Closed Changing Hands [Penri/Axe]

[Penri]

28 Spring 513

There were times when Penri wished that she was always a goat.

"You petching freak, did you think that would help you? Hm? How'd it work out?" Her so-called master's angry voice, muttering at full speed, had cut into her tired musings as he left her there that morning. She'd had to smile slightly at the incident he referred to, the previous night. The man had bought her perhaps a week before, at the slave markets of Ravok. She was back on the market after her first masters decided that the stubborn, chatty, willful Kelvic wasn't a good investment if she didn't seem to be doing 'that bond thing'. The Kelvic also covered their gambling debts rather nicely. The Kelvic had been put into the slave markets just as sourly as she had the first time, though she was older and less confused.

Before this temporary master, there'd been a shorter-term one. A very young man. His first time, she'd thought, at the slave market. He'd wandered to the "exotic" slave section. A Kelvic caught his eye. He bought her, and led her home. The outraged family sent him straight back.
“Who wants a goat Kelvic? You fool! Get a useful one, or an attractive one.”
Even if she didn't want to be a slave, she didn't need to be a ridiculed one.

The next man had found her slightly cheaper. She'd been auctioned off enticingly. "This slave is a deal, my good buyers. A Kelvic goat! She may not look strong now, but she'll take a load, and she speaks Common and Vantha. Housebroken, too!"
He'd gotten a laugh.
She was becoming a familiar face, though. They'd told her so that time, when it had taken a few days to sell, and she didn't like it any more than they did. She would have to insist that she liked it rather less, although it had earned her an elbow in the ribs from a guard when she tried to do just that.

They'd still managed to sell her, but she'd come quickly to wish that they hadn't. The new owners hadn't fed her enough. Not nearly enough to keep her going, or easily standing after a day of moving their heavy packages through the winding streets of the city; she was their only slave. One day they'd kept her in goat form for the night but (in a stroke of luck) tied her within reach of the vegetable strip with a rope. She'd...sampled, and then shifted immediately back to human form so that the lighter body might use the energy longer. Now, her newly bruised body kept human by a blasted collar was back in the uncomfortable angles of the slave market.

Again.

It was beginning to feel like home there.

Hands grabbed the girl and she yelped, jumping up, trying automatically to hit whoever should grab her. She earned a shove. Pen was becoming familiar, talkative, opinionated, and increasingly unhappy. She was also not particularly skilled but a novice in unarmed combat, thanks to a racial inclination and vigilant parents. It didn't really lead to friendly relations with the guards, she found.

She was used to the pattern from there. She was cleaned and primped (though not as much as many, for Penri was fairly plain); at best scantily clothed, for the waiting period; and not too long after she was taken to the open auction area.

"Do I have an opening bid?"

[Axe]

Axe hated the sun with a passion she usually reserved for the midnight skinned Akalak race. It was bright and it hurt her eyes like sin, this coupled with her being tired and irritable made her and extremely unhappy Zith. The hostile stares she usually received from Ravok's inhabitants were returned with sharp glares and the baring of her teeth. Truly it was a miserable day for the huntress.

Normally she would have been sleeping at this time, however necessity had driven her from her normal schedule and to the day lit Slave Market of the floating city. The truth of the matter was that she needed help, a fact she was loath to admit but it was true. Carrying her own steadily growing cache of equipment when moving camp was becoming tedious and burdensome. Finding places to store it during her moonlit hunts was becoming even more annoying. The logical conclusion was that she needed someone to look after it while she was away.

Which had brought the red haired Zith to the slave market of Ravok, holding a sack of the shiny coins that humans found so valuable. Her leathery black wings were wrapped around her protectively, and her golden eyes were shielded by her clawed hand as she struggled to make out the figures on the auction area. Axe needed a slave, someone who could carry her things, watch them and make sure that nothing happened to them.

Already she had cast aside bidding on a number of the meat they brought out, some looked too dangerous, other too weak, and some simply too expensive. As the next one, a goat kelvic from what the crowd had been told, was brought out she noted that the crowd had fallen silent when the man had called for a bid. Axe looked at the creature, sizing her up as a potential purchase which was not exactly easy in the blasted light of the sun.

She was about the same height as Axe, didn't look to frail, and her short pale hair was cropped and tidy. The Kelvic looked a little bruised but nothing too serious, perhaps she would make a good purchase. It wasn't as if anyone else was piping up to buy her at the moment.

The Zith held up a clawed hand, deciding to start her bid low.

"One hundred and fifty gold mizas." She called out from the crowd.

[Penri]

Penri listened attentively as she heard the words.

"Do I have an opening bid?"

The question was met at first by silence. The type of person who was likely to buy a Kelvic slave came to the market more often than the buyer of a regular human slave, or at least though about it more; it was a bigger investment, after all. She also wasn't that much of a fighter, or a healer, or...

