Closed Strong bonds and a wandering mind (syrilas area)

[Zadok Shadows]

Zadok was glad to be back inside the city walls of syliras. Even with all the noise, rude people, and the chance of being mugged. He was a traveler by trade. He wished to become a sell sword or anything in the way of combat that allowed him to travel. He was stupid though. His inexperience in the wilderness has nearly got him killed on many occasions. What he needed was someone who would travel with him and be there for his aid, or at least teach him a thing or two. He did not let this bother him for now he was safe.

Zadok wandered through the great bazaar just window shopping. He would constantly check his trench coat to make sure his mizas were safe. He seemed to be in his own little world as he walked. Eventually he found an area to rest. Zadok gazed out at the people passing by thinking of where he would go next after stopping in syrilas.

Although it has crossed his mind that it would be more beneficial just to stay in syrilas and finally start a stationary life style like most people. He believed that he did not possess any skills he could use as a trade so these thoughts would be extinguished soon after they were thought.

[B'Naomi Tomva]

56 of Summer People. Lots of people brushed past Naomi, their faces blurred by the tears streaking her face. Despite her sobbing, she moved gracefully through the crowd, well, at least as best as she could. People were giving her very strange looks, maybe the crying? She stopped in the middle of the large path to tug on her heavy neck harness, which did not serve to accomplish much. Just like the last 288 times. She sniffed, wiping a solitary tear of of her damp chin, and continued past the many stalls offering various services and goods. Naomi was clothed with a simple tunic and a pack slung across her back, containing what little she owned, not that she needed much in the first place. Her red hair shimmered in the light, hanging loose down her back. Her eyes bright green orbs with cat-like pupils, though they were a bit red and puffy from her crying. She longed to Shift into her other form, but this blasted collar would choke her if she tried. She hadn’t been able to hunt for months, which was like years for her, and it was beginning to grate on her mind. After bumbling around for a few minutes, her limbs failed her, and she collapsed near a wall. She lay there, sobs wracking her body up and down. She was vaguely aware of a young man near her, but this was merely her subconscious taking note of her surroundings. She had asked for help before, but they had just pushed her away. She curled up into a ball on the stone ground, a tumbled into her grief.

[Zadok Shadows]

Zadok looked on at the bustling people in the bazaar. One person stood out to him. It was a woman with long red hair. She looked like she was only 19 years old. Zadok noticed that she was tugging on it. He assumed that she must if been a former captive that escaped someone.

Zadok looked closer and saw that this woman was sobbing. Zadok couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Zadok was familiar with being a captive against his will. When the woman fell against the wall next to him and curled into a ball of sorrow this is what triggered him. He noticed no one else willing to help her. He couldn't believe how uncaring people were. Perhaps he has been gone from society longer then he thought. It didn't matter to zadok he still wanted to help her any way he could.

Zadok kneeled down next to her and spoke softly and comforting to her. "Hey there. Are you ok? My name is zadok." Zadok brushed the woman's hair from her face gently. He wanted to gain her trust so that he may be able to help her.

[B'Naomi Tomva]

Naomi was startled by a young man crouching down next to her in the path, whispering, “Hey there. Are you okay? My name is Zadok.” Whipped her head around to fix her gaze on him. He looked him up and down, and saw he was not a threat. She fought back a sob as he brushed her hair back behind her ear. She had not been shown kindness of any sort since she had been taken by Kelvic slavers. She quickly reached up and embraced him, pressing her body against his. She put her head in the crook of his neck. A few seconds later, she realised this may have been a thing that people just did not do in civilization and she released him, looking at him questioningly. “He-hello. I’m Naomi. Help me. Please,” Naomi murmured, looking down at her feet. She tugged again on her collar. “Can you get it off me, Zadok?” she asked, looking up at him and pulling her hair back to fully reveal the collar. It was made from a band of metal wrapped in thick leather. Burnt into the front of was a number “9”. A man walking down the street stopped in front of them and had a stern look on his face. She turned to him and bared her teeth, her lips pulled back to show teeth that were a good ways sharper than a normal human’s. He seemed to find something very interesting far down the road, and he walked off, not shooting them another glance.

[Zadok Shadows]

Zadok was surprised at first by the woman's embrace. It seemed weird that one would just hug a stranger. He assumed that this poor woman must have never really been shown any kindness from anyone. He allowed her to put her head into the crook of his neck.

When she revealed her name to be Naomi and asked zadok if he could help her he looked at her in silence. Zadok examined the collar and noticed its design. He took notice of her sharpen teeth. He also noticed her green almost cat like eyes. It suddenly clicked in his head. "Ah now I see. Your a kelvic aren't you? The collar wouldn't be a problem if you shifted... Oh now I see. You don't shift into a small feline creature. I say feline due to your eyes. You must transform into a big kitty huh." Zadok looked at the collar and saw that it was leather covered. "This collar must be made if two or more pieces covered in leather. In case your neck grew and they had to change it. They wouldn't want to lose their investment. How else could they have put it on you. This collar must have at least two things. A locking mechanism and a hinge to connect the pieces. That means we have two weak points. Now we just need to find what type of lock we are dealing with."

Zadok touched the nine on Naomi's collar. "What does the nine mean? I'm sorry about my rambling its how I put stuff together to solve problem. I promise we will find a way to free you of that collar." Zadok smiled at her as he held her hands.

