the ground was dead here. no real life sprung from the earth. downtrodden with many pawsteps, this particular area was something to be avoided. he hoped to press south through this place and saw the quickest route was through it. he didn't know what awaited him, only that he needed to move quickly. as skittish as ever, Nimbus raced as quickly as possible through the area. he was shocked that some bones littered the ground, and felt his body begin to grow weary at the sight of them. whatever this place was bad. he needed to get out. "oh!" but in true Nimbus fashion, he felt his legs give way. a wolf's ribcage jutting out of the ground made his ankle twist. he heard a small crack! as he fell, balking backward at his bruised and maybe even sprained ankle. his jaw smarted from the force of the landing, making his green eyes sting with repressed tears. getting to his paws, he'd sit on the earth and nurse ankle best he could. he wasn't a healer by any means, so he just waited for the swelling to go down. slowly. it was night, the stars were few and he saw blackness. the thought of that girl talking about blood sacrifices made his skin crawl. something snapped nearby, causing the young man's head to swirl around. breathing heavily, evergreen eyes wide, he stared into the perpetual dark. "Speech." | "you" | ----------------------------------------------------------- OOC: rip nimmy

Stock by Kati.H

When last he were at the battlefield, he had seen vultures and large, soft looking birds of prey that would make great additions to the feathers to the Empress’s pillows. He didn’t want just common birds to fill them, he wanted something special, exotic, and fitting for her status. It was his idea to go here in search of feathers, and he had dragged Zee with him. He had discovered he was rubbish at hunting down birds, and well he had brought Marshall with him, he wouldn’t be able to take on a larger vulture with ease, well Zee proved better at bringing birds down. If she caught it, and landed it, he could kill the larger bird. That was the plan, as they made their way towards the battlefield. They spent the day there, too long, in fact, as night had already fallen. He was ushering Zee back home before anyone decided they were runaway slaves, when he saw the injured man. The idea came to him at the very moment his eyes fell upon him. If Ashen had more slaves, they might bully Zee less he shouldn’t care, he had no reason to care if a slave was treated like a slave.. And yet. He looked to Zee, his gaze boring into hers, before he turned from her side without a word, and made his way towards the man. “You are injured” he said to the man, who was small and light, if they used the coat he had intended to fill with feathers, as a stretcher, they could drag him back to Ashen. “I know a healer that can fix that, if you come with me.” it wasn’t exactly a question, but he allowed Nimbus to think it was. "Speech"

Zee was fine with Sirius' choice to return home. She'd been too long away from the pack lands as it was, and was in desperate need of a long luxurious soak in the lake. Sirius didn't walk her much further out of the barren lands before stopping, eyes set firmly upon a black and white male who looked very injured. Sirius was not the type to care or give out random charity, this much Zee was sure. She didn't understand his intention at first, not until he turned towards her to drill his hard stare into her own. He didn't need to speak, the intensity in his eyes did enough to tell her exactly what he had planned. "Sirius." She whispered, taking one step backwards from his imposing form. He turned to approach the stranger. "No.." Her ears fell lifeless against her skull, eyes softening as she watched Sirius offer the man his assistance. "Yeah, come with us." Zee thought bitterly. "They'll heal you up then beat you back down." She swallowed hard, wanting to refute the guard's choice but not being able to draw the courage. Sirius had threatened to kill her for merely speaking to touch their mistress, what would he do if she got in the way of him recruiting a slave for her? Why did he even need this man? Zee was Deathbelle's personal handmaiden and she did a damn good job of it if she did say so herself. Zee stood off away from them as she collected herself. This was a part of life now, Ashen took slaves. Not all of them would be willing like she was. Feeling like the worry was finally hidden from her face, she took steps to approach the pair. "Hello." She tried to keep her tone light though it was layered with hesitance. "My friend is right, you look like you could use some help." A genuine smile touched her lips, though it was of sadness and pity. It wasn't for the stranger to know that she pitied him for reasons aside from his injuries. She looked back up to Sirius then, her eyes hard and judging. Hopefully it was very, very clear to him that she did absolutely not approve. Not that he would care. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

