[The Slave Market]Another Again (Open)

[Krysia]

Spring 14, 512 AV Krystia nested in a small cage atop a tiger crate. She was silently looking around with quike head movements. This place was bustling with people trying to get animals out, get them in, store them, and more. She was glad her turn hadn't come yet. She had a tiger that was making too much noise under her. It was in a wooden crate, so of course couldn't reach her even if it tried. It was making way too much noise for Krystia, roaring and bumping its cage. Back off you crazy idiot. She was going to fluff her feathers, but the cage that didn't permit her to do so. They stuck out all the mini holes. So then she had to somehow free them. It just became a mess. A man suddenly came running towards her. Oh no. Here we go. He opened her cage by the latch, and before so, grabbed the collar that was secured safely around her neck. This was the human's way of preventing her to shift. THey called it captivity. The man threw her onto a thin stage. Since the man had taken off her collar right before, she shifted as she was taught to. She was now a human girl with blonde hair and gold eyes. She smiled to the people eyeing her suspiciously. The humans had taught her to smile also. With another shift, she was an owl again. She flew through the air, showing off her fabulous flying skills. After she showed them what she could do, they would maybe buy her. Highest bidder wins. Krystia landed on the stage, and shifted, putting her in human form. She sat there, waiting for some bids. She was neither nervous nor relaxed. She had been through so many of these, the no bids came naturally. But she always believed in miracles, so, there could be a possibility she would get adopted. The only way she was going to get out of the annual cycle was by being adopted.

[Dumbass20]

Slavers. The only thing Jace hated. He walked outside of his small worthless house, flint and steel in hand. How dare they show their wretched faces right across the street from my house! Jace's sister was the only thing he cared about after his parents died and slavers had taken her away from him. He pulled over his hood and climbed up a building besides the stage where a beautiful owl kelvic was flying around. Jace jumped on top of the stage and slipped behind it before anyone could notice him. There watching from the side of the stage. He had to be the head slaver. He lit a small fire with his flint and parchments. Slipping behind the man he put the parchment down his shirt. The slaver was too excited by all of the bids he was getting, to notice the burn in his back. Jace ran and lit sparks on the wooden stage. As he burst from the curtains of the stage, he grabbed the frail owl carefully and kept running despite all of the screaming and shouting from the bidders. Jace slipped to where the animals were kept unlatching their cages. "Get out! Run and don't be seen!" He warned the animals quickly, then ran home to watch the fire from his window. Jace let the owl he grabbed earlier gently out of his grasp, then admired his work.

[Krysia]

oocThat was a little bit of powerplay, but it can slide! Krysia was suddenly pulled from the crowd as a man picked her up. She stayed calm, it was just another worker. She hooted and flapped her wings. Where was he taking her? Her auction wasn't over! Her attention turned to the growing mass of fire. Fire! That's why! Her eyes burned with smoke, and she had to blink them. The man suddenly released her, but she instead fluttered onto his shoulder. She was not going to leave him. How did this fire start?

[Dumbass20]

The owl, surprisingly, flew right on to Jace's shoulder after he had released her. He gave it an odd look as he walked inside of his home. "You can get off of my shoulder. I would like to speak to you and I don't want a naked girl perched on my shoulder." The thought was nice, but odd. As odd as Jace was, this wasn't the kind of odd he was used to. "What's your name?" He hadn't turned away from the fire since stepped in to his house, but he noticed the beauty of the owl. She was a great graceful bird, spotted brown wings with smooth feathers. He grabbed her feet and set her on the floor, giving her room to chang eback in to her human form.

[Aeron Darkhair]

14 Spring 512 AV

Aeron was at the Slave Market. He wasn't terribly interested in buying today -he could barely afford to live as it were- but there wasn't anything wrong with window shopping. He wondered around aimlessly, occasionally stopping to examine one piece of merchandise or another. Some would say his casual attitude towards the institution of slavery was terrible of him, but he shrugged their criticisms off with ease. It was a business and Aeron Darkhair was nothing if he wasn't a businessman. Perhaps it was immoral on his part, but immorality had never bothered him. That was why the life he'd chosen suited him so well.

He made his way through the iron poles, stopping occasionally to watch the action on the stage. He saw a few humans auctioned off, shuffling their feet miserably as their new owners dragged them off of the stage. Once, he saw a young girl separated from her mother and dragged away toward the House of Immortal Pleasures. Her cries sounded above the clanking of iron and the moans of the unfortunate. Her mother tried to hold back her screams -to tell her daughter that everything would be fine and that they would see each other again soon- but she choked on her tears.

Aeron knew it could have been worse. At least at the House of Immortal Pleasure she wouldn't have to do a lot of heavy lifting. At worse she'd spend years training to please and then most of her teens and adulthood on her back. Aeron could think of worse things to be doing. The thought alone was nearly enough to send him from the market to see if he could root out some company. He doubted it would be too terribly difficult, and if he couldn't find someone with his own charms he could always purchase someone for the night.

On the stage they'd begun to show off the Kelvics. He watched a girl with blonde hair and unnatural eyes smile painfully and took a step closer to the stage. He was curious about this one. She shifted quickly, becoming an owl and launching herself from the stage. Her wingspan was impressive and she flew well, but he didn't need some trophy slave. He needed someone who could work and make him money. It would make a good status symbol though. Of that there was no doubt.

