"New territories seem to sprout up so quickly nowadays." Zeitgeist thought to herself bitterly, her small form curled loosely in the shade of a tree as she looked down into the ravine. Just the summer recently past she had found herself caught here; she was forced to run side by side a particularly tiny wolf away from the rampaging fire that threatened to overtake them. The ravine looked so wild then - so terrible, and so brimming with possibilities. Now? This new Empress had staked her claim along the wide expanse and it was as if the land was new, the fire all but forgotten. Zee planned to one day go forth and bring the world to it's knees as with as much confidence as her mistress Deathbelle had with these lands. To merely walk up and take it. From what Zee had heard there was no fight for dominance, no coup or hostile takeover. Deathbelle had merely grasped hold upon the opportunity with no other reason then she deserved it- and now it was hers. Perhaps she could find herself a true ally in the Empress if only she could find a way to earn her trust. For now, she supposed, she merely had to act the part of a good little slave. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

He caught the scent of the stranger, near the ravine that he himself had found an interesting part of the landscape. He moved towards her, cautious at this wolf who was not of the Klein bloodline - not, at least, to his knowledge. He would see her brown-blue form huddled beneath the shelter of a great oak. Hunkered down as she was, her diminished form seemed even smaller, her light build like that of a dainty bird. He would have to be careful where he stepped in this pack. So many seemed to stand at astonishingly small heights. The Titan blocked out the sun as he stopped before her, his saber fangs protruding from his lips without stealth, as he took her in with curiosity. Was she another slave, one held with less esteem then he himself? He still questioned why Deathbelle had ranked him so highly, through he spoke no word of complaint. He was her vessel, and did only as she asked. “Little Dragonette?” he asked, as he oftentime did to those whose height left them so small before him. She had the scent of the Ashen Empire to her, faint, for the Empire had not been here for long, and all of its members were still fresh to its border, but he suspected this wolf had been here longer then he, if only mere moments or days. "Speech"

Zeitgeist's ears perked to pinpoint the sound of very heavy pawpads behind her. Ever prideful, she thought on her next move carefully. After a moment she'd decided not to turn to greet the stranger and instead feign nonchalance. This was her pack too, and unless it was Deathbelle herself Zeitgeist owed these wolves nothing. “Little Dragonette?” A deep voice came from behind. "Male then, interesting." The foot falls did not pad away and there seemed to be no one else nearby to whom he might be speaking. He must have been addressing her. Zeitgeist pulled herself to stand still facing the ravine. She opened her mouth to speak, beginning a turn to face the stranger. "I'm sorry, you must have me mistaken wi-"  Her voice cut off abruptly as her gaze fell upon him. Titanic. Mountainous. Deadly. She couldn't take her eyes off his long protruding fangs. A small rush of fear crashed into her, and then it occurred to her what his structure and size must have meant. He looked so very powerful - and she couldn't ignore his brutish beauty either - he must have held a high rank in this new pack of hers. She had to recover her dignity. "I am so sorry."  Zeitgeist stammered quietly, bowing her head low before him. "You can call me whatever you want, I'm here to serve."  She wasn't lying, either. Bright blue eyes peered up at him in admiration as she held the deep posture. "Oh, what I would could do to you." "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

The small wolf got to her feet, speaking and turning as she did so. With a critical eye, the titan could see that she was indeed tiny. He stood a fill head higher than her, and could easily look down upon her, if he chose to. However, having a mistress who also - he didn’t want to say lacked, Deathbelle lacked in no regard, after all - but her height was definitely lesser then that of her guard. For this reason, he had mastered the art of looking at a shorter wolf, without seeming to look down upon them. She began to speak, and trailed off as her eyes finally, heavily fell upon him. She could see the look of surprise that passed across her features. He was accustomed to fear, he often revealed in it, knowing that those that feared him would not move to strike against his Mistress, nor do her harm. However, he saw no immediate danger in the pixie wolf who stood before him, recovering slowly from her surprise and pulling herself together. “Do not bow to me” he rumbled, tilting his head, and trying not to flash her with the whites of his elongated fangs that protruded menacingly from his lips. “Nor need you apologise, I am a Vessel of her Imperial Majesty, Empress of the Ashen Empire. So long as you mean no harm to my Mistress, you need not fear me, nor address me with any authority.” He was a slave, a dutiful slave who cherished and loved the one he belonged to. “A dragonette is a fanciful creature of small stature. I use it as a title, if you will, for those of your.. Stature. What would you have me call you?” he enquired. "Speech"