[/b]

a massive figure came into view, cutting into the dark with a slate coat. the long fangs unnerved Nimbus, and he tried to scoot a bit away from the strange man as he neared. his words didn't do anything to lessen the blow either. they sounded like a command, and if he was bolder he would be offended a wolf talked to a free man like him. instead, he felt his head lower and his eyes focused entirely on the large man. a brief flicker to the woman who appeared with him was all he gave her. it was clear he just wanted the earth to swallow him whole. "w-what do you want with me?" he found some courage to ask. the man's eyes were hungry and the woman was forlorn, almost pitying. too much pity to be simply sad that he was injured. they didn't want to help him. they wanted something out of him. he just didn't know what. "if... if you're going to k-kill me, get it over with." he didn't much like being toyed with or kept out of the loop. he flinched at his own words, basically giving them permission to end his life. Nimbus' head completely dropped, eyes closing and he waited for something to happen. some flash of pain more serious than a simple sprain or teeth biting into him. "Speech." | "you" | ----------------------------------------------------------- OOC: rip nimmy

Stock by Kati.H

He ignored the stare of Zee against his back, feeling it like a heatwave that burned him. Her opinion didn’t matter, only his twisted affection for her and his decision that this would help her. Ever since he had admitted their friendship at the lake, he had allowed himself to realise he did not want to see her hurt again. He ignored her as she tried to make eye contact with him, he didn’t wish to see the judgment in her gentle blue eyes. She would forgive him, he was certain of it. She had forgiven him for far worse, for all the times he had pushed her into the dirt, or cut off her airways as she sassed a Klein. “I have no intention of hurting you” he promised the man, and it was the truth. He didn’t intend to, but he would, if it was ordered of him. “If you lie on this coat, I can bring you to the safety of our pack borders, and our healer can attend to you” he promised, still trying to conceal exactly what he was dragging the injured man into. He felt he could easily take on this injured, smaller wolf if it came to that, but it would be a much easier journey if he came willingly. "Speech"

She tried her hardest to remain collected, though she wanted nothing more then to bite the stupid man then and there and help the poor injured wolf to escape. Sirius was massive, but Zee figured she could outrun him at least. If she could carry the stranger away then they'd have a chance. She looked down upon the hide which Sirius offered, and stared daggers into it. "He's right, we have skilled healers within our borders. It is dangerous out here. If you come with us we will keep you safe." It felt horrible to say it, because Zee could not ignore her words for the lie they were. She could try to keep him safe, but ultimately she was too small and weak to defend the other. Her insolence had already caused her enough trouble within the Empire and with Sirius. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

[/b]

what was going on? surely he'd be happy that complete and utter strangers would want to help him? but he wasn't. he felt intimidated and too injured to do anything about it. he should snap his teeth at the man and snarl at the woman but he was helpless. it'd be difficult to run on his leg and he could even break it if he pressed himself. the dire still commanded him, and Nimbus looked down at the pelt they said they'd drag him back on. the woman seemed more sympathetic to him, and he stared into her neutral expression to try and find some sign. but when he couldn't, when she told him that all was going to be well, he relented. stupidly. "w...who are you?" it'd be even stupider not to ask, but it was quite clear to anyone that he was tired of fighting them. his head was still bowed and he sounded defeated, but also in pain. he'd never gotten hurt before. this was a new experience. without his parents to shield him, Nimbus was completely alone. he didn't know to not trust strangers. "where a-are you going to t-take me?" "Speech." | "you" | ----------------------------------------------------------- OOC: rip nimmy

