Window Shopping

Tense. Anxious. They always were after a journey. Such was the life of slaves. One never knew when their life would change. At any time someone could come along and purchase them and their whole world would be turned upside down. The rest of the bunch chattered anxiously with one another in their makeshift corral, but Lyre sat alone, off to one side. She wasn't like the rest, having been bred and trained for something other than menial tasks. It had been intended for her to serve a lady or care for a den for her master and so she had more poise than the rabble, a better sense of manners. Her looks were drastically different as well. While the other slaves were muddied greys and browns, Lyre had a more exotic look to her. Greyish brown with a peachy underside. Her body was covered in obsidian striping. Structurally, she was long and lean, whereas the others were thick and muscled, bred for work. Though they were all slaves and servants, she had always been treated differently and so she no longer even tried to integrate herself with them.

The fae's ears shifted as she heard the voices of the masters as they spoke to an outsider. Olive shaded eyes turned, looking through a gap between the carts to see a giant, earthen colored man speaking with the lead master. She listened as the man hinted that they weren't in the right place and listened further as the master explained that they were traveling traders with carts full of goods for sale. The hulking mixed breed leaned in towards the big brute and whispered in conspiratorial tones that they had more than just carts of goods. Lyre had seen him do this before as though he had been hiding his prize stock from others, but would allow the man to see his 'goods.'

Soon, the master waved for the brute to follow and as they passed the carts and came to where the slaves were held, Lyre got a better look at him. He was large, of course, with browns and teal. There was a bit of striping upon him and scars as well. She could see the hooks of bone upon his limbs and the breadth of his wide paws was far from canine. The master proceeded to give descriptions of what the slaves were good at and trained for, but she noted that he expressly avoided giving any explanation as to what Lyre was good at. Another tactic of his. Would the man bite? Lyre turned her delicate skull, looking to the side and out of the corral rather than at the master and his possible patron. She didn't care what happened, after all. What would be, would be.

"Lyre"