Wraiths and Shadows

She nearly collided with him, and he had to fight hard to resist the urge to steady her. His eyes darkened with the war inside himself. But his rage did little to settle as she spoke of how they had broken her. Of isolation, and learning the ropes through trial and error. Errors that ended badly for them each time. He glanced at her mangled paw as she raised it, and he curled his lip. He smacked the paw away from himself, but didn’t otherwise interrupt. Stammering and uncertain, it seemed to the Warlord that she wished to shrink in on herself. Moments later, he understood why. She had been modified. Used. he glanced towards her doct tail, and he understood. His pupils dilated a little. It had been a long, long time since the Warlord had indulged… and then he was thoroughly sick of himself. “So now you're a docile little Lamb?” He mocked gently. He did not want her to be so broken.

Hurting her only made him feel like a monster. Zee He reminded himself. If it wasn’t for her people, I would still have my Zee. “We are almost at the Armada, so it’s time for ground rules. Any injuries you sustain from here on out are from training exercise, or falls. If I hear otherwise, you have plenty more paws for me to choose from.” he looked to her mangled paw for emphasis. “Within the Armada, you will learn to fight. You will obey me first, and foremost, but you will do as you are told if other wolves give you commands that do not contradict my own.” He leaned in closer to her now, placing a paw beneath her chin and forcing her eyes to his. “You will be ranked as a slave, and a slave within the Armada strives to better themselves. Today, your name is Lamb. Work, and learn, and be more than this. And you will earn yourself another name. Perhaps, one day, another rank.” He growled. Because hope could be one of the most dangerous, seductive things. “I will not claim your body unwillingly.” He added in, voice softer. This, he could concede to. If he fell that far, then what little of Zee remained in his memories would be lost to him.

"Speech"