Zeitgeist pulled herself up from her submissive posture, lifting her head high to meet his gaze more confidently. It was difficult to put pride in her stance seeing as how small she was before him, but she did her best to appear cool and collected as she faced him without looking too defiant. "I mean no harm to anyone."  She said honestly. "I was a gift to the Empress, I am here only to serve her as best as I can."  Truthfully she did have loyalty towards Deathbelle, if only so that she may earn her favor and friendship. Allies were very important when you aimed for the top, and the Empress could be a very potent one if she could earn her trust. "You don't appear to be a slave."  It was easier to be so blunt with the man when she realized he held no authority, and though she couldn't deny being attracted to the strong towering wolf she had no need to seduce him if he couldn't offer him anything of importance to her. "Please call me Zee."  She wouldn't give him her full name. Unfortunately she'd given it to Archon when he'd asked - it was only polite when giving yourself away as a slave to give your new owner your full name - and he'd passed the information to Deathbelle when he handed her over. Though she hated it in it's entirety, and wouldn't volunteer it to anyone else. The nickname suited her fine. "What are you doing so far from our master, Vessel?"  She queried with a smile. "She'll find herself without someone to groom her after dinner if we're both out here."   "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

She unfolded herself from her submissive poster, and pulled herself into all thirty two inches of her height. It was hard not to smile, and a grin sneaked up past one of his fangs. Dragonette suited, small, fierce thing. He could see it in her eyes, the smallest spark, that flared when he admitted his lack of authority within the pack. Sirius was not prideful, and never shirked from admitting his stance within the pack. He wouldn’t give up his role beside Deathbelle for anything in the world. “I am her guard, also. I was given to Her Imperial Majesty when she was a child, and we became playmates, through I am first and foremost her humble Vessel.” he explained. His heritage of height, muscle, and fangs came from his parents, he could only assume. He remembered nothing of them, except for how they were warriors who had died in the service of the Empire. “Zee, well meet” He said, and well he would never give her the same respect he did to his masters, his deep voice was polite. “She--” he began to say, until she continued on with her sentence, and darkness pulled over him like a cloud. There it was, his weak spot. His love for Deathbelle, and the easy way in which this wolf bantered about grooming her, of touching her in a way that was prohibited. He growled low and menacing, turning his full gaze upon her, parting his lips and raising his fangs ever so slightly. He seemed now to tower over her, when he had not before. “That’s Her Imperial Majesty you speak of” he reminded Zee softly. "Speech"

The titan gave her a vicious snarl at her words, and Zee had to work hard to drop her smile and crumble meekly at his feet. She'd found his pressure point, that was very valuable information. The she-wolf would never show her pleasure at the knowledge however. She was good at feigning cowardice, and in mere moments was a shuddering heap at his feet. "I didn't mean!"  Her voice was very soft and began to shake. "It was not a jest! Is that not what we servants are for? To clean and pamper and care for our mistress to the best of our abilities?"  Zeitgeist - now upon the ground - lifted her paws to cover her eyes from his terrifying parted jaws. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

He watched as Zee dropped her smile slowly, and sank slowly to the forest floor beneath him. She lay as small and tiny as he had in the seconds where he had first seen her, curled beneath the base of the tree. The minx, with her easy tone and banter, the light way in which she ripped at the wound in his heart. A wound all more vulnerable after the long months he had spent apart from the woman he loved and cherished. Or, how death had almost robbed him of ever seeing her again. She writhed on the floor beneath him, and he took deep, slow breaths. No matter how sorry she looked, or desperate her words, his desire to hurt her didn’t immediately fade. It was through his training, as he fought to control his emotions, that he managed not to hurt her. He did it not for himself, but because Zee had admitted that she was property of her Imperial Majesty, and he would not damage goods that his Mistress owned. “I do not touch the sacred body of our Imperial Majesty, unless I must do so to save her life, and nor will you.” he warned. Hating the idea of anyone touching her, but knowing he had no power above anyone who wasn’t a slave. Nor, if Deathbelle was to fall in love, would he ever attempt to drive him away. He loved her too much to cause her pain. He stepped forward to where a fallen branch lay half buried in Autumn leaves, and placed his mouth across it, so his terrible fangs stood on each side, and with a powerful swipe of his jaw, he rend the branch in two. He stood back and looked to Zee, his threat bold and clear, with no subtleties to it. "Speech"