"I'm--" She started to say something, but she was cut off as a guard hit her (discreetly) from behind. She got the point and, for once, listened. She wasn't to talk until she had a new owner. The young Kelvic saggeg slightly, earning her a nudge. "Stand up, Kelvic, they're bidding on you," ordered another nearby guard. She glared at him, not particularly interested in what her future owner might think. If he or she were in her place, they would do the same. She hoped.

The silence had been broken by an unusually low bid, by--another non-human! Not a Kelvic, though. A Zith! Penri's curiosity was piqued, with a healthy dose of uncertainty. A low bid from a Zith...

The Zith couldn't possibly be buying goat meat. That was an exorbitant price for dinner!
Right?
Penri, for the first time in a while, began tugging a bit and seeing if she perhaps could have gotten through...the massive crowd of attentive watchers. Not likely. Goat meat it was. Glum, she scanned the crowd and listened, tuning back in just in time for the last few bids.

OOCSorry it's kinda short, I'm really tired/headachey but I wanted to finish the post before falling asleep!

[Axe]

Axe was barely resisting the burning urge to pull the waraxe from her back and decapitate a particularly stubborn bidder who had been besting her bids so far. He was a younger human and had a scholarly look about him, and also deep pockets apparently. Others who had bid had died out as the two competitors raised their bids higher and higher.

Finally, just to shut the man up she decided make her bid every gold piece in the sack, maybe the price would scare him off.

"Three hundred gold mizas." The Zith bid loudly, nearly reverting back to her native tongue as she declared it aloud.

She glanced across the crowd at the stubborn man and bared her sharp teeth at him in a very hostile fashion, giving him a good look at the last thing most men saw before dying at her hands. He glanced at the kelvic quickly as if assessing her worth. With a regretful look on his face he melted into the crowd, causing Axe to puff herself up victoriously.

There were some uses to being a Zith, mainly intimidation factor. Most people automatically assumed the worst about the winged hunters of the night, and while they were mostly true it never hurt to propagate the story if it help competitors back down. The slave would be her and anyone who decided to bid higher would be forced to contend with a very angry Zith, the black shepherds be damned.

Another advantage of being a Zith is that people gave you as wide a berth as the possibly could. No one in the crowd wanted to jostle shoulders with her so the usually kept their distance, never touching her if they could avoid it. In this she at least didn't have to deal with the press of the large crowd of human meat.

She looked at her soon-to-be property, pleased at her prize this day. All she would have to do is wait for her to be declared hers and collect her. Then she could get out of this damnable sunlight and back to the shade of the wilds outside of Ravok.

[Penri]

"Three hundred gold mizas."

It wasn't the highest price a Kelvic had gone for. Pen saw the exchange between the Zith and the other bidder--one who had looked like a scholar---and winced slightly. Had she been the other bidder....well, she would've backed down too.

Penri finally had to resign herself to her new mistress. She looked at the Zith, remembering something from a childhood lesson. The Zith had poor eyesight in the bright sunlight, preferring darker parts of the world. This one likely couldn't tell if Pen was looking at her, for the moment. A perfect time to observe.

The Zith was taller than most Penri had seen, though it put her about equal with the Kelvic's own head. She was given an ethereal appearance by the silvery grey fur covering her body, but there was nothing ethereal about the flashes of crimson on her joints, or the red of her hair. Wings fascinated Penri for a moment, until her contemplation was cut off, for the moment.

"No more bids?" The auctioneer glared at Penri for a moment, as if it were her fault the Zith had threatened the other bidder. He'd been trying to talk up her attributes for a minute already, but was clearly done. "All-right! Sold. Now, our next...."

Penri's arm was taken by a guard. The guard--a woman who, the girl noticed mournfully, was a good 6 inches taller than her--silently took her to a new holding pen. "You'll be staying here until your owner picks you up," she said, and placed another collar (Pen assumed it was the one that could keep her in her animal form) and a leash on a hook out of Penri's reach. There were other slaves, recently bought, in the same area; Pen sat down with a thud against the fence and tucked her knees against her chest, staring off into space.

[Axe]

Axe was pleased, allowing a content smile to find its way to her features. She had been hoping to buy a slave for less, but such were the dangers of buying a kelvic. Hopefully her new slave would make up the money by proving useful, if not then she had just bought an expensive meal. Idly she wondered what kelvic tasted like, the Zith had to admit that she was more than a little curious.

The winged huntress pushed her way through the crowd, not exactly difficult given her race, and towards the holding pen where a guard waited. Axe handed her the large sack of coins, dropping it into the woman's waiting hands as if it were an after thought. The shiny coins were useful in getting by sometimes, but most things she needed could be found in the wilds and cost nothing.