[B'Naomi Tomva]

Zadok looked shocked after Naomi had hugged her, and she felt sorry that she had done wrong. He looked at her features and concluded, "You're a kelvic aren't you? The collar wouldn't be a problem if you shifted. Oh now I see. You don't shift into a small feline...” He rambled on, talking about big cats and small cats, she rolled her eyes at him. Then, he got to the interesting bit. "This collar must be made if two or more pieces covered in leather. In case your neck grew and they had to change it. They wouldn't want to lose their investment. How else could they have put it on you. This collar must have at least two things. A locking mechanism and a hinge to connect the pieces. That means we have two weak points. Now we just need to find what type of lock we are dealing with." Zadok touched the nine on the collar, rubbing it’s rough surface with a few fingers. "What does the nine mean? I'm sorry about my rambling its how I put stuff together to solve problem. I promise we will find a way to free you of that collar,” he gave her a reassuring smile, she let out a bright grin in response. It seemed like she had known him for much longer than she had, mere seconds. “Well, the nine is,” she smiled at him again, “was my slave number. There were 15 Kelvics in total, all locked up in cages. They took us from Zentiva and the wilds surrounding it. Me and two others tried to escape, only I made it out.” She looked down at her feet as a single tear dropped between them. “Here, look at the lock.”

[Zadok Shadows]

Zadok saw that Naomi was crying. He thought that maybe her memories were to painful. "Hey it's ok. I understand what you went through. A few years ago I was nearly sold into slavery. I promise that it won't happen to you again." Zadok was trying to comfort her the best he could. He never really made connection with people.

"Now lets take a look at this lock." Zadok examined it for a while. The lock seemed to be build into the collar It appeared to be a standard lock that needed a key. Zadok looked at Naomi. "Well the good news is that it seems to be a regular lock. Nothing really special. The bad news is that we don't have a key." Zadok began to pondered about the lock. He reasoned that if a thief can brake into a house that he could at least unlock the collar. Zadok looked in his trench coat to see if anything he had could help. He pulled out a dull knife he would often use to cut hard bread with when he was traveling. "Naomi I have an idea. But for this to even work you will have to trust me completely and stay still. Can you do that for me." Zadok looked into Naomi's eyes as he waited for a response.

[B'Naomi Tomva]

Zadok comforted Naomi, and she looked up at him with grateful eyes, smiling slightly, and wiped a tear away. "Now lets take a look at this lock," he said, turning her head this way and that to get a better look at the collar. As he looked at it, she watched his face. His eyebrows furrowed and a nodded at times. Eventually, he pulled his eyes away from the band of metal and leather to look at her. "Well the good news is that it seems to be a regular lock. Nothing really special. The bad news is that we don't have a key." ‘Really, you don’t say?’ she thought to herself, then scolded herself for being critical of someone trying to help her. He thought for a moment and she looked over his face again. He pulled a knife out of his trench coat, making her hair stand on end and her eyes narrow. "Naomi I have an idea. But for this to even work you will have to trust me completely and stay still. Can you do that for me?" he looked at her questioningly. What reason did she have to trust him, let alone stick a knife near her throat. Then again, it seemed like he was the only one that would help her, besides that girl the other day that had helped her out of her shackles. “Okay, I can do that,” she said, lifting her head up, exposing her neck, and held the collar in place.

[Zadok Shadows]

Zadok took the knife steadily in his hand. He took a deep breath. "Ok Naomi I'm going to jimmy the lock. I'll be as careful as possible." Zadok slowly moved the tip of the blade into the lock. He never looked up at Naomi. He needed to focus. He spent minutes on the lock moving the knife in different angles feeling for the tumbler of the lock. He mumbled to himself. "Come on give me this one time."

Zadok continued to work with the tricky lock. He tried to make sure that he wasn't hurting Naomi. Zadok was ready to give up until he heard a small click. He started to turn the knife. The lock was sticking but zadok refused to give up now. Suddenly the lock gave in and the kelvic was free. Though when the lock gave way the knife slid out too fast. Zadok's hand was cut by the dull knife. The cut was deep and his hand was painted crimson from his blood. He put his injured hand to his shirt to hide the wound. "Well that was a fun time." Zadok took off the collar with his other hand. Her neck was a pale white and was slightly red where he was pressing down on with the knife. "I'm sorry if I hurt you, but your free now. I guess I'm not needed anymore." Zadok smiled at Naomi.

[B'Naomi Tomva]

Naomi watched the sky as Zadok attempted to pick the lock with the knife, twisting it this way and that. There were few clouds, and the pleasant blue was only broken by birds flying high above. She swallowed, causing the lock to move with her Adam’s Apple. “Come on, give me this one time,” he murmured, sweat beading on his brow, which was furrowed in concentration. A slow minute passed, then she hear a click that reverberated in her neck. She froze in place, her eyes wide. He gave the knife one final twist and the collar popped open. "Well that was a fun time." Zadok removed the collar from around Naomi’s neck. There was a red line that went clear around her neck. "I'm sorry if I hurt you, but you're free now. I guess I'm not needed anymore," he said, giving her a grin. She lunged forward at him and crushed her soft lips against his, wrapping her arms around him in a warm embrace. In a few seconds, she released him. Her body was consumed in a flurry of golden sparks, and in her place a glorious tiger. Her poorly woven cloth lay in tatters around her. She went up to him and licked his face lovingly. She sniffed him, and smelt...blood. She let out a low growl, wondering who did this to him. There were less people on this part of the street, most had left, as lunch time had ended, so it was doubtful that one of them could have harmed him. Zadok was showered with golden flecks as she Shifted back into a human. “Where, where are you hurt? I smelled blood, and I thought...” She picked up a scrap of her cloths of the floor and held it up to him, “Can you do medicine? Use this as a bandage, wherever you need it, okay?” She gazed concerningly into his eyes.