Before he could shout out a bid, pandemonium broke out. The auctioneer had seemingly spontaneously combusted and a stampede had broken out among the Kelvics. Something was fishy. As if the thought had been made flesh he noticed a figure escaping off of the back of the stage, carrying with him the owl. Aeron cursed and shouldered through the crowd, trying to give chase as best as he could. He lost the figure momentarily and stood alone in the square, eyes scanning the surrounding buildings. He was ready to give up but then he saw it. In one of the windows was a man and on his shoulder was the owl.

He smiled to himself as he walked across the square and hammered on the door.

[Krysia]

Krysia silently cursed as she realized she had no clothes. Oh Petch. She shifted anyway, leaving her naked and let with nothing. All her belongings were back behind the stage. She looked at the tall man who had rescued her. What did he want with her? BEfore she could ask, a violent knocking erupted from the door. Oh no. She walked up to the door, and opened it. Yet another man, who ad dark black hair, stood in the arch. "Hi there." she said, a bit embarrassed for being naked. She hoped they would understand. She turned her head back at her hero. "There's someone here for you."

[Dumbass20]

Oh god. What on earth could this man want? There was absolutely no way he could have noticed Jace dash in to his house. It was so improbable, but this meant that this man was not normal. "Thank you." Jace thanked his new owl friend for answering the door. He walked to the door to greet the man, fire tools in hand. "Sir." He acknowledged the man in a respectful way. "Is there a problem?" He knew why he was here, but he wasn't go to just up and confront this man. The owl might serve to be trouble enough if he can't figure out what to do with her. An owl... taken by slavers... why was that so familiar? What on earth could it be. Jace had a strange feeling in him about this. Something was going to change his life, he could tell. His insane maniacal criminalistic face grew very serious. This would likely be the most important day of his life and he didn't even know what was happening.

[Aeron Darkhair]

"Hello gorgeous," Aeron said, allowing himself a long look at the naked girl standing in front of him. He pulled his cloak from around his throat and tossed it to the girl. She was pretty, and Aeron normally wouldn't turn down the nice view, but he had to be focused. He stepped inside as the girl turned away and closed the door behind him. He turned to face the man who had stolen the girl away from the market.

Sir he called him. Aeron couldn't help but crack a smile. Aeron knew what he was playing at, calling him sir and asking what the problem was. He didn't want to seem guilty but he knew that he was.

"Yes, but not for me. I'd venture a guess that the slavers have contacted the Ebonstryfe and a citywide manhunt's being organized," Aeron said. He yawned in an attempt to seem disinterested. In actuality, he was chomping at the bit to see how this particular chain of events turned out. "Lucky for you I doubt anyone saw you. I wouldn't have seen you had the owl not landed on your shoulder." Aeron jerked his head in her direction.

"Now, you have a very interesting choice to make. You can run, but you won't make it far. You've made some powerful people angry; powerful and rich I should say. I doubt you'd survive the season. You can surrender and end up in a life of servitude. Or, and this is my personal favorite, you can pay me and I'll forget any of this ever happened."

Aeron smiled maliciously and cracked his knuckles. Did he have a problem selling these two out to the slavers? Not in the slightest. In all honesty, if the boy was foolish enough to pay him he'd ultimately sell them out all the same.

"Your last option would be to come under my protection. You would work for me, pay your own expenses, and split whatever wages you would make with me. It's a tough choice but it's one you're going to have to make. Soon I'd imagine. I'm a very impatient man."

[Krysia]

Krysia smiled. She liked where this was going. She slipped on the cloak, wrapping it around her so that her midsection was covered. She sat down on the floor and sighed, letting the scene unfold. She was perfectly calm. She didn't care this man wanted to be her leader. Not at all. In fact, she was happy for being adopted. She gave a little cough, so that they could both look her way. She cleared her throat, and announced, "I like the last one. Being adopted is my dream. Thank you." Her dream. BEing accomplished. This was all she ever wanted!! She got up and hugged the man, squeezing him. HE was adopting her.

[Dumbass20]

What was this girl thinking? This man was using straight out extortion on them and she was happy about it? "You don't understand what your getting yourself in to." He couldn't do much to explain to the girl right now. In a just sense, this man was insisting that he get Jace killed unless he were to practically work for him. "I don't have much of a choice her do I? I have nothing to live for anyways. What do I care what happens to me? My parents are dead, I'm poor, and my sister was taken right out from under me. She was all I had left and now some slaver has his hands on her." He was practically laughing at himself. His depression had long turned in to insanity, but soon his face turned in to a much more serious one. "I can think of so many ways to burn you in the next few seconds it would make your head spin. The only thing stopping me is the safety and mental well being of the girl standing next to us. You are much more intimidating than I am but you have no clue what horrible things I could do to you with one little spark." He let that sink in. His goal was not to scare the other man, but to show him that he was not entirely dominant of this situation. "I will come with you, but I want you to promise me something. No matter what I do, no matter what happens, you will protect her with your life. She is young and has much to live for, I am worthless and have nothing to live for. You will keep her alive no matter what the cost."