“On your knees, cunt!”
The timid wolfess whimpered as she received a swift kick behind one of her knees, sending her into a kneeling position.
“Please, m’Lord! This girl did not mean to offend -”
“Shut up!” The loud crack of a whip was heard, along with the anguished cry of the female. Several more cracks, then soon enough, silence.
What did she do this time? Did the mere mention of the mysterious female rodent that appeared on the doorstep cause such a reaction? The wolfess lay thereupon the bloodied floor, her soft grey fur matted with previous lashings already, but new wounds now bled freely if minutely. The male rodent returned the whip to its proper place then scoffed as he left the room.
Quickly, he made his way to the front of his scraggly home, the interference of his slave wasted enough time already, and his sister was not the type to be kept waiting. The other slavers were becoming restless and clamoring for what was owed to them, yet as much as he hated to sell his playthings, it appeared he had no choice.
“That is probably why she is here, ” the rodent said to himself. “She wants first pick of what is mine, well she can just go straight to -”
“Good day to you, Mordant,” a voice called from the doorway before him.
A quiet groan escaped the rodent, making his left eye twitch slightly, which always seemed to happen at the mere tones of his sister’s voice. Oh, how he despised the witch!
But he gave his broadest smile, entered the room and greeted his sister with a clasp of her hands. “Why, if it isn’t Revane, what do I -”
“Can it, brother, you might hate me, as I you, but this is no time for feigned pleasantries.”
Mordant lost his smile, watching his sister’s expressions coldly, she was not usually so forward.
“What has happened now? If you need money you should know better than anyone -”
“No, it is not funds, it is about your niece.”
Saerah? As much as he did hate his sister, his niece was the only one of his family that he could tolerate. Mordant was actually surprised that Revane decided to have a child at all, much less actually show any concern for it.
Revane watched her sibling quietly before she continued. “She has been kidnapped, noone else knows, but I doubt I will get her back.”
“How do you know? Who did this?”
“Our creditors, they sent word by messenger that my child was taken from where she was visiting with out mother, and that she was safe.”
“You sure our mother did not take her? She always said was better than her own children.”
“No, it was not her. She is threatening to kill the messenger that she did not allow to leave once he gave her the letter.”
“Amazing woman. So, whom do you want me to send for my niece?”
“Someone who will not get her killed.”
“Obviously.”
Mordant paused a moment before saying anything more. He had heard she was searching for a runaway slave, one he had had his eye on should Revane cave first and sell her property. The rodent wondered if these were linked in some way, with his sister distracted searching for her slave, that would give a good chance for his niece to be held for ransom by the other slavers to be sure to be paid what they were owed.
“On another note,” Revane said, taking a seat by the lit fireplace. “I have found a good slave hunter we might think to recruit.”
“Heh, I heard about that, sister. How pray tell id that happen?”
The female rodent frowned and gazes out the window. “He found a receipt of sale I prepared, all that was missing was the name.”
“So, he could write? Amazing indeed. You’ve owned him since he was a pup, yes?”
“Yes. I treated him differently than the others; made sure he served as an example to the rest.”
Mordant shrugged and made his way to the table near where Revane was seated, he poured a cup of wine for himself and his sister, offering her the glass and he replied, “Much like myself, there is a timid thing a few rooms away that I have used as an example placer for a good while now, she’s well trained so she should bring me a good price at the auction tomorrow morning.”
===
The hustle and bustle of the fair could very well give one a headache. What did he have to come for again? Ah, yes, a gift for his beloved mate. Why else would he sustain the thralls of such an area packed so tightly with furres? It seemed unlikely that he would find anything, but somehow he let his footpaws carry him here.
The male wolf made his way to the vendors amid the shuffling and pushing crowd, shaking his head all the while, as he could never understand how his mate could stand such places. Clothing vendors, jewelry, kitchenwares…they all seemed so inappropriate, he hadn’t the slightest idea of what to get for his love.
Upon glancing at some silver necklaces a most rude stench filled his nose and he gazed about to detect where it was coming from. The wolf almost gasped at what he saw, this vendor was located very close to what looked like other furres chained to poles that stuck out of the ground.
“Slaves!” He heard. “Some so delicious you just want to take her to your bed! Others that are so full of spunk you can yiff them anywhere! Slave auction starting soon!”
The wolf wrinkled his nose, not only at the smell, but also at the very word slave. He could never understand such a purpose, nor the relationship of the owner and the pet, but he was not about to challenge something he knew so little about. He could not help but gaze at the chained furres; some were female and others male - young to adult, and in a variety of species at that.
Suddenly a most intoxicated rat with greasy headfur draped an arm about the wolf, making him cringe in disgust.
“Hey - say, do you want a free yiff before the auction starts? It will cost merely one silver piece for my female slave I have put up for sale. You can’t beat that price for a b-”
“No! I think slavery is the most vile thing in this land, you should be ashamed of yourself,” replied the wolf harshly.
The rat frowned and staggered away slightly at the reaction. “Well, aren’t you so high and mighty! Why don’t you buy them all and set them free!”
“I should! If I had the money I would definitely take that into consideration.”
The rat huffed and moved away, bumping into several furres as he made his way back to the slave vendors. The wolf shook his head and merely looked on as the auction began. The younger ones were being sold first, being taken to train as pets or servants by the most wealthy trainers. The adolescents were next, mostly to be used as pleasure toys just as the next group of furres in their prime. The wolf was about to leave as the spectacle turned more into a brawl over time when the slave buyers began to really go at it. The last one causing the most trouble, because she was a female in her prime, almost twenty years of age.
The wolf stopped and gazed at her, she was a grey wolfess, clothed in tattered rags, the drunken rodent from before stood beside her, holding her leash. The rat seemed most pleased with the ruckus she had started amid the vendors.