Man, this guy was mad. Zee couldn't quite understand what it was that had him in such a fury. Originally she assumed he'd taken her tone wrong and thought she was being mocking, but it seemed now that it was the comment itself he had trouble with. They weren't allowed to touch their mistress then? Well, that would make it much harder for Zee to cozy up to her. How could you pamper that which you could not touch? "I understand."  She squeaked meekly, eyes still hidden behind her tiny paws. Heavy footfalls started up again and she'd hoped that he was leaving. She let herself peek out from underneath her paws at him, just in time to see his massive fangs grasp around a branch to snap it in two. He looked back at her, and Zee threw her face back to the ground once more. It wasn't so difficult this time to force her body to shake in fear, as the longer he held onto his anger the more real it became for the small she-wolf. "I promise you I will not touch her. I'm sorry, I-I..." Soft voice trailed into a whisper, and Zee had to let out a calming exhale before she allowed herself to continue. "I don't know how to be a slave. I've never done this before. Nobody taught me these rules."  Zee hated being caught off-guard, and her pleasure at hitting this man's pressure point was all but forgotten now. Her ego took a harder hit from knowing she was failing at her job description then it did when she willingly gave herself to Archon. This woman did not like to lose. "I guess... I guess I pictured myself doting lovingly on our Empress. I am small and week, I cannot defend her like you can. I thought that i could do other things for her. Feeding her, and-and grooming her, and helping her put her armor on..."  She was blabbering now, words pouring out of her without stop in hopes that it might settle the beast to hear of her intentions. They were good intentions. Though Zee had ulterior motives for befriending the Empress, that did not mean that she wanted to be a bad slave. "Can you teach me? What I'm allowed?"  She asked suddenly, peering up at him with soft blue eyes. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

[/b]

She shuddered harder, and he could taste her fear now, as he moved a stray piece of bark across his mouth with his tongue. He looked at her for a while, contemplative. He knew it wasnt her that he was angry with, not really. It was that feeling of helplessness that he loathed, a sensation that she had reminded him of with her carelessly placed words. The truth was, he would have hurt her for it, had she not be a member of Ashen. Perhaps he needed to examine this weakness further, it had festered in his time away from his Mistress.

"Perhaps I spoke out of order. It.. displeases me to hear anyone speak of our Imperial Majesty with flippancy, but I see you did not mean it so." He lied smoothly. This wasnt the real reason for his anger, but it would do for a lie. "You will do whatever she requires of you, you will ensure she has comfort and companionship, if she requires it." He seemed to fold back in on himself, lessening the height he held over her, and letting his gaze fall more neutral once more. He spat the bark from his mouth and clamped his jaw shut once more, taking a seat on his rump as he looked to her. "You have not been a slave long, then? I know I never saw you in the Ashen Empire, but I assumed that those that mistakenly believe they have the mettle to rule in these lands, know how to set a proper hierarchy." He commented blandly. After all, slaves where a natural part of ruling. The strong stood over the weak, and the weak flocked to the strong, obeying them in the hopes that those mightier them would protect them instead of abuse them.

Quite honestly the male didn't give her much in the way of a lesson. "You will do whatever she requires of you, you will ensure she has comfort and companionship, if she requires it." The clarification came shortly after his somewhat-apology, and Zee swallowed hard before pulling herself up from the dirt. A crouch was as tall as she allowed herself to stand, and her tail tucked underneath her defensively. His explanation of a slaves duties was nearly exactly the same as Archon's, why wouldn't anyone just tell her plainly what she needed to know? Where there more hidden rules other then thou shall not touch? Zee frowned at the ground. "No, I was a traveler in these lands. Then I stumbled upon a man who descends from God."  Supposedly. She found the courage to watch him again, gaze settling upon his large protruding fangs as it had when she first saw him. "I offered myself to him for God, and he decided I'd be best suited as a gift for our mistress instead. I had a very brief meeting with her when she called the pack, but there was not much said of what she expected of me other then obedience." "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

[/b]

