Jupiter was not too far from the woman whom he'd bought - likely so he could keep an eye on his 'property' - and so it didn't take long for Fracture to reach him. He approached him without hesitation, keeping inside the feelings within him and doing his best to not appear as enraged as he felt. "Hey, big man." His voice was cold and accusing. "You'd better keep a better eye on your goods, wouldn't want them to run away." Dark lip upturned in a slight snarl, his disgust showing through as he gestured to the quiet woman a distance away. "What kind of pack barters with slavers? Buys wolves to keep as property? You sicken me." The dark man wanted desperately to say more, to lunge for the male's throat and take him to the ground. To free the albino woman who had nobody at the market to protect her. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

she had arrived just in time, out of breath and in a hurry to keep up. just in time for the dark man to spit accusations at her master. "run away" hung in the air before Niamh gasped in shock and tried to get between the two men. she turned to Jupiter, shaking her head wildly with fear in her eyes. he had allowed her to go a few paces away from him, and this is how she repaid him? she had only said the truth; her master had bought her. what else was she to say when asked? yes, everything is fine. she was fine. everything was normal. but she was definitely not normal. though the dark man was right in his personal justice. Niamh was too foolish and simple to see it like that. if he fought again, he could get hurt. badly this time. she didn't want anyone to fight over her. not like this. the Vikings had sold her to the blue-furred wolf. she had been bought fairly. still trying to get between the wolves, she'd struggle to breathe. fear and desperation were soaked in the air around her. a much braver wolf would take the opportunity to run while her master was distracted. Niamh didn't. the thought never occurred to her.

Jupiter was perusing the other stalls as Niamh roved the market grounds. He had been on the verge of striking up a conversation with the grey brindle male who kept the alcohol stall when Fracture approached.

He turned to face Fracture and stood still, his posture relaxed and open as the knight said his piece. While the male spoke Jupiter took the opportunity to look him over. He was a smaller man, roughly the same age and largely nondescript; the sort of wolf to be easily overlooked were he not actively drawing attention to himself. He was not the sort of wolf Jupiter tended to notice.

Niamh rushed up, a panicked look on her face. He raised a paw and made a ‘it’s fine’ gesture at her, but said nothing and soon looked over her head at Fracture, who was still speaking.

Finding Fracture and his righteous indignation a bit mundane, there was only one real way for him to react. His raised his browspots questioningly, the corners of his mouth rising slightly and eyes scrunching  to show a hint of amusement, and then said, “Okay?” Why should he care what this little man thought of him? More importantly, why should he have any bearing on Jupiter’s mood? He was having a great time and he was not going to let the opinion of a nobody dampen it.

The other man's careless attitude frustrated Fracture further, his anger intensifying as the slave girl ran in and her master held up a silencing paw to her. He bared his teeth in a growl, and before he knew it his body was acting of it's own accord as he moved forward to try and land a bite upon the paw in question. A part of him knew this was foolish - surely he'd be humiliated once more for trying to defend the weak - and he imagined his king and Tyr returning to his side to once again try to bring the honor Fracture lost back to Winterfell. He was all too glad that his pack would never deal with people like this - they were filth, all of them. If it were up to him, he'd return to this god forsaken market with a dozen of their people and kill them all. Fracture vs Jupiter for ... dominance? Round 1/? Age: Over 1 year Size: Large Build: Light Fight Skill Level: Advanced "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

she felt bad - terrible even - that this was going on. it was all her fault for approaching the dark man. it was her fault she spoke to him. it was her fault he was angry with Jupiter now. if she hadn't done any of those things, the dark man wouldn't be hurt. she cared more about his well-being than the wolf who bought her, and she feared Jupiter's reaction. she didn't know the blue-furred wolf well - if at all - so it was hard not to imagine him swatting the other away. what if the brave man got hurt because of her? but to fight over her, about her and maybe even for her? she... I'm not worth it Niamh felt like throwing herself between the two men, to be hit by the man's paw instead of her master. but her paws didn't move; she was too cowardly to place her neck on the line for a person who had been nothing but nice so far. no! she screamed in her mind, seeing the paw raise in almost slow motion. she stared, shock crossing her otherwise simple features and waiting for Jupiter to react to the flash of anger.

