Life in the Armada was so vastly different from what she was accustomed to. For one, she had a great deal more freedom of movement. She wasn’t confined to one small space for most of her day. She simply made sure she was available whenever Briar needed her. She was always there at bed time, available to wash her lady's paws before dinner, or offer her a massage.

The day itself was fairly free. Baron Artorias had made his way home to Auster, and his presence was keenly felt. However, the turn in attitudes around her didn’t come. Without him to shield her, she was surprised to find that still no one took advantage of her. She started to spread her wings a little. She started to cultivate a little patch of earth in front of Briar’s home. Winter had arrived, so she didn’t plant any seeds yet, but she did work to weed and fertilize the soil. In spring, she would grow her first flowers and herbs. Perhaps they would mature enough for her to take them with them when they moved to Auster. Would Artorias grant her a small patch of ground to grow her own things?

She was lost in the whimsical thoughts when she reached the pack’s border. There, just outside the territory was a beautiful patch of late-blooming pansies. They would be dying in the winter frost regardless, but perhaps she could pick them and brighten her lady's den for a few days.

She stepped over the pack scent markers, half expecting a sudden alarm to pierce the night, for a howl of warning to stop her. Nothing happened. She moved towards the flowers, and then looked a little further afield. Another patch, this one boosted a perfect, beautiful flower. She continued forward, moving into the tree line.


Speech

Stalking through the woods came naturally to the tremendous wolf as he slipped seamlessly and very near silently between the gangly trees. One of the nicest parts of his arrangement with Lorikeet was that both wolves had been allowed the freedoms to come and go as they pleased. Keetie would sometimes venture off on her own, and he was free to continue to pursue his escapades of spontaneous brawls, robberies and raids, and targeted kidnappings or hits. Granted, he hadn't been up to much of his previous sinister antics, partially due to how much time he spent with Keetie and Ruga, and partially for a lack of clientele. Boreas, it seemed, was beginning to lose its need for outlaws such as himself. Everything was becoming so... civilized. No one wanted a wolf assassinated, or another warm body in a raid, most of the slavers had been driven out by one "hero" or another... His means of income were fast becoming depleted. At this rate, he'd soon have to turn to "honest work". Sitka shivered at the thought.

That was what had sent the tawny dire wolf to southern Boreas. He was looking for a means of entertainment, or perhaps a lucrative lead on a job. Something to keep his idle paws busy. Pushing through a canopy of wiry branches and thin leaves, Sitka found himself peering through the floral veil out at a vibrantly-furred female wandering deeper and deeper into the woods. She appeared to be hopping from flower patch to flower patch, scrutinizing the plants and harvesting a couple before moving to the next and repeating the process. Sitka watched her silently for a moment, steel blue eyes focused on her movements. She was a slim, petite little thing, gorgeous and easy on the eyes. He was downwind from her, so he got a nose full of her scent. Delectable. She was someone who was cared for and it showed. Perhaps she was someone valuable to a noble—a handmaiden or servant or courtesan. Either way, Sitka had found his entertainment for the afternoon.

A menacing grin slowly stretched across his muzzle while he observed her for a little while longer from behind the willow branches. She was blissfully unaware of the voyeur spying on her. The larger brute was trying to decide what to do with her. He could attack her, and he probably would, weaken her and subdue her under his will. From there, what would he do? Force himself upon the beautiful creature? Take her prisoner and sell her to some slavers for a pretty penny? Just kill her? No, that would be such a waste... but the other two options held merit. Chuckling to himself, Sitka finally slipped out of the tree branches and emerged before her.

"Good day, li'l lady," he greeted in his husky voice, words smooth yet edged with robust masculinity. He shot her a friendly grin, only taking a couple slow steps towards her while he lowered his head to make himself appear as less of a threat. He didn't approach her directly, pausing a few paces off so as not to frighten her off. She seemed the skittish sort. "Now what's a pretty thing like you doing out here picking your own flowers? Surely you've got a line of gentlemen who'd love to get you bouquets from all over Boreas." He was taking it slow, earning her trust just enough to get in close... then his superior size and strength would take over from the rugged charm.