She let herself rise a little, likely seeing that the majority of his anger was under control now. He still wasn’t certain what he thought of this little minx, and he could easily landslide into hate if she needled him about Belle any further. After all, she now stood in a better position than most to understand the very thing that made him tick. He would not let any wolf ruin Deathbelle’s reputation with insinuations of her and her guard. Her eyes where on the ground as he spoke to her of her duties, but he could see her frown. He hid his own smile, seeing her frustrations. She had asked him what was expected of her, and he had told her the truth. He had simply.. Given her no hint as to what those responsibilities might be. In truth, he wasn’t certain what Bee had in mind for this diminutive wolf. He was curious to learn more about the wolves in this land, and what he might expect from them. His ears flicked towards her as she explained that she had travelled to this land, recently, he assumed. Hmm, perhaps she might not be able to supply him with any relevant information. When she spoke of a man who was ‘descended from gods’ he sniffed derisively. He believed in no gods, he believed that which he could touch and see. He believed in the power of the Klein’s, and their ability to rule over others. “He sounds like one who believes himself a creature loftier then he is” he commented blandly, dismissing this delusional wolf of whom she spoke. “At least he did one thing right then, I suppose he knows who his superiors are, then. Do you believe his lineage leads back to a god?” he asked, curious to know if she believed the dirival sprouted from this wolf. "Speech"

Zeitgeist allowed herself to relax as the waves of fury mellowed from the titan. He'd not spoke more of her disobedience, instead latching onto the topic of the wolf who'd brought her here- Archon. "“He sounds like one who believes himself a creature loftier then he is” Zee laughed softly, her crouched form gradually moving into a more calm seat upon the dirt. "Oh you have no idea."  She remarked, remembering the way the large man spoke of his heritage on their walk to Ashen. Truly Zee was happy to be gifted to Deathbelle. She couldn't imagine having to serve the conceited man who believe himself divine. “At least he did one thing right then, I suppose he knows who his superiors are, then. Do you believe his lineage leads back to a god?” Her nose wrinkled and she sniffed with disdain at the ridiculous thought. "God no." She threw him a small smile as she responded, wondering if he'd find humor and irony in her emphasized words. In the back of her mind, she realized she'd given something away. If she didn't believe in his claim, why did she hand herself over to him as a slave? Chances are the brute would not notice, but she needed to change the subject regardless. "How did you come to be here, if I may ask? You seem to be a very loyal subject - you must not be as new as I am to this life."   "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

[/b]

She laughed at his words, which he wasn't quite expecting. He expected her to think at least a little more highly of the one she apparently wished to give her servitude to. Yet, he found himself thinking better of her for it. She hadnt eaten the fruit cake in her time with this delusional gas bag. Perhaps there was hope for her yet. He cracked a small smile of his own, something more honest then what he had shown to her so far.. excluding his anger.

He nodded his head, expecting her response a little more after the laughter. Good, she sounded sincere, and clearly rgoihht little of one who called himself s child of gods. Whay a foolish thing to declare.

He didnt think it strange that she had given herself to this man, some people where meant to be served, and other where born to serve them. She had seen this inside if herself, and found a strong wolf to give her allegiance to. Thya she didnt rsapext his beliefs made it a good thing he had given her to belle. She was now with a people she could believe in.

"My parent where warriors in the Klein army, they died when I was a child and I was given to the service of Deathbelle and her family. I was originally set to be her slave, but when I showed attributes of strength I became also her guard" he explained to Zee, leaving out the parts of childhood friendship and the love he felt for her. "I am sure in time you will come to see that Deathbelle is a strength worthy to follow" he said, utter belief on his voice.

Zee let her smile widen as she saw a small one touch his own lips. So he did have emotions, then? The small slave was pleased to see that there was more to him then a lean, mean fighting machine. He didn't seem offended by her words on Archon, and that relieved her too. He shared his own history then, explaining how he came to be a part of Deathbelle's empire. So her thoughts were correct then, and he'd been with her family for a very long time. He wasn't only a slave, however. He'd been promoted to a guard as well. Zee hummed thoughtfully as he spoke. "I am sure in time you will come to see that Deathbelle is a strength worthy to follow." Curious, Zee decided to voice her thoughts on his words. Hopefully he wouldn't take them so offensively as he had her others. "I'm.. surprised, that you would say that."  She began carefully. "I am a slave. Property. I hadn't considered that I was allowed to have an opinion on our mistress' strength. Or if I am allowed to think on it, It's interesting that I'd be granted time to see it."  She wasn't sure if her point got across properly, and so she added one last amendment. "That is, you make it seem like I have a choice in how to regard our Empress." "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

