With a careless toss Valkyrie chucked the captive's rope at Jupiter and scooped up her goods. The two shared a parting word and then she was gone, leaving Jupiter with his prize. Casually he stepped on the end of the rope before turning to the girl. She was a cute little thing. A little rough, maybe, but she'd clean up nicely. He was going to need a pretty little sidekick or two to help peddle his wares. No doubt he'd get lonely too if he spent a lot of time in the wilds. It would be nice to have a little company. "Alright, you. I think it fair we start off with some ground rules. You're gonna stick with me, alright? So close by my side you may as well be my shadow." He eyed her up and down. "I'm not gonna lie to ya. You run, it's gonna get ugly." Jupiter shrugged. "But if you do as you're told..." He leaned forward and took the rope off her neck. "We'll get along just fine." "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

she tried to focus on the face of the man that she would call master. everything, from his name to his coat, was unfamiliar to her. the man would release her from the safety net that the band had given her, and Niamh looked wordlessly down at the rope. part of her wanted to scream at him; the rope made everything easier, how dare he take the rope away... but no words came. no words had come since Mother died. this was not going to be any different. be she slave or servant, nothing was going to be different. the Hjarrandi had given her boarding for a few weeks before deciding to sell her. this man was going to give her a place of residence too, even if there were strings attached. like the forgotten rope at her paws, she was but a thread in a much grander scheme. and she was just content to let it pass her by. the young woman would nod to her owner, her pale rose eyes looking upon him. trying to drink everything he was at once. he was mainly blue - like the deep waves of an ocean. but then he changed to the northern lights. maybe he was fire. she heard it both hindered and helped. but one thing never changed; the vacant, unwelcomed blur of his facial features. it was like looking at abstract art. there was no sense to it, yet there was much passion behind it. she gave a soft whine, pressing her ears against her skull and lowering her head. she couldn't tell what color his eyes were for long before they shifted to another odd color. she couldn't tell if he had kindness in them or hate. all she knew is that he was just like any other person she was unable to distinguish. Niamh lifted her head after awhile, staring at him openly but making no sound. her skull tilted, eyes questioning his next actions. despite no sound coming from her, the girl was expressive. she merely waited for him to give her an order - she knew her place - but for a split second, her brows furrowed. like my shadow he had said, and she instinctively moved to his side. not close enough to touch him but close enough for him to reach out. a weak wag of her tail was seen as if asking if she had done well.

He watched her watch him. Honestly she wasn't sure what to expect as she tried to figure him out. Would she run when her situation finally dawned on her? Cry? Beg for her freedom? Would she try to fight him? He was pleased to discover that at least for the moment, she chose not to do any of the above. Instead she took his shadow statement literally and quickly moved to take up position beside him. This pleased him. "Very good," he said warmly, his tone oozing praise. "My dear, you are as smart as you are beautiful." He had a simple plan: heavily praise the desirable behavior and heavily punish the bad. "Come, I think you've earned a decent meal." Without pausing to look and see if she hesitated, Jupiter took off at a lazy trot in search of something to eat. He had eaten his fill with the vikings, but undoubtedly she hadn't fared as well as he. Perhaps they could scare up a meal for her. "Do you have a name, woman?" "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

her tail would wag again, but this time with more earnest than before but would stall when he asked her name. she wanted to please him - because that would make this easier - but at the same time... she hadn't spoken to anyone in over a year. self-conscious she had 'lost' her voice, she tried to make a sound but it came out as a squeak. her throat felt raw and unused. like burning coals were forced down her gullet, preventing her to speak. Niamh would look at the man with worry, wondering if he thought she was somehow defective now. that he got a bad deal from the Viking woman. hoping to please her new owner, she came up with an idea. instead, her eyes dropped to the floor and she reached out with one paw. she scribbled 'Niamh' in the dirt, hoping he could read or at least understand. it was noticeable enough and literate enough. with the same paw, she scratched out 'Niamh' to write 'Nia' underneath. "..." if he wanted to call her a short name, she supposed it was okay. he did own her now. he could technically call her anything he wanted. she had blushed when he said she was 'beautiful', a stark red across her pale cheeks. if only she could see what the man looked like; he was just a nice big blue blur to her. but from what she could see, he had a large body and some markings. Niamh's head tilted to the side when he offered her food. she was hungry, yes. diligently she followed after his large strides, trying to keep up after months in captivity. in a hole or tied somewhere sturdy. fed scraps. just enough to be alive. she stumbled a bit but tried to keep in his 'shadow' as the man asked her to.

Jupiter watched as his new slave scratched in the dirt. He frowned and squinted at the scratches in a vain attempt to understand their meaning. If she was trying to draw him pictures he couldn’t tell for the life of him what they were.