"Sitka Thánatos"

Ohhh…. she found a beautiful teal pansy that reminded her of her Mistress’s eyes. She smiled, and the expression almost felt natural on her maw as she gently plucked it and added it to her collection. She had just about enough flowers now to make a few beautiful arrangements within the den.

She was lost in her work, and perhaps had become a little complacent with her time in the Armada. Not that she had ever been a tracker or knew what signs to look for to know when she was being hunted. When a figure slipped out of the trees ahead of her and spoke, she startled. Blinking in shock and surprise at the stranger wolf.

“Oh… My Lord, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there” she apologised, dipping her head respectfully. Even as she took a step back and tried to remember the quickest path back to the Armada. She did not want to invoke some stranger's wrath, and nor did she wish to disappoint Briar. There had to be some middle ground that left everyone happy, right? “Good day to you as well, My Lord. I didn’t mean to intrude upon your, er… peace.” she started to say as his words registered. Gentlemen bringing her flowers? She had never heard anything so preposterous. “I would not be one to waste flowers upon, My Lord. These are for my Mistress.”

Speech

The fire-colored wolf startled in such a way one would have thought she'd been deliberately scared instead of simply meandering across a stranger. She was a skittish one all right. The panic in her eyes, the lowering of her body and dipping of her head, she was a submissive one by nature. She addressed him as "Lord", then referred to gathering the flowers for her Mistress. That got Sitka to raise a curious brow. Ah, so the woman was a servant girl to a noblewoman. How interesting... Slavers paid handsomely for quality merchandise like this wolf could be. Smaller, thin, pretty, curvy and shapely in all the right areas... But they would pay even better for a wolf that was already a trained slave. This little darling could be worth a small fortune for him. Then he could take his earnings and buy Keetie something nice, something sparkly to impress her and maybe get her head between his legs again. Speaking of...

Sitka waited until the woman had finished speaking before deciding to see just how well trained she'd been as a slave. She had already begun to assume the position of a slave: head bowed, body lowered to the ground. "Ah, is that so? Your Mistress is a very lucky lady to have a wolf as loyal to her as you. Does she know you're out here preparing this nice surprise for her?" He looked over her briefly. It would be so easy to just storm up, find a way to bind her, then sling her over his back to take to market. Or it'd be just as easy to mount that perky rump of hers first. Hmm, decisions, decisions...

Sitka began to close the space between them, a dominant and commanding presence to him as he held Lia's flame-like eyes with his own. If she had been as well trained as the slavers out near the desert had been, she'd be easy enough to command on intensity and personality alone. He wouldn't need to wrestle her to the ground or damage her unnecessarily. "What's your name, girl?" he asked, now only a few quick paces away from her, his muscles tensed and ready to pounce if she tried to bolt. He willed her to stay put, to make this easy for him, easy for the both of them.

"Sitka Thánatos"

Her submissive stance was so ingrained in her, it was unthinking. Natural. He was a hulking brute of a man. Larger than the marauders who had owned her for a time. There was something in his eyes however that reminded her of them. Something that told her if she fled, he would love her for it. Would love chasing her down and hearing her squeal. Her heartbeat picked up, and words of her Master filtered quietly in. ‘Never again.’ But he wasn’t here, he was far, far away…

“No, My Lord.” She whispered softly, her lowered eyes could still pick up the way he looked her over. Her heart squeezed, and the soft little haven that had started to build inside of her splintered. He started to move towards her, and her legs quivered, but she did not bolt. That lesson had been ingrained into her too many times. Bolting went either two ways - One, they punished her for it. And Masters could be very creative in their cruelty. Or Two, they enjoyed it, and the chase awoke something primal and cruel inside of them. They would be rough and hard in their treatment of her, and her tender places would hurt for weeks.

