock faded as the seconds ticked by, and the skunk pressed
close, unable to return her embrace, but he could nuzzle her cheek,
soft leather brushing through fur. Awkward as it may have been, he was
still happy to see not only a familiar face, but one he had come to
enjoy seeing in the time since he had met her. He shared a kindred
spirit with her in many ways; not so much her understanding and
acceptance of the ways of the world, but at least her adventurous
spirit.

She breathed a sigh of relief when he accepted her. The young cat had
of course expected that he would, but she'd been warned by the
guardians that in his state, he may not want company, or even not
quite be ready to recognize her. That had been nonsense, though, and
it was time for her to get started with her new task. "Okay, Black,
it's time for me to check you," she said, making sure to look him
squarely in the eyes as she said it, and she stepped forward before
laying a hand on his upper arm, moving to turn him. He took an
unprepared step backwards and started to twist and fall awkwardly on
his bench, shaking his head at her in embarrassment as her hand
reached toward the thick white padding covering his middle.



Artist note : This was done in OC a few weeks ago, based on a scene from an awfully long rp done with  Mephit1313 who wrote this text, muchos gracias to him ! :3