The guard grunted as she caught the sack and set it down as she opened the way to the holding pen. Axe eyed her new property with interest, it had been a while since she had been in possession of slave meat, since she had left Xy if she were being honest. She had already been collared and leashed which was rather nice as it meant that Axe would have to waste hers.

The Zith could honestly say now that she had a closer look at the kelvic that she had made a good deal. She looked strong enough, and was quite young and pretty as well. Hopefully she was loyal, if not then Axe may have to change that.

The guard retrieved the slave and brought her out to the Zith mercenary who stalked closer to the creature. She took the offered leash and set about examining the slave closely, looking for any possible defects. Satisfied with this cursory glance over, and with the knowledge that she could look over everything when they got back to her camp, Axe gave her new possession a toothy grin.

"Greetings, slave meat, this one is your new mistress." Axe said, as warmly as she was able.

[Penri]

Pen traced an idle pattern in the dust beside her, waiting. A few of her fellows were taken by new owners before her new mistress appeared, fairly quickly. She tried very hard not to think the adverb "hungrily," for all it seemed to fit. She didn't stand up when she saw the recognizable Zith approach, or when she saw the exchange of money; she stayed on the ground, seeing no need to move.

The guard looked at her, impatient; it wasn't hard for Penri to pretend that she hadn't noticed a thing. With another of those grunts the guard took a step in and Pen scrambled to her feet, the picture of a slave just noticing she was needed. To her great annoyance, the guard put a on...a leash. "I'm not a pet, you know," she told the woman.
"You are a slave," the guard replied patiently. "Behave." Pen sighed, but walked over to the Zith. She only fidgeted a little as she approached, anxious. It was more intimidating than the previous instances of meeting a new owner, though the woman—the Zith—who took the proffered leash from the guard was small in stature. It was the way she looked at Pen, the expressions that made the Kelvic feel so very much like a meal.

She almost missed the guard when she walked back to the holding pen. Almost.

Her owner was examining her (like she was a trade good, Pen thought indignantly, before remembering exactly what she was), and Pen returned the favor, more subtly, flicking her eyes politely down before the Zith was finished. She seemed satisfied, at least.

“Greetings, slave meat, I am your new mistress.” The words didn’t sound particularly unkind or angry, but they weren’t exactly friendly, either. Pen looked up, meeting the Zith’s yellow eyes with her own. Slave meat? Who bought a slave for so much money just for…meat? Never good at hiding emotions, Penri’s frank face showed her nerves as

“I’m not ‘slave meat’—uh, Mistress! I apologize. I’m called Penri. And….” She knew she shouldn’t keep going, particularly after a rather bad beginning, but Penri’s desire to live was as strong as anyone’s. “And—Mistress—should you wish to sell me, you could buy a whole lot more goats for my price, none so expensive as a Kelvic-goat like myself.” There! She looked hopefully at the toothy face. Not at the teeth, she reminded herself. She crossed her arms in front of her, considering, but slowly uncrossed them, moving her gaze down to an examination of her scuffed shoes. Perhaps ‘slave-meat’ had been a joke? She was bewildered. For once, she didn’t have anything to say: she couldn’t bring herself to the level of directly asking not to be eaten. An idle hand itched her neck as she willed herself to—for once—shut up.

[Axe]

Axe was rather amused at how frightened her slave seemed at the prospect of being eaten. The Zith usually addressed people as their status in her eyes with the additive of meat, because in the end they were meat. Her intimidation of the kelvic had been unintentional but perhaps it would help reinforce that it would be better for the woman to obey. This Penri certainly seemed a little out spoken, which didn't particularly bother Axe, as long as she obeyed then she could say whatever she wanted so long as she was respectful to her new mistress.

The Zith warrior stared at the other woman for a long while, assessing her other possible uses. Unless she was planning on killing the kelvic using her for pleasure would probably not happen, Zith passions tended to get very rough and violent. Maybe when she had enough pent up stress she might consider using her slave for that purpose but at the moment it was highly unlikely. She could definitely be used to carry Axe's possessions, and as a goat kelvic she could feed on vegetation so there was little to fear in regards to feeding her. Axe spare a glance to the talons extending like knives from her own fingers and toes, perhaps she would instruct her slave on their proper care. Such a menial task would fit her just fine.

All in all, provided she was not any trouble Axe foresaw a good investment. The Zith could always make the money back and then some by selling her talents to the highest bidder.

Axe tugged the leash rather roughly, "Follow and listen, slave." She said, walking in the general direction of the docks.

If there was immediate downside to purchasing this slave it was that she could just fly back to camp, and the boat ride, plus the time it would take to walk there would take some time. Which left ample opportunity to lay down the rules and expectations she had for her newest acquisition, though she did want to get out of the damnable sun. Axe made certain that she had a firm grip on the leash as she walked, which would force her slave to follow her or simply be dragged forcibly.