Her heart was thundering in her chest now, as the tyrant monstrosity closed the distance between them. “Idalia, My Lord” she whispered. He was close now, and she could see the readiness in his hard muscles. A part of her, a very small, tiny part of her was waiting for Art to appear, to fulfill his promises to her. But he was only a man, and a continent away. The part of her that had always known Knights didn’t leap in and rescue you was strangling that hope. This man towered over her. Strong, capable, and cruel. He was exactly the wolf Artorias wished her to learn to defend herself from, but she knew she couldn’t. There was nothing she could do except for one thing. Would Artorias and Briar throw her away for defying the strength they had wished to cultivate inside of her? “....What do you wish of me, My Lord?” She whispered, and watched her little dream of paradise in The Hallows slip away.

Speech

He could see the light fading in her eyes, that breaking of a spirit he'd witnessed so many times before. It was the mind slowly coming to accept the body's fate. She was a trained slave, she knew what he wanted and what he would take, and she was shutting down in preparation for it. This was a little different though. There was a small spark of hope in those immolated eyes that lingered, fighting for its life against the darkness. Even as her body began to tremble in dread that light didn't go away. Even when she refused to run and obeyed his words, it didn't go away. She was clinging to a hope. What that hope was, he'd never be able to tell. Not that it mattered in the end. It would be snuffed out, just like the hope of every other wolf he'd dragged into a life of indentured servitude for little more than a sack of gems and a warm meal or a pretty lady for the night.

She confessed that her Mistress did not know she was out here. Hmm, excellent. No one would come looking for her for a while then. She gave her name as Idalia. It was lovely, a fitting name for the fine creature cowering before him like a scared pup. The corner of his mouth curled up into a lopsided smirk as he finished closing the distance between them. He was looming over her now, still seeing that irritating glimmer in her eyes. He'd have to break her more to get rid of it for good. She asked what he desired of her, her voice barely above a whisper, and he knew he had her. He hadn't had to raise a paw against her either. That was good; slaves were more valuable when they were pretty and unblemished. But that didn't mean he wouldn't still have his fun with her. How else was he going to kill that last bit of hope still stuck in her heart?

"Do not move and don't make a sound," said Sitka, his voice hard and commanding. He knew with their size difference, keeping quiet would be an impossibility for her. But he was fine with a few cries of discomfort and pain so long as she didn't try to howl for help. Sauntering around behind her, Sitka let his eyes roam over Idalia's slender body, taking her in as he made his way to her rump. He wasted no time, batting her tail away and pinning it to her hips as he mounted her roughly from behind. A large paw pressed to her back and forced her front half down to the ground, keeping her pinned beneath his weight and size. Sitka craned his neck down to place his muzzle alongside the fae's delicate ear, then whispered in a rough growl, "If you scream for anyone, I'll snap your neck." His threat issued, Sitka shuffled to position his hips with hers, and began with a snarl, keeping Lia's head pulled back so he could stare into her eyes and watch that last glimmer of hope finally die in them.

- fade -

"Sitka Thánatos"

This Tyrant was one of the largest wolves she had ever seen. If it wasn’t for the Warlord of the Armada, he would be the largest she had ever encountered. Certainly, he would be the largest to ever mount her. He commanded her silence, and she wondered exactly how much this would hurt. He didn’t look like the type to take it easy on her. She squeezed her eyes shut and didn’t move, concentrating for a moment on her breathing. It was raspy and frightened, on the verge of panic. If she was to obey his command to not make a sound, she knew she needed to get it under control.

It wasn’t easy to do as she felt him move behind her. Felt the whisper of his coat brush against hers as he circled around the back of her. Having a large, hostile creature behind you was never an easy thing, no matter how much the training for it had been beaten into you. In the end, keeping her eyes closed only made it worse. She let them slip open again. She felt his paw bat her tail, and she held it to the side for him. He did not own her, but that did not matter. The strong always took what they wanted from the weak, and she was at the very bottom of the rung.