Stock by Kati.H

Zee was making this easier at least, standing by him, despite the judgement he knew she wished to direct at him. He shrugged it off, knowing that this was for the best. “I am Sirius, and this is Zee” he said to the man when he asked, he saw no reason not to answer, not that it told him very much. He noted that the man was about the same age as Zee, and he threw away the sudden pity he felt in his heart. It had no place here. “We are going South from here, its far, but it’ll get better once we arrive, you can have food, and some time to recover” he promised the man, hoping this would prove true. He didn’t believe the Klein would push the man before he was ready, he would have a respite. His voice had softened a little, sounding less serious, as he could see the fright in the man's eyes. He truly believed this was the best option for everyone. Leaving Nimbus here wasn’t going to help him, taking him back to the Ashen Empire meant medical help, and Zee would have someone to share the responsibilities and pressure with. “The sooner you hop on, the sooner our doctor can get you some pain meds” he soothed gently to the man. "Speech"

Zee stood awkwardly as Sirius spoke, hearing the double meaning in his words although she knew the stranger would not. Yes, surely the Ashen Empire would heal him up and give him food. Slavery was a hard job, and the livestock needed to be properly maintained and ready for service. She wondered absently which Klein this man might be assigned to - Zee was lucky to be the Empress' own, her mistress was kind and gentle. Though this new slave might belong to anyone, and the thought scared her as she remembered how few Klein's had it in them to be respectful to slaves. The injured man looked to her for almost reassurance, and she did her best to put on a brave face for his benefit. "Yes, please let us attend to you. What is your name?" Hopefully the friendly small-talk would allow him to open up and relent to the capture, and she motioned her head towards the hide. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

[/b]

he was... resigned. Nimbus had not one brave bone in his body. his mind worked a mile a minute but words would not come out. he did not resist anymore after hearing their names, as if that even made a difference in the long run. scared of the dire wolf, he looked to the small lady entirely. his eyes were wide and fearful, and somehow he knew that this was... more than they let on. that this was much darker and more suspicious. that he was in trouble. dragging him all the way to the south for help? he knew there were packs around here. he knew there was a pack north that was closer. but he didn't argue. shooting a glance at the man, he ducked his head immediately as if fearful the other wolf would berate him for just looking. "N...Nimbus" he spoke, his voice pained and low. his ears pinned back against his skull. "you're... you're going to b-bring me somewhere safe, right?" there was a fat chance of that but he tried to lift the mood. he didn't like how both of them stared at him like he was a piece of food waiting to be devoured. he was the prey. they were predators. it was simple. he wasn't going to rile either of the wolves up else he was risking a beating. or a kill. that man - Sirius - looked like he could take his head off easily. a pained grunt whimpered out of his lips as he dragged himself onto the coat. it's just a sprain... when it's better, I can leave he told himself. though he knew it was more complicated than that. somehow, he knew. "Speech." | "you" | ----------------------------------------------------------- OOC: PP given to drag nimbus off ;D

Stock by Kati.H

He could taste the fear of the wolf before them, his pain and agitation were also quite plain in his anxious expression. He knew he shouldn’t trust them. His instincts were good, a shame he wasn’t in any position to act on them. Sirius didn’t let himself feel anything for the strange, his only priorities where those he already owed allegiance to, or considered friends. He refrained from looking up at Zee, weary of what he would see in her expression. It hadn’t been an easy path for hem to fall into this friendship, and nor was he certain how it had started, but he knew beyond a doubt that he would kill for her. “Alright Nimbus, i’m going to try to make this as smooth as possible.” he promised, seeing no reason to increase the man's pain. He had hopped onto the coat with minimal fuss, through the distrust was still there. Sirius grabbed the coat carefully in his maw - carefully, so that his saber fangs didn’t nick the material, before turning and letting the coat drag beside him with Nimbus upon it. The light, smaller wolf wasn’t heavy at first, but Sirius knew the distance would soon feel like endless miles. He kept his eyes forward, and leaned into the work. He had put his mind to this, and wasn’t going to stop for anything. -exit to new thread?- "Speech"