by Syresshvassydir on August 4th, 2017, 3:21 am
Sydir had been cramped into this tiny cage for weeks now as the slaver’s band had travelled from Syliras north to Ravok. And in another, slightly smaller - if such atrocities could be believed - for weeks before that crossing the Suvan. Of course, before that he’d been transported in yet a third cage as these petching humans stole him away from Falyndar, the only home he’d ever known. Day by day, he’d felt the yearning pulse in the back of his mind, the mental beacon that led all Dhani home eventually, grow fainter and fainter. Now, countless leagues away, he felt only the faintest hint of pull, far away to the southwest. Those first weeks had been the worst weeks of Sydir’s century of life. Or so he had thought, until he’d been thrown into a cage with Keelie and Gatadt. Sydir could barely keep count now of how many times he’d felt the urge to wrap his manacles around her throat, just below her neck collar, and squeeze until her neck snapped.
Not that Keelie had done anything in particular to offend him. She’d not insulted his mother or sisters, nor blasphemed against Siku, not that Sydir much cared for religion. Instead, the woman had talked, it seemed incessantly since their departure. Even now, with Syna beginning to creep over the horizon, painting their surroundings in her warm red-gold glow, the human was whispering in Sydir’s ear. "If we're to escape, we have to do it before we get on the boat to Ravok proper. Gatadt is broken. I'm not. Are you?" Sydir cast an eye at their other companion, such as he was. Keelie was right, Gatadt had sat huddled and mute for most of their trip. He would be useless to any escape attempt. Then again, so would this frail, human woman.
Sydir replied only with silence, fixing his emerald gaze on the slaver guards. More specifically, their heavy, padded clubs. On the first night Sydir had come to this group, he’d seen Keelie get herself knocked unconscious by the human called Gorcheck in one of her fool escape attempts. And how many had she tried since? Three? Four? It didn’t matter, the fact that she was still here was a testament to her failures. She was only human. She planned and thought over the span of minutes and hours. While Sydir didn’t know much about the human life cycle, he estimated her to be fairly young. An infant, by Dhani standards, or at least as far as Sydir was concerned. No, she was only good for talking, and talking is not what the Dhani had in mind today.
While Keelie had been whispering her plans to Sydir, he’d been watching Gorcheck gather water from the massive lake into a bucket. That did little to lessen the shock of cold water on his skin, and it was all Sydir could do not to hiss in revulsion. As their journey had taken them further and further north, Sydir had focused more and more on conserving his energy. He’d barely moved at all the last few days except to eat what disgusting slop passed for food between the fat man and Gorcheck, his toadie with the club. "Rise and shine my lovelies. Today's the day you're finally worth something."” The fat man walked around in front of their wagon, and Sydir couldn’t help but salivate mildly at the sight the man’s rotund gut protruding over his belt. I could eat him and be full for at least a week, Sydir thought.
"Gorchek, let's get them cleaned up. I'll take the pretty one." At this, Sydir registered confusion. Which of them was supposed to be the ‘pretty one’? Surely not Gatadt, with his hunched form, craggy face and graying hair. And Keelie? She was nothing but string, skin and bones. No, surely the fat man was referring to Sydir. And why not? Sydir was an attractive Dhani, even if he hadn’t been able to display his glorious scales in what felt like an eternity. Sydir smirked then. Come then, fat man, Sydir thought with glee. Come discover what it means to face a true Dhani. Trying to keep his face still, Sydir silently began tensing his muscles in order to strike when the moment was right.
Imagine the Dhani’s surprise, then, when the fat man made to grab Keelie by the ankle. A brief flash of anger and jealousy, followed by disgust washed over him. Humans had such strange standards of beauty. After a mild struggle, the fat one had removed Keelie from the wagon, though in her last ditch effort, the woman clutched at Sydir’s shoulder, leaving deep scratches with her nails. Irritation flashed through his head. Good riddance, he thought as the corpulent slaver led her away and out of sight from the wagon. Gorcheck, a man whose silence had led Sydir to almost come to respect him during their trip, stepped forward without a word. His club was gripped in one hand as he reached forward to grab the chain falling from Sydir’s neck collar. The human gave a single, short tug. Clearly, he expected Sydir to go along peacefully, and without a fight.
And why shouldn’t he? After all, Sydir had been doing exactly that for the last three weeks. Humans were stupid, lazy creatures, and it took no time at all for them to become set in their ways. Not like the mighty Dhani! Now, Sydir’s plan could be set in motion, albeit not quite as he’d planned it. The constrictor Dhani lifted his emerald gaze to meet the ruddy, unintelligent eyes of his human captor, giving only a tiny smile and a slight shake of the head. Then he sprung, his ambush primed and ready.
Sydir reached up with both hands to grab Gorcheck’s outstretched arm by the wrist, standing and twisting in one fluid motion as he attempted to yank the guard into the cage, where Sydir could use his weight, which was much more considerable than his human appearance let on, to bring the man down to the ground from behind, with Sydir’s manacled arms slipped around his neck. Ideally, Sydir would have Gorcheck’s throat so that his human windpipe nestled perfectly into the crook of Sydir’s left elbow, using his right arm and Gorcheck’s own head in an attempt to protect from the club, if the man still held it. In that position, Sydir’s huge muscles would be able to cut off blood flow to the simple primate’s brain, and death would follow mere seconds after.