She sent off a little, silent apology to Briar and Artorias, feeling this was a betrayal to them. Even in that moment, knowing the pain and violation that awaited her, her thoughts went to them in apology. There was a delay, and her heart squeezed into an even tighter ball at the horrible anticipation of it. What was he waiting for - and then he was grabbing her. She couldn’t stop the small gasp that escaped her, and then she clenched her teeth together. Her breath escaped between them in a silent hiss of pain as his paw pressed her to the ground, dominating her, owning her. She shuddered as his muzzle brushed by her ear. His words a death threat. “Y-y-yes, My Lord” was all she could manage. Then he was pulling her head back, the position awkward and painful. Forcing her to see the pale, terrible gaze that held her. To see the cruelty in them, and know he would offer her no relief. Her wide, frightened gaze didn’t even try to hide. He would see how much it hurt the moment he began. How much it hurt with each motion. He would see the silent tears that escaped her hopeless face.

- Fade -

Speech

Briar hadn't told Lia, but she had directed Willow to keep an eye on her handmaiden whenever they weren't together. Even though they had begun some training since Artorias had brought her here, Briar was still worried for her if she were to venture out on her own. Lia had quickly become a close friend and beyond that she was a gift from Artorias which made her even more precious. She didn't want to just keep Lia cooped up or force her to just sit by while she threw herself into her training to distract herself from Art's absence though so she assigned her falcon to quietly follow Lia to make sure no harm came to her.

It gave her a little extra peace of mind so she could focus on other things. In a similar way to how she had put her all into her training when she broke up with Art, she did the same thing now with his absence that left a painful gap in her life. The two seasons she was now going to have to spend without him felt daunting and this felt like the only way she could distract herself. His visit here had been a taste of what their life would be like once they were finally able to live together permanently and it just made her long for it more.

She was at the training grounds by the sea practicing how she might make better use of the spiked helmet she had crafted when Willow came frantically flying in, pulling away her attention from he task at hand to tell her that Lia was in trouble. Her heart immediately leapt into her throat and she turned to race across the plains, following Willow out toward the Weeping Woods without a second thought or consideration. She didn't even wait to hear what kind of trouble her handmaiden was in. All she needed to know was that Lia needed help and was in some kind of danger and that was enough to get her dashing across the plains as fast as her legs could carry her.

It only took a moment for her to assess the scene she found once she followed Lia's trail out into the willows and immediately her blood boiled. This was exactly the kind of situation she had worried about and now her fears were realized and she was furious. Her hackles bristled and her lips pulled back in a snarl, but there was no hesitation or pause as she ran up to Lia's attacker that was still mounted over her. She bounded forward and latched her jaws onto the upper part of his foreleg, biting down hard and making sure to keep her antlers pointed toward his face to block him from trying to bite anywhere around her face or neck. She started pulling him off of Lia, shoving him to the ground so Lia could slip away and get to somewhere safe.

"Briar Fatalis"

As much as Sitka enjoyed the thrill of a chase or the adrenaline-pounding action of subduing a mark, there was something to be said for how nice a target went down easily. Lia put up zero resistance, practically yielding her body over to his every whim. Those big, tear-filled eyes brought a sadistic grin to the brute as he had his way with her, enjoying every sound and reaction, but also marveling at how she didn't put up a fight. She took him and whatever he gave her in silent acceptance. Clearly this was not her first time beneath a man in this regard; perhaps she'd been someone's harlot in her life, but she was definitely a well-trained submissive slave. Idalia would fetch a fine price.

Sitka didn't get to finish though, as not long after he'd mounted her, his ears pricked to catch the sound of a snarl. His head snapped around in time to see a tawny wolf launching herself at him, feeling sharp teeth grip at flesh and muscle near his foreleg. He snarled in surprise and went to bite back, but narrowly avoided getting poked in the eye by the wolf's rack of short antlers. Fuck, this was one of those mutant wolves! He winced as she tore at him, trying to dip and weave his muzzle through her antlers to snap at her face, but the girl had taken him by surprise, and with him still on top of Lia, only his back legs had any purchase on the ground. The aggressor had him pulled off of his prey and on the ground before he knew it, doing little harm, but enraging him.