It seemed his attempt to calm his woman were unsuccessful, which was a pity as she was wasting a chance to be entertained by being afraid instead. He himself was unperturbed so he found it odd that she was not, but eh, she was new. Given time she would become accustomed to his ways and learn to find the humor in things. Now was not the time to be afraid of what he could do. This was funny and he was amused. As long as he was amused everything was fine. He decided to take another stab at calming Niamh's misplaced nerves. "Really, it's fine, my dear." This was probably going to be a good introduction to what life was going to be like with him. He was irreverent and far more interested in laughing at all the little people around him than taking their insults to heart. It seemed he had struck a nerve. Little man was getting the reaction he deserved instead of the one he wanted and that didn't seem to sit well with him. And of course that only added to the hilarity in Jupiter's opinion. With a snort and a short, quiet laugh Jupiter pulled his paw back quickly out of harm's way and then tried to plant it on the bridge of Fracture's snout so he could gently push his face downwards. The idea wasn't to do any harm or even to push him to the ground - the shove's only purpose was to redirect or stop the bite and the reaching neck behind it. "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

Fracture's bite had missed, and in retaliation he received not a fight like he'd expected but instead the other man moved to push his face away. The dark man growled low and quiet, but did not attempt again. He could see the fear in Niamh and pitied her for it. He wondered what it was that might put that fear within her and sighed. His head turned towards her to offer her an apologetic look. He wasn't thinking with his head, and as he thought of the punishments a slave master might put back down upon her for the issue he forced himself to calm. "Does it not bother you to own another wolf? To see her so afraid?" If force would not work, Fracture would try reasoning with him. He let his words sink in, and then added as an afterthought. "Let me buy her from you, name your price." Perhaps by using the trader's cruelty against him might let the dark male free the she-wolf. Surely if he thought of her as only goods, there would be goods worth it to him to trade her for. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

she shut her eyes, missing the brief gesture Jupiter made with his body to basically push the other man away. Niamh had readied herself for the scent of blood, like Mother's life force when she died in such an awful way. violently ill, but not by another's paws. if Fracture was hurt because of her, she wouldn't know how to repay him. she belonged to Jupiter, after all, and it was up to him whether she helped the Winterfell man or leave him to lick his own wounds. Niamh wanted to be brave but she was fearful of retaliation. her master had told her if she was good, nothing bad would happen. she had been good and, like promised, nothing bad happened. she took the blue-furred man to his word. "let me buy her from you" exited Fracture's jaws and her eyes flickered open to stare at the man. her brows lifted in surprise and her mouth hung open delicately. "name your price." though personally, she wouldn't be opposed to this she wondered if she was even worth the trouble. a bolder wolf would think she was; her ego would inflate and she'd hold her head high. Niamh wasn't the type to do that. her head hung, eyes on the ground and refusing to be hopeful about this. if Jupiter rejected the idea, it'd be disappointing. for Fracture but most of all for her. she wanted to go with the Winterfell man. "Speech"

Fracture’s reaction disappointed Jupiter a bit. He had been hoping the tantrum would escalate so he could heehaw his way through a fight, but alas, it seemed he was dealing with a good boy. A boy who, when not getting his way and tantruming failed, changed tactics. That was a good trait to have but that didn’t make it any less disappointing for the brawler.

Jupiter snorted at the unspoken assertion that it was he who had made Holly fearful. “The only reason she is afraid is because you ran up pretending to be justice’s big swingin’ dick. Her fear is on you, buddy, because we were getting along just fine before you decided to play savior.”

As for Fracture’s offer to buy her, that was just delicious. Jupiter arched a brow. “So let me get this straight. You run up and insult me, act like you can just bend me over and make off with the damsel, then you attack me when you don’t get your way, and now you want to do business with me.” He sucked on his teeth -still smirking - and then bit on his lip, clearly relishing this conversation. “That’s hilarious.” That wasn’t a no. Jupiter was willing to entertain the idea, but Fracture was going to have to work for it.

Jupiter's words were building Fracture's rage further and further, but he did his best to keep it contained. The slaver claimed that this was his fault, as if it was normal to keep and contain other wolves like property and that to be outraged at the very idea was unnatural. His smirk made the dark male growl once more. "You can do your best to make me feel small, but my ego is far from this conversation. This is not a dick measuring contest." He paused, trying to find the right words. It frustrated him that the blue male had called it 'business', Fracture was only following his own moral compass as honorably as he could. This was fast becoming as futile an effort as his dominance match with Sirius for the other slave, and the dark man only hoped Acere was nowhere nearby to try and fight the brute for him. "Look, you purchased the girl - however vile that might be - and thus you see value in her as property. Tell me what would match or surpass that value so that she can have her freedom and you will have your payment." He negotiated. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

she learned now that her master was a quick-witted man. Jupiter was unphased by the Winterfell wolf's offer, readying scathing remarks. Niamh's ears pinned against her skull as the two men locked their wits and resolve. she had some strange and unwanted respect for the blue-furred man not backing down - both from the attempt at an assault and the offer to buy his new slave from him. but then again, she also had a more honest respect for Fracture. he was noble and did things to be 'good' to all. not just for himself, compared to her master. but she hoped that Jupiter would sell her to the dark man. she had to have hope, else she'd fall into despair. she could whine and complain about her situation, refusing to eat and socialize in the way she could or she could... try to be mature about it. she had no fighting spirit - both verbally and physically. she was weak in the sunlight where most wolves basked in their joy. she could not defend against anyone. lifting her head after Fracture spoke, she stared at him but tried not to look desperate. true, her master had treated her nicely so far but she still had an opinion. if it was Jupiter or Fracture, she'd go with the Winterfell man in a heartbeat. the idea of 'freedom' again... it was almost too sweet. "Speech"