"This one is called Axe, but you will call me mistress until otherwise noted. If you prove yourself useful you will not need to fear a premature journey to my stomach." The Zith warrior said, not bothering to look back at the woman as she walked.

The streets of Ravok were more difficult to navigate without the ability to fly, but the path to the Docks was straight forward enough.

"If you rebel or try to run I will hunt you down. If you become more trouble than you are worth then I will quickly learn what kelvic tastes like. Are this one's words clear enough, Slave meat?" Axe asked sparing a slight glance over her shoulder to her new possession.

Hopefully she was a quick learner, Axe would have zero use for her otherwise.

[Penri]

Penri’s mapped out the webs of scratches on her boots, the interesting line they toed (pun unintentional) between blue and grey, and the varied levels of thickness in their material; she inspected the dust between them, until she felt she would be able to look at the Zith without saying something silly. At least, without saying something particularly silly. She raised her head casually, not looking quite directly ate Axe—the teeth and claws did scare her, in human shape or not (after all, as a Kelvic she was as much a goat as a human really) but still, an improvement. The scrutiny made her uncomfortable. She shifted, but felt a tug. The collar. Most people, she remembered glumly, only put a leash on her in goat form. It wasn’t like she could have run off in the middle of Ravok!

One sensation Penri particularly noticed was that she seemed to be very much alive still she decided not to question it, mentally or otherwise. Don’t look the gift horse—or goat—or Zith—whatever, just don’t look it in the mouth, she told herself, decisive. It may not last, but still.

“Follow and listen, slave,” came an order, followed by a harsh yank at her neck. Pen’s voice made a soft but involuntary squeak of surprise as she tripped spectacularly, scrambling to recover herself. The Zith woman didn’t so much as slow her pace as Penri recovered her balance, moving briskly along. “Penri,” she muttered, as she got her breath back. It wasn’t meant for her new mistress to hear, too quiet, but she hated when they just called her “slave”. It got rather annoying, to say the least. She followed, though, and shut up and listened.

"This one is called Axe, but you will call me mistress until otherwise noted. If you prove yourself useful you will not need to fear a premature journey to my stomach."

Hmph. Penri felt any journey to that location would be premature, but knew it would be unwise to say so. She glared slightly at the back of Axe’s head.

"If you rebel or try to run I will hunt you down. If you become more trouble than you are worth then I will quickly learn what kelvic tastes like. Are this one's words clear enough, Slave meat?"

Pen changed her expression to bright and attentive as the speech was clearly wrapping up, though private annoying flicked through her face as she listened. Did Axe know anything about Ravok? Running was hardly plausible…and there it was again, ‘slave meat’. But it was time for Penri to respond, and she did so quickly, in a voice that was just a bit too chipper.
“Clear as day, mistress!”
She smiled brightly, hoping she’d remembered correctly..Zith didn’t like daylight, right? It wasn't much, but it would do. She felt a little better.

[Axe]

The intended slight against Axe went unnoticed, she was just concerned with the woman's understanding of the situation. If the rather irritated Zith recalled correctly, and she usually did, then there was a ship leaving for the southern trading post within the hour. The gods gave some small mercies apparently. An audible growl from her stomach sounded out, reminding her that she had not eaten for at least twelve hours, something she would be changing the minute they got back to her camp.

Axe decided on what she should clear up with Penri next, probably what her duties would entail and where they were going. Seemed reasonable, it never hurt to give a heads up as to expectations.

"We will be leaving the floating city and heading into the wilds surrounding it where this one has her camp. This one expects you to watch over the camp when she is away at night, and to carry the equipment when moving camp. It is also expected of you to learn how to care for this one's talons, and do whatever else is asked of you." Axe said, displaying the long talons of her right hand.

The tasks the warrior Zith needed completed were simple but essential, she couldn't be around the camp all the time and she didn't want to worry about her things being stolen. If the woman tried to run when in the wilds, well it was a long ways to the next city and Axe somehow doubted that the goat kelvic would make it very far without help. She cast the woman another glance as the ship yard came in sight.

"In return for taking care of these simple matters no one will harm you while this one draws breath, this one protects what is hers." She said, her halting grasp of common clear as day, but her words were clearly territorial.

The Zith had been taught to treat slaves as valuable commodities or prized possessions, things that she should protect fiercely. For as long as this Penri belonged to her she would never need to fear physical harm from anyone but her mistress if she needed a beating. She was at this moment a more valuable possession than the Zith's beloved axe, which made her much more valuable than the Prey Meat that walked Ravok's streets.

"Understand these words, Slave Meat Penri, this one values you greater than her father's axe and any of the Prey that walk the floating city's streets. Prove yourself worthy of that value." Axe said, still regarding Penri with a searching look in her cunning golden eyes.