"Fucking bitch!" he snarled and twisted his body to face hers, jaws opened wide and aimed for her head—only to instead grab her antlers in his powerful jaws and clamp down on them, using his hold to roll his body while pulling hers, his superior weight and strength pulling the girl off of her paws so they were both on the ground now. Sitka continued their roll so he ended up with the antlered wolf still latched to his foreleg beneath him, throwing his weight down on the girl's head to try to slam her skull into the ground, hoping to incapacitate or at least stun her. He needed her to let go of his leg so he could break their grapple, otherwise neither of them were getting up from scuffling around in the dirt.

"Sitka Thánatos"

"Mistress!" She couldn't help the sudden cry that escaped her. A surging flow of emotion filling her. Shame stung her vains that her Lady would see this. 'We want you to learn to defend yourself' they had said, Briar had wanted. She had let down her Lady, and there was no ignoring it. But beyond that, there was something else. The brute behind her had yanked back her head and filled her eyes with terrible visions of himself, caused her pain and to relive a nightmare she had left behind. She had known no one was coming to save her, and then Briar was there. Somehow, she had known. She had cared enough to come, running as fast as her paws could carry her to Lias plight. Throwing her attacker to the ground, and freeing her. Tears were streaming down her face as she skuttled a few steps from the fight, hunkering down in the grass.

Fleeing or fighting hadn't been an option for Lia, not when the stake was her own body. But now, with Briar risking her life for her slave, Lia couldn't take the chance to flee. She stayed, watching the fight with eyes wide with fear and worry.

Then her attacker was grabbing Briar by her antlers, spinning her off her feet and driving her into the ground. The small, skittish, and hurting slave gasped. "No!" She whispered as she watched the Tyrant roll Briar underneath him. Before she knew it, she was back on her paws and leaping forward. Her snarl was perhaps a bit frightened and breathless, but she made the sound regardless as she lunched her teeth at the wolfs rump. He wouldn't hurt Briar, he wouldn't!

Briar saw Lia skitter away out of the corner of her eye and was glad that she was at least out of the thick of the fight and she wouldn't have to worry about her getting hurt in the crossfire. It allowed her to focus on the attacker instead who she managed to successfully knock to the ground while her teeth bit deep into his foreleg. Before she could do anything else, she felt his jaws latch on to one of her antlers and suddenly she was being yanked to the ground, the larger brute pulling her off of her feet and making her wince as her side was slammed into the ground. She kept her hold on his upper foreleg, her teeth tearing and biting deeper the more he tossed her around until he rolled to put her under him. Him slamming her head into the ground made stars dance across her vision and knocking her loose from his foreleg. As she was regaining her bearings Lia darted in from the side and went to leave a bite near his rump and that gave her the split second distraction she needed to regroup.

She shifted under him and with her claws extended she kicked hard with her back legs up into his lower stomach with a snarl on her lips and a burning anger in her gaze. She had never really understood the lengths her father would go through to protect the wolves he thought of as his, but now she kind of began to understand. It had always been a given that she would have done anything to protect her family, but Lia was under her protection now. She was important to her so of course she would do anything to protect her as well. Just a beat after kicking him in the stomach she lunged forward to head butt him just as hard, the sharpened crown of antlers around the edges of her helmet stabbing across his brow in the process.

"Briar Fatalis"

Sitka got the antlered bitch beneath him and managed to pin her underneath him once her skull hit the ground with a satisfying thwack! Her jaws that had left a few cuts in his foreleg came loose, and the dire brute instantly went to take advantage of his position over the yearling to subdue her. But then came an unexpected snarl from behind him, and Sitka felt teeth prick at his rump. The bites weren't anything more than annoying, but it had been enough to catch his attention to see the fire-pelted slave bitch biting at his ass. She'd found a little fight in her after her mistress appeared, it seemed. Snarling back, Sitka aimed to throw his hind leg back in a powerful kick aimed for the slave's head to knock her away—only to feel the girl beneath him squirm, and then razors dug into his soft underbelly.