“200 gold!” cried out one. Another upped the price to 475 and on it went until the price stood at a steep one thousand gold pieces. The vendors glared at one another, none having that much in their wallets after buying slaves previous to this one. The male wolf looked about and growled beneath his breath as the rat taunted the vendors.
“Come on! Let’s see that gold now!” he called out, forcing the female to her knees with a swift kick behind a leg. “She’s good for all types of work, I assure you!”
“How do we know that Mordant?” A vendor called out. “Most of us know how you work your slaves.”
“Yeah, hard and fast!” called another vendor jokingly, which made the others chuckle.
Unable to stand the torment and the look of horror in the wolfess’ eyes, the male wolf stepped forward. “I will pay your thousand pieces of gold!”
Mordant’s eyes widened and he laughed, “Well, if it isn’t the man without a silver piece!”
“I never said I didn’t have a silver piece, I will buy this wolfess for a start.”
“Sold! Come up, sir, you can pay now and your bitch will be brought out after all of the slaves have been purchased,” called out the auctioneer.
Toward later in the evening, the wolf had purchased clothing for the female with what little coins were left in his pockets, not much but it should do, he hoped. Mordant quickly found him and stuffed a bag of coins into his paws.
“I want her back!” screeched the rat.
“What?”
“She’s a wretch, and that is all she will be, I am buying her back, so here.”
The wolf frowned and shoved the money and the rodent away. “You might think so, but I bought her and I will not be selling her back.”
“You damn -”
“Mordant, what the hell have you been doing to your slaves?” said the vendor.
The rat turned, a puzzled look on his face.
“These scars! How dreadful, surely she did not deserve this.”
Mordant frowned and bared his yellowed teeth. “How dare you! I don’t tell you how to treat your property!”
The vendor put up his paws and handed the leash to the wolf. “Keep her on this, most of ‘em try to run when just bought.”
The wolf nodded and gazed at the female, who hung her head in shame. “Does she have a name?”
The rat scoffed, “She responds to anything, but mostly cunt.”
“Mordant, some of the other slave owners want to talk with you, they are waiting at the tavern just up the road.”
“Er, thanks,” the rat replied, but quickly made to shuffle off in the opposite direction, out of the city. He glared at the female and hissed, “I see you alone and I will kill you this time.”
The female wolf cringed and backed away, nearing her new owner who let out a growl at hearing those words. They watched as the rat departed and the wolf offered the small pile of clothes to the female. “Here, not much but you were rather expensive, you know,” he chuckled quietly. He tilted his head as the female took the pile of clothing and stared at him, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Master!” she replied quickly, beginning to remove her rags.
“Uh…what are you doing? Wouldn’t you rather change somewhere private?” he asked, his ear twitching at the word she called him.
“As you wish, M-”
“No, no, you don’t have to call me that. My name is Tigrath.”
“As you wish, m’Lord Tigrath,” she replied.
Tigrath sighed, leading her to an emptied tent and faces away from her as she changed. He took the rags and disposed of them, shaking his head. “My mate is bound to not expect such a…gift? No, I have no idea what to tell her about you. Do you at least have a name?”
“M’Lord may call me whatever He wishes,” the wolfess responded most meekly, having forgotten what such kindness felt like.
“We’ll see about it when we get home then.”
===
Tigrath made his way to the stables and brought out his steed, then looked about to ask if he could borrow another horse for the female. Yet once he was able to get one, no matter how much he tried, she would not mount the horse and he sighed with slight frustration.
“It would be faster for us to get home if you were also on a horse…”
The wolfess merely kept her head low and politely, yet quietly, refused and replied that, as a slave, she was to be tied to the back of the horse instead. Tigrath was puzzled but did see most slave owners doing so as they left the city’s stables.
“Well, if you are not going to -” he replied, holding the horse by the reins in a paw, “- I won’t either, I do not plan on treating you like a slave.”
The female had heard this before and it was never true, yet for some reason there ringed truth to her new master’s words, she had never seen anyone taking such great lengths to prove such a thing to her, a slave girl. She merely nodded and began to lift up the leash, which was attached to her collar, for him to take when he left her with the horse to search for the other.
“And I can bet you don’t believe me, so we can add this,” Tigrath said as he released her from the leash.
The wolfess’ eyes grew wide and could almost not believe what he’d done.
“Now, just please don’t run…I wouldn’t want you to be caught by another slaver, because I can bet what I did just now I am not supposed to do. Just can’t stand slavery…” he muttered. “From this moment you’re free, but I’d like to keep you at my home to get you on your feet. Will you let me do that for you?”
The female stared at what he was saying and nodded slowly, her eyes watered slightly at how he talked with her and did not seem to demand that she keep her head lowered while being spoken to. Although she did not notice that her gaze did not fully meet his, by habit, Tigrath did and he gently lifted her chin with a smile.
“You’re awfully quiet, aren’t you?” Tigrath chuckled. “My mate will fix that, she’ll love to ask you questions, so you better be ready for that.”
===
The walk to the wolf’s den was rather hard on both of them, the female was most definitely regretting not accepting that horse by the time they reached a small range of mountains surrounded by forest. The wolfess’ eyes were wide with awe, there seemed to be somewhat of a castle-shaped face that was carved into the stone and rock. There was a large cavernous opening that one could see was lined with torches to light the way. Tigrath went to a small stable just to the side to tie the horse and remove the riding gear.
“Are you scared? No need to be, just wait here and I’ll come get you.” The wolf quickly ran inside and the female took in more of the beautiful scenery as the sun began to set.
The forest was rich and green and all of the mountain range was light with orange and red from the sun as it began to become dark, from what she could sense this place was protected by great magick…how long would she be here before she was sold again?