Back home at last! Ashiel inhaled deeply as he stepped back into the verdant cathedral. It was good to return after his winter travels and he felt like already he had grown by leaps and bounds. He was anxious to see his mother and sister again as well as to talk with Amon but that would have to wait. For now he just wanted to relax. Maybe find a bite to eat if there was anything in the storage den. Ashiel made his way to the main meeting and densite, stopping by the storage den to fish out a rabbit. He'd make note to replace what he took and he settled down like a sphynx with the rodent between his forelegs before reaching down and snipping his fangs through the creatures belly to get at the soft, squishy goodness inside. "Talk" "You" Think

His leg had been rendered useless, causing him to walk with his forelimb raised to his chest. The Ripper- Moon Beast- Whatever else the creature that had captured him went by had chosen to be exceptionally cruel, leaving a rope noose tied to a large stone tied to the end of it around his neck as if he were one of the blasphemous demons Ley smote. But then of course his master knew that. He had been tattered from his time in The Night Comer’s care, his once lustrous fur was now shaggy and dull, his eyes were sullen and sunken in, and he had lost almost half his weight. The once proud dire now skulked with his head low, his ears folded and his now ratty tail tucked. He looked at the male; young, proud, so far removed from the cruelties of the world because, of course, he was to be its harbinger. He shuffled past the male, the stone dragging behind him and laid in a patch of shade that he had come to know as his own, although he knew very well he could be corrected on that at any moment. Speech, Quote

Ashiel gorged himself, blood smearing his muzzle as he worked away at his meal until movement from the corner of his eye brought his gaze to Andras' new slave. Ashiel licked his lips for a moment as he gazed at the man. The slave had been an impressive sight, a tall and well built creature when the Abraxas had stormed into Dragoste but now he seemed a tattered shell of himself. Ashiel eyed the rope, wondering how Andras had managed that. He wasn't quite sure what the purpose of this particular slave was. Tied to a rope he couldn't do much in the way of hunting and he was to disheveled to be something just to gaze at like a pet. Maybe Ashiel didn't want to know. He was wary of how his older uncle's mind worked. The man shuffled past him to lay in a patch of shade. Ashiel watched him carefully. "Well, aren't you looking grand today. I see Andras is being his loving, caring self. Do you have a name, slave?" He asked at last. He may as well make idle chat with the stranger, it wasn't like anyone else was around at the moment. "Talk" "You" Think

His ear flicked lightly, regarding the male passively. For a moment he was tempted not to answer, but he supposed there wasn’t much else to do otherwise but wallow in his misery. “Yale.” He said gruffly, his voice still the commanding baritone it had been in Dragoste… When there was a Dragoste. “And you?” He asked, although in truth he hardly cared. The workings of the pack were of little interest to him unless they were doomed or otherwise headed for destruction, in which his only regret would be that he didn’t have a hand in it himself. He wheezed a sigh and closed his eyes, hoping the male would lose interest. Speech, Quote

The slave regarded him for a moment before answering that his name was Yale. Short, simple, easy to remember. Ashiel gnawed lightly at the rabbits spine as Yale asked for his own name. "Ashiel." He didn't think or worry to much about it. Why not give the man his name? It wasn't like he was going anywhere.  The man wheezed and Ashiel scrutinized him. Was there something wrong with his respiratory system? He certainly didn't look healthy and once again Ashiel found himself missing Lydia. She'd be able to tend to the man and perhaps he'd have liked a female slave to keep him company. "Does Andras feed you with any regularity?" Ashiel set his paw on the half-eaten rabbit eyes flickering from it to Yale. He frankly didn't care what Andras' policy was on feeding the slave. "I'm curious, has he said what he's keeping you around for?" He knew why his mother kept Lydia. She was a healer and a nursemaid that was her purpose and when it was more or less used up she was chased out. But what of this man? "Talk" "You" Think

His paw flexed at the question, his jaw clenched as he thought of what the ripper had done to him. He could still feel him; feel his jaws and black tongue on his scruff, feel his paws digging into his midsection, feel the rope tighten to the point that he could hardly breathe as he struggled to fight back. He took a deep breath, clearing the memory from his mind for the time being. The boy had asked him a question. “I am a plaything for his whims.” He said heavily, his teeth grinding together. “He feeds me when it suits him, and he does as he pleases.” He practically snarled, a ridge of curly fur rising along his spine. His fury burned in his chest like a fire slowly consuming leaves and tinder. He looked at the jagged bones of the rabbit and plan began to form. Damn the consequences. Talk thought You

Ashiel took the answer and mulled it over but he did not question it. Andras was an odd creature, one best left up to his own devices though Ashiel couldn't help but remember his uncle's bargain. Wolves of Dragoste were supposed to have been given a decision. Did his uncle know of this? It was no skin off Ashiel's nose either way. He was an apprentice still and had no right to be judging the higher ups or his elder kin. All the same… why not have a little fun? Ashiel stretched and turned away, but as he did so his left foreleg kicked the rabbit carcass toward Yale, well within the males reach. Ashiel could always catch more. "That is an unfortunate fate. I have no words of council. Maybe you can find solace in the beauty of this place? Or perhaps you have someone you can pray to for deliverance but it would be wise not to raise your hopes to high." "Talk" "You" Think