Jupiter quirked a brow at Fracture, then hummed, "So you say." He wasn't convinced. It took a certain white-knight machismo to run up to a stranger and attempt to pick a fight. It would take a lot to convince him otherwise. Amadeus, a bowl of liquor clutched in his paws, chose that moment to sidle over to the trio of wolves. His lackadaisical pace pointed either to obliviousness or indifference, but it was difficult to tell which was the cause. The little tamarin casually moved the bowl to his mouth and then climbed up Jupiter's right foreleg. The bowl remained in his mouth, his eyes crossed to gaze hawkishly at the precious liquid inside, until he was seated on Jupiter's neck and leaned back against it as though he was in a recliner. After a quick drink the bowl was once again in his paws and he smacked his lips contentedly. Despite appearances he was listening, otherwise he would have waved the bowl under Jupiter's nose and made a nuisance of himself. Jupiter made a show of rolling his eyes heavenward in thought. "Let's see. Well," he said saucily. "I bought her to help me pull a cart and sell some shit so you tell me, what do you have that's going to pull my cart for me when my back hurts, eh? Or show off my shit 'n' bring customers in?" He eyed Fracture speculatively, wondering just how far he was willing to take his valiant knight act. "You gonna take her place?" "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

Fracture watched as the Tamarin climbed up onto it's owner to enjoy the show, his brow arching to the display of nonchalance. Jupiter continued to speak, this time explaining his need for the woman and asking if Fracture would take her place. "How is a mute girl to sell your wares for you?" He countered, casting a glance to the worried female at Jupiter's side. His eyes softened as they met hers and he sighed. "I'd take her place if that was to be the only payment you'd accept." The dark man responded carefully. "Though surely there must be something else." He thought on the other man's situation and how he might be able to work around the issue. The girl would surely bring customers better then Fracture would himself, for she was beautiful of face even though she could not speak. She could pull a cart, sure, but she was small and slender and her stamina would likely suffer. Jupiter smelled of pack, but still spoke of selling wares and dragging product. Was he a wanderer, then? Not living at home but on the road? Fracture's lips pressed together as he considered. "I can pull your cart better then she can. Allow the two of us - myself and her - to accompany you as free wolves and assist you in unloading your wares. For a length of time, or until your cart is light enough for you to pull alone." His offer wasn't something he'd enjoy, living with this slaver until they'd sold enough goods to pay off the loan. Though if the male were to accept his offer, the woman would be freed and Fracture could deal with some time away from Winterfell for that. He glanced back to the ivory woman, searching her gaze to see if the offer was acceptable to her as well. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

the woman hung her head, knowing the dark man's words were true. how was she supposed to sell Jupiter's wares if she didn't feel comfortable speaking to many people? but the Winterfellian's words weren't unkind, just stating a fact. it just didn't make her insides squirm any less. was her master disappointed in the deal with Valkyrie? she was too naive to think that the Hjarrandi would have missed telling him about her muteness on purpose. maybe they hadn't known themselves. but she looked up, startled as the man offered his services to Jupiter. Niamh resisted pacing toward him, rushing to tell him no. she could... she could try to be a good salesperson. he didn't need to enslave himself for her sake. even if he spoke of them being free wolves, would her master think of it like that? however shocked she may be, her face melted easily enough as Fracture looked to her for her approval. as if she had a say in it. she may be selfish in this instance, for she did want him to be around more. she stared at him for a long moment before nodding silently, giving her choice on the manner. whether Jupiter would accept, though... she wasn't sure of that either. "Speech"

Though they may have been made of steel, all this nitpicking was being to wear on his nerves. He sighed in exasperation, then said, ”Perhaps you should stop assuming you know more about my business than I do, eh? I said she'd help me pull the cart and sell shit, not be a saleslady. Don't need to do much talking when you're setting wares out 'n' packing things up, do you?” Or modeling apparel whenever he got his paws on some.

His expression turned incredulous. ”This isn't a one off thing, bub. This is a business. When my cart is light enough for me to pull alone imma load it with more shit. 'Ad infintum' and all that. So if it isn't going to be her then it's gonna have to be someone else until I feel like getting out of the business or taking on a partner.”

”You make another offer that's worth my time and I'll consider it. Otherwise you take her place until I'm sick of looking at your face.” He might consider trading Niamh for a large animal of some kind. Maybe a big primate or cat. Armor, maybe, if the bloke had somehow gotten his paws on a couple of sets.