After a beat he shook his head. He didn’t get it or why she had decided to scratch in the dirt instead of just answering him. “I don’t know what that means. So are ya going to tell me your name or do I gotta make something up?”

so he couldn't read. Niamh hung her head, wishing she felt comfortable enough to speak to him. maybe with time she'd feel less shy, less selective speaking to another wolf or wolves. she had no problem following orders and would probably respond to any name he would give her. even if it was a cruel one. her ears piqued and she would look up, right at him. if he gave her a name, that'd be easier. and when she was acceptably comfortable with him... she'd give her name. hopefully. it was a plan, at least. a terrible plan, but a plan nonetheless. she'd give a nod to the man, willing him to call her something. raising a paw, she'd gesture to her jaws and open them wordlessly a few times. willing him to understand she couldn't exactly speak. he didn't need to know she didn't want to. let him believe she wanted to and could not. maybe it could be a fun surprise down the line? she was just naive enough to believe that. her tail wagged again as she stared at him expectantly.

Upon hearing his response the girl looked a bit defeated. It didn't take much for Jupiter to put two and two together. She'd looked so hopeful after scratching in the dirt that he believed she had made a genuine effort to communicate with him, which left only one option: maybe that was her only way. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a little disappointed. He'd bought her because she was a cute little thing and he'd been hoping for a pretty little sales bunny to help him sell his wares. Eye candy was known to increase profits. But she couldn't sell things, could she, if she couldn't speak. Oh well, he wasn't taking her back. He'd just have to find another use for her. "Well I gotta call you something, huh?" He squinted at her, the wheels turning as he tried to come up with a fitting name. "How about...Holly. Short, sweet, cute like you. Nice ring to it, I think." "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

Holly. that was to be her name, at least outwardly. Niamh tried to smile, making it seem a bit awkward but otherwise accepting this as her new life. she gave a few good nods to the man though. he hadn't introduced himself to her yet, but she decided he didn't really have to. she could call him 'Master' until she spoke to him. she still had much to learn, and if applied she could do it. she'd been living alone for close to a year with only the forest animals for company. it'd take her a bit to learn skills needed in life. and it would be up to the man to shape her into what he wanted her to be. Niamh had no problem with being called something else. she didn't seem to care what she was called, as long as it was a bit positive. though he could call her 'idiot' and she'd still stupidly grin, unable to be a position to call him out for it anyway. she looked questioningly at the man with a tilt of her head. though he promised her food, she followed after him without a grumble from her belly. it was more of a questioning what now sort of look. where did he live? where was she supposed to live? did he have other servants? was he important? she had all sorts of questions for her new master. "Speech"

She didn’t make a face about his choice or in any way show displeasure with his naming ability, so Jupiter decided to take that as a win. Her name was Holly.

Spying the vendor that had sold him food for the pup, Jupiter called out to her and asked if she had any goods left for sale. When the answer was yes he bartered for a rabbit and soon had a meal for the little albino. “Here, Holly. Eat up, we have a long journey ahead of us,” he said as he dropped it at her feet. He then lay down to wait.

Jupiter’s eyes roved the nearby market. He’d made any purchases and was going to call it quits even though there was still a queue of auctions left. He had plenty. It was time to let some other schmuck pay too much for a captive.

Finally his attention returned to Niamh. “The name’s Jupiter, by the way.” Not that it would do her much good to know. “As soon as I collect the others we’ll be headed to Legion in the south.”

he would drop a rabbit at her paws, telling her to 'eat up'. her tail swished behind her in thanks before she bent her head. the Hjarrandi hadn't starved her, but they certainly kept their products on a tight lease. they made sure not to give too much, else the wolves captive would fight back with their energy. Niamh hadn't realized how hungry she was, and so devoured the corpse as quickly as possible. she looked up a few times as the man spoke, proclaiming his name was Jupiter and that they would go to 'Legion' soon. it was in the south, and she assumed it was a pack. Niamh had never been part of a pack - her mother had been a loner and her father was absent. whether he had been a pack wolf or not, she was not sure. she was also not sure how to approach or act around Jupiter. the young woman decided it was best to remain cautious and obedient. once she was done with the rabbit, she buried the remnants of the food (which wasn't a lot) before looking expectingly at the man. if they were going to Legion, she was quite ready to be free of the marketplace. a new life awaited. whether it was a good one, well, she wasn't sure. "Speech"

Jupiter watched passively as Niamh buried what remained of the rabbit. An interesting thing to do, one he certainly couldn't complain about it. If she was a neat freak he could use that to his advantage. She could make sure his cart and all of his things looked presentable when they went places, maybe. He could find a use for that.

When she was done and looking at him expectantly he took a deep cleansing breath, stood up and stretched to rid his muscles of any lingering tightness. ”Alright, guess it's time, huh?” He jerked his head in the direction he was going to go. ”Let's go.”

-exit-

it was time to go. Jupiter got up, stretching and proclaimed it so. as his asset now, Niamh was supposed to follow him. he had bought her, after all, so she naturally assumed this was normal. she knew nothing else. with a last look to the others gathered at the market, she followed her master. some hadn't wanted to be there, she knew that, but she had been grateful for the Hjarrandi. they had taken her in, fed her and kept her safe. though it was less being kind and more keeping specimens for sale in tip-top shape. she was a simple wolf and barely noticed the bad in people. whether her master had any evil intentions, she wasn't aware. he did not talk about himself in the brief time they were introduced. Niamh diligently followed him, for he promised nothing bad would happen if she did. the woman believed him foolishly. though her head was hung low, there was no rope anymore. she didn't need to be led away as the others were. / EXIT "Speech"