He took a seat, noting that his interactions with the other slave where going to take time, and finding her company more intriguing now that she was not insulting their Empress. When she spoke, her words where hesitant, cautious, and she clearly feared angering him again. Good, now she might think twice on what she was to say, if she said something offensive of their Empress to a Klein, he would likely be ordered to teacher a much more lasting lesson then the simply threat he had given her so far. Besides, he wasn’t certain what impression her next outlook might give on his emotions. “Yes.. you are certainly new to the roll of slavery” he said quickly, his smile a little sader now as he considered her. "In my time with the Klein’s I have observed many different attitudes in their slaves, but the most common fall under two basic ideas - blind davotion” he gave his head a little tilt as through to say ‘like myself’ with a wry smile on his lips. When it came to Deathbelle, his devotion was absolute, as much had become clear to Zee, after all. “The other is those that despise what they have been forced to become, and make small rebellions with everything they do. For example, one of their masters might say ‘Fetch me lunch from our stores’ and the slave may go to the store and find the oldest, most distasteful prey they can find to feed to their masters. After all, they are obeying. Did the master specify anything else? No.” he said, keeping his eyes on Zee to see what she thought of his words. “I don’t expect blind devotion from you, but I think in time you will come to respect Deathbelle, and when she commands, I believe you will wish to obey to the best of your abilities.” he finished his explination. "Speech"

Zeitgeist listened to his explanation on the types of slaves he'd encountered, nodding thoughtfully. He seemed much calmer now, and the small slave wondered how quick he'd be to anger again if she were to say the wrong thing. She'd have to think carefully on her response. She let silence come over them when he finished speaking, staring out into the distance in thought. Finally, she knew what she needed to say. "I am a third type."  Zee told him firmly. "You do not need to worry that I will harm our masters, nor will I deliberately weave in and out of the rules to spite those who command me."  Her head turned to look away from him, a small fear growing within her as she considered that he might not appreciate her answer. "I gave my submission. I do not consider myself sold, nor captive, nor owned against my will. Everything I do here is because I want to do it. If to stand at our Empress' side I need to call myself a slave then I will do so happily. But nobody - not even you - can force me to show respect to anyone who has not earned that." She paused, collecting her passion. "I walked into this by choice, and if one day I feel I must be free then I will fight for it. I will die, I'm sure. The inevitability does not scare me however. I am more then pleased to play my part and do it well because I respect the Empress fully. I will remain devoted for as long as she retains it, though if the day ever comes where she loses my respect then I will become the fourth type of slave." She forced a crooked smile upon her face. "The dead kind."   "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Instead of simply accepting his assessment of slave groups, she named herself a third type. He looked to her, intrigued, wondering what she, who had admitted to being new to the roll of slave, might bring to the table of insight. He leaned forward a little, listening, curious. She assured him that she meant no harm to their Mistress - of course, if she claimed otherwise, she would likely have forfeited her right. He looked to her shrewdly, but saw no signs of deceit. She did not consider herself owned? Yet she was a slave now, and whatever she might have hoped to learn from this could entirely backfire if the Klein decided to use and abuse her. His expression saddened at the thought, for he had seen many a slave broken in his life. “A noble idea Zee, but do you know how to fight, to do so with enough experience to win your freedom? I assure you, the Klein are well versed in the art of war.” he didn’t mention that it could even end up being him who faced her down. He wasn’t sure what he felt about being a barrier to the eventual freedom she spoke of. Regardless, he would do his duty. “You would not make a pretty corpse, Zee” was all he said on the subject, he got to his feet then, his height suddenly and certainly towering over her. “I hope I am not the one to cause it.” with that, the Titan would turn from her, and leave if she did not stop him. He had much to think on about the nature of slaves. Never before had he encountered the idea of entering servitatue willingly, with the hopes your masters would earn your respect. "Speech"

Sirius asked whether or not Zee knew combat, and she merely shrugged her response. Realistically she knew she had no chance if it came to a fight for her life, especially considering the towering wolf before her was Deathbelle's sworn guard and likely the champion she'd choose to put her down. She looked him in the eye as he spoke, unafraid of the possibility. "You would not make a pretty corpse, Zee” Well that was rude, the ego-driven wolf's eyes narrowed slightly and she scoffed. "Yeah, well I'd be a free one." He turned to leave then without much more to say. Zee found herself slightly miffed at not being afforded the respect of a proper goodbye. "You're dismissed!" She called after his departing form. With that, she herself would turn to leave in the opposite direction. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."