"speech" "Japanese" thoughts "others" Clouds turned blazing orange and red by the sunset, and the sky donning shades of purple and blue, the svelte servant dragged his charge back to her den. It had been an arduous day, for certain. Both of them were getting into shape, really. After months of stagnating in one pit after another, his lean muscles were lacking their usual power, and the once delicate angles of his form were harsh from abuse. "I think I want to be a thankless whore again, a warrior's life isn't worth this." he muttered in his native tongue, dark auds lowered towards his skull. It hadn't even been particularly rough, the schedule he'd set up. A few slow laps along the edge of the shoreline, and a small test to see what kind of skills Princess Ophelia bore from her previous training. Regardless, his underused muscles were sore and his paws were still rough and callused from the past few months. "Ophelia-chan, does rabbit and trout seem acceptable for dinner? I believe I still have some left from my hunt this morning." he crooned as gently as he could, pausing outside the girl's den to fix his sea foam gaze upon her. It took a moment to remember his posture, and he tucked his tail loosely between his thighs, tipped his ears back submissively. The chubby little princess looked worse for wear than he, certainly. Always dirty, and likely ready to drop from her paws after the workout. He'd tend to her before he settled down for his own rest. ;DOWN HERE YOU LIVE FOREVER;

Ophie was exhausted in a soul aching sort of way. Yes, she knew it was all for her own good but it didn't make the experience any less miserable. As selfish as it was she longed for the days of lounging in mud puddles, of just being left to her own devices like fallen and rotting fruit. As hard as it was to admit, she supposed her old habits were the reason she had gotten like this, that being left alone had caused her to furl in on herself. To be the worst version of a Fatalis in all senses of the word. She let out a puffy sigh, knowing Satoru was out there and ready to tend to her every whim just made her feel guilty. Even more of a burden.

She didn't have the guts to say it in front of the Warlord, but the idea of having a slave trail after her made Ophie feel real uncomfortable, like she was part of  the problem. Feeding the machine that stole people's lives and freedoms, only to twist them into creations suited to their master's tastes. It was wrong and immoral, no matter how well the Armada treated their slaves the whole practice made Ophie feel like she'd been tainted somehow. Stained by a legacy she wanted no part of but was too weak to protest against.

Shaking her head, Ophie's chin rubbed against the fluff of her furs. Needless to say she was hungry, her rumbling belly said as much, but she didn't want to be a bother. Didn't want to make his life any more difficult than it already was.

"I'm okay. You can...you can go and take a break if you want." She wondered if she was even allowed to dismiss him, whether her Father would get mad if he knew. "You've had a long day, thank you for your help, Satoru."

"speech" "Japanese" thoughts "others" The princess huffed and puffed just as much as he did, perhaps more. That in itself took skill, since passive aggression was his bread and butter. When she flopped heavily onto the furs that made up her bed, he could hear the soft grumbling of an empty stomach emanating from the fluffy pile. However, when asked the princess shook her head despondently. "I'm okay. You can...you can go and take a break if you want." she muttered quietly, not moving from her puddle of pelts. Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, the dark male frowned lightly at the far wall. It could hardly be called a frown, really- he wasn't allowed to display any real displeasure on the job, lest he be beaten senseless. Anyone with an eye for micro-expressions would know it was there. "You've had a long day, thank you for your help, Satoru." Ophelia added, to which his expression shifted a rather earnest pinch of his brows and a soft sniff of distaste. What was she going on about? He was doing his job, whether it was hard on him or not was of no consequence. Rather than dive into the strange sensation that bloomed in his chest at the notion that his master cared for his wellbeing, he set to work instead. He dipped to the back of the den where he'd stashed the remains of his last catch and a limp, skinny rabbit. The little bastards were fast, and he wasn't quite up to snuff to take down the fat, healthy ones yet. He dropped the scaled trout and whole rabbit beside the girl's bed, to do with as she pleased. "Please excuse me, Ophelia-chan, I'm afraid I'm a bit of a mess at the moment." he crooned demurely, dipping his head respectfully before he ducked out of the den. He wanted to scour the worst of the calluses from his pawpads, and perhaps dunk himself in a stream if one happened to be nearby. After the flooding brought on by the rainstorms, there had been no shortage of runoff streams, but most were choked with debris and mud. If he happened upon a clean one he might stop to clean up properly, but for now he'd settle for having soft paws to tend to his master with. ;DOWN HERE YOU LIVE FOREVER;