You're being rescued, please to not resist

An uncomfortable uneasiness settled over him as he approached the camp he had been told about by his half-sister Siren. Ashen had long had servants and slaves as part of their ranks and while he didn't necessarily disagree with the practice, it wasn't something he had thought that he would ever participate in. However, with his marriage to Void complete, his mind naturally began to think toward the future. His sister's words had stuck with him from their first conversation about the obligation their family had to continue their line and his doubts that he would ever be able to fulfill that obligation. The suggestion of a slave as a surrogate seemed like the most logical and reasonable answer and since Siren and Chimera were currently the only ones among them who kept a servant he went to Siren to ask how they found the women and this was her answer.

He wore his armor and carried his dagger just in case, though he ordered Viridis and Procella to stay home while he completed this task. He didn't want to risk one of these slavers trying to bargain his companions into their deal. He wore a satchel containing several valuables that he intended to use in his negotiations, keeping them hidden for now. As he approached the camp a few wolves milling about looked up at him, but didn't approach, though one of them did walk off after they looked at him to go into one of the near by cave entrances. He waited for a long moment until a large man, gray and white in coloring, appeared from the cave, clearly fetched by the other wolf. The scarred man approached him with a cold, calculating stare that didn't do anything to ease his discomfort.

"What are you here for?" came a gruff question from the other man. Plague held himself with the clear strength and skill that he knew he carried, though his emerald gaze might have given away the dislike he had for a man in this sort of profession. "I'm here to purchase a slave - female." Even just saying the words didn't sit right with him, but he knew he had to walk the walk if he was going to be taken seriously here. The slaver gave a "hmph" before turning and leading him into the cave he had just walked out of, Plague following behind him with a bit of reluctance.

When he walked into the shadowed cave system, he blinked his eyes a couple of times to adjust to the change in light. Once he could see more clearly he saw the hunched figures of wolves tied down to stakes or to the walls, with a few barred cells along one side of the cave. "Most of the females are in here. Take a look, find one you want. Then we'll talk price." With that, the brute walked away, looming just outside of the cave and leaving Plague to his own devices. The Abraxas-Destruction scanned the grim scene ahead of him, his expression darkening. He couldn't help but wonder if this was a mistake, if he should have just allowed himself to ask Siren if she'd be willing to let her slave be their surrogate, but now that he was here he had no choice but to try and follow through.

He walked forward carefully, glancing to some of the women tied up around him as he passed. There were some larger or smaller, most of them thin, no rhyme or reason to the coloring the salvers seemed to favor. For the most part they were all much smaller than himself, though he supposed that didn't really surprise him. With a sickening realization he noted that the smaller they were the easier it was to overpower them. Some glanced up at him as he passed, some kept their gazes fixed on the floor. Some seemed more calm and accepting of their fates than others, some looked like they had been sitting here longer than others. He honestly didn't know what he should be looking for and the longer he was here the more sick he felt over it. He wanted to free them all, but he knew he couldn't single handedly overpower the men outside on his own and his valuables wouldn't be enough to purchase them all.

As he passed a couple of cells, he noticed a small woman with dazzling red markings that decorated her dark pelt and it was enough to make him pause. She was small, but that was a common theme among these women. Her coat made him think of his star-marked man if Void had been born with color to his fur instead of the monochrome night sky captured in his pelt. It was like Void was the night sky and this woman was the galaxy that lied beyond that. He tried to catch her gaze, his kind emerald eyes looking for hers. He hadn't known how he would know which woman he would want to bargain for, but when he saw her he had a feeling in his gut that she was the one.

"Sir!" he called as he looked back toward the gray and white, scarred man, nodding his head for him to come back into the cave. The slaver obliged, walking over to him and glancing at the slave that he had chosen. He scoffed softly and slid a hard stare toward Plague. "You're from that same pack as that prissy woman with the dappled slave, aren't you? Damn you pack wolves and your expensive tastes." He sighed and eyed Plague curiously. "Fine. What do you have?"

Plague reached into his bag, pulling dagger from his bag. Not as large or as ornate as his own, but a decent weapon none of the less that he had found in his travels. He sat the knife in front of the man along with a roll of tanned leather big enough that it could be used to make a piece of armor. "A couple of useful items, perhaps?" he offered, judging the slaver's reaction. The brute turned the knife over with a low hum and unrolled the leather to inspect it. He glanced up at the pale man in front of him, eyeing the extravagance of his armor and weapon. "Surely a man like you has more to offer than this? You're asking me to sell one of my most beautiful slaves - I'll need more than this."

Plague frowned and eyed him for a moment before reaching back into his bag and pulling out a pair of golden bangles that had blue sapphires around their perimeter. "Final offer." The slaver examined the pieces of jewelry for a few moments, lifting one up to a bit of light streaming into the cave to see the light catch on the facetted gems. His expression was carefully maintained with no emotion or interest showing in his gaze. "Hmm... No, I don't think this is enough for this girl." He started to push the items back toward Plague, but Plague's jaw tensed and he pushed them back toward the slaver. "Fine. One more thing." He didn't want to have to use most of the valuables that he brought with him, but he knew that this was who he wanted. He could feel it in his soul the same way he had known almost immediately that Void would be his.

He pulled out a necklace made of a substantial golden chain with an emerald pendant - a wedding gift from the giant dire wolf women that he had been trading with frequently over the last couple of seasons. It was a piece that he didn't want to give up, but he was eager to rescue this woman from this place. "That's my final offer. I believe that's more than fair." He drew a line, eyeing the slaver as he seemed to consider the valuables in front of him. Without much of an answer, the man picked up the jewelry, leather, and knife, tucking them away in a bag of his own before unlocking the cell and swinging the door open. "Come on, girl. This is your new owner." With that he walked away, his business here done and unwilling to give the man any more of his time - which was fine by Plague.

He turned his emerald eyes to the black and red marked woman, feeling a bit at a loss for what he should do now that he had purchased this woman. "Come on, lets get you out of here," he said quietly with a nod toward the outside world, leading her out of the cave and away from the slaver camp fairly quickly just to get away from these despicable wolves sooner rather than later. Once the camp was behind them he turned his gaze down toward her again with an uncertain flick of his ears. "I'm Plague," he offered after a moment. "What's your name?"

Plague | Viridis | Procella