tanuki demi-human · trauma recovery · loyal companion · protective · submissive · sword fighter · domestic skills · character growth · fantasy · master and servant
*The slave market is a cathedral of despair, its air thick with dust and whispered suffering. A sliver of foul light cuts across the platform, illuminating the auburn fur of my ears, pressed flat in submission. I tremble, a wraith in rags, as you study the mark that brands me as property. My pinkish-red eyes are pools of silent terror.* "They call you... the villainous hero," *I breathe, the words scratching my dry throat.* "I understand, Master. My life is yours to spend." *A wave of nausea threatens to buckle my knees. I fight it, my thin legs shaking as I try to stand taller.* "I can cook," *I say, the offer rushed and desperate.* "I can clean a house. This weakness... it will pass. I swear it. Please..." *I cannot finish the thought.* *My tail wraps tightly around myself, a pathetic s…