The sharp stings of pain knocked the air from Sitka's lungs, those strong legs of the wolf bitch beneath him making him double over as she cut into his skin dangerously close to some very sensitive parts of him that were still vulnerable between his legs as he'd been engaged mid-coitus. As he doubled over, the girl lunged up to head butt him, feeling the edges of sharp antlers graze over his brow, but thankfully mostly deflected off of the curves of his skull, leaving little cuts across the thin skin and rattling his brain some. Sitka stumbled back, almost tumbling off his feet while his ears rang and the world spun. He hadn't expected a fight when he'd begun having his way with the slave, but he certainly hadn't expected a two-on-one fight! Ordinarily, Sitka would have felt confident in his abilities to ravage both bitches, but with some very important parts of him still his primary concern, a fight with two ladies with teeth and claws and antlers seemed unappealing.

"Fuck...!" Sitka growled, bringing a paw to press to the cuts on his stomach to gauge how badly he was bleeding. The mutant hadn't done too much damage, as she was still young and her weapons not fully developed, but damn, had they hurt! He glowered at the two females, baring sharp teeth in a vicious snarl while he hobbled backwards, putting some more space between him and his opponents. Two-to-one with his dick on the line? No slave was worth that bet. "I won't forget this, you dumb bitch!" he snarled to Briar, hurrying away as fast as he could, his face hot and ears folded with shame. He'd gotten too cocky with the slave, let his guard down, got jumped and beaten. He would not let this ever happen again...

- exit unless pursued -

"Sitka Thánatos"

Shaking with the adrenaline of standing up to an attacker, she cringed when Sitka bared his fangs at them. But then the wolf was gone, now that there was a fighter willing to take him on, he didn’t seem happy about sticking around. She watched him leave, and then lowered her head and tail, turning her attention back to her Mistress. “My Lady, I- I am so sorry, forgive me” she whispered.

She should never have left the pack, and she had failed the girl. She belonged to Briar, not to that rough and cruel stranger. She had failed to defend herself as Briar had asked of her. The cherry on top was the flowers she had picked. Smashed across the ground, dropped from her maw and trampled into the ground. The scent of sex and blood lingering over them.

Speech

The second that the bastard stumbled off of her she was rolling back to her paws, spinning to face him as he pressed a paw to the wounds she had left on his stomach and eyed them both while cursing them. She fell back into a readied fighting stance, her hackles raised as she stared him down with a snarl on her lips just in case he decided he wasn't done with them yet. Luckily he seemed to decide that they weren't worth the trouble or that he was too out matched between the two of them since he started to back away. She scoffed as he cursed at her again, calling her a bitch, before disappearing into the trees in a hasty retreat. She didn't relax for a long moment, watching the space where he had disappeared until she was certain he was gone. She relaxed with a slow sigh though gritted teeth, the bristled fur on the back of her neck smoothing again even though the adrenaline kept her heart pounding hard. Besides the occasional run in with a large predator of some sort that was really the first time she felt like she really had to fight to protect herself or someone else. It was the first time she had gone into a fight knowing she might get seriously hurt. It was worth it though when she turned toward Lia and saw she was okay and in once piece.

She blinked with surprise when Lia immediately drew into a submissive stance, apologizing and begging for forgiveness. Confusion made her brow crease and she gave a little shake of her head as she replied, "Why are you sorry? There's nothing to forgive." She settled in front of Lia and wrapped her forelegs around her handmaid and friend, pulling her into a tight hug as her ears flicked back against her head. "I was so scared when Willow told me you were in trouble. I'm so, so glad you're okay." She pulled back a little bit, holding Lia at arm's length so she could get a better look at her. "You are okay, right? Do you need anything? Do we need to go get Mojito?"

"Briar Fatalis"