He left the den before he could hear any further advances from Deathbelle or her half brother. He felt sick in his gut, and needed some time to burn off his feelings. For half a moment he considered taking out his frustrations on that slave again. It seemed to be a recurring habit after all, that he let loose his anger on her. He bowed his head with a sigh, and knew that his displays of anger where unbecoming to his training. It was not Zee’s fault that Deathbelle was.. Was.. no, he couldn’t even think it. It was too much. He left the pack territory, for the first time since finding his way to the New Ashen Empire, he did not go only from pack territory to battlefield. This time he made his way into the dessert, letting the head of the sand sink into his soles, the burning sensation eased the pain in his heart. It would be here that Marshal found him, the dark bird swopped downwards from the sky, and landed heavily upon his rump. The Titan grunted at the feel of his claws, but otherwise ignored the weight of the large avian. He stopped when he came to the sight of an Indigo bush. He studied it for a moment, the bright splash of color across the dready tones of earth. He needed a little color in his life, something different, to lift the loads that weighed down his soul. He pushed his head forward, and snapped a twig in his powerful jaws. He twisted around and held out the twig to Marshal, who obediently grabbed it. The bird was well trained, after all. He turned and headed back towards the Ashen Empire, and made his way into the ravine, heading, for once, not towards Deathbelle’s den - he feared Hannibal might still be there, but rather to that of Zee. the spunky slave had learned a few harsh lessons of late, but he hoped he hadn’t ruined the brightness of her nature entirely. He tapped his paw against the rough surface beside the den in a knock. "Speech"

A knock on the side of her den stirred the slave awake, her head lifting to peer out into the light with curiosity. Was she late for something? Had she not been told of a meeting and now her mistress was here to fetch her? No, no, this would not do. She was to wait on Deathbelle, not the other way around! Zee had a feeling in her gut that she was about to be in a lot of trouble. She pulled herself to four paws and scampered quickly out of the den all the while yelling out rushed apologies. "I'm sorry, I-" Her bubbly speech screeched to a halt as she noticed who had called upon her. "Oh."  Soft voice fell flat again, and her gaze darted behind him to look and see if he'd brought anyone else along with him. Small head tucked in further to her scruff defensively, passionate eyes burning into his in a half-glare. "Did I do something wrong, Sir?"  Her voice was lacking in it's usual bite, though there was an unmistakable hint of sarcasm within that she'd hoped she could pass off as sleepiness should the brute take offense. She was probably going to be tackled again, but Zee had come to expect it by now. "You are slave." Sirius' words returned once more to the forefront of her mind. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

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Zee rushed from her den, perhaps thinking she had some duties she had neglected, or was anxious at the thought of leaving any of their masters waiting. It was different to how she had approached life only days earlier, and he critically recognised that he had contributed a great deal to the change in the girl. Well he wanted to mold her into a slave for the Ashen Empire - someone who would not talk back to their masters, and would obey their commands, he did not want to destroy her spark. There was definitely sarcasm to her chosen words, and he found himself smiling. No, she was still in there, he had not ruined her completely. “You have not” he assured her, and twitched his back. Understanding the command, the large vulture flared his wings, and sailed softly from its masters back, to glide to the floor in front of Zee. truly, Marshal was an impressive beast, larger than most companions, with sleek black wings, and a proud plume of fluff around his head and chest. The vulture clucked as he dropped the twig of Indigo bush in front of the slave. “I want you to understand, I will not tolerate disobedience to the masters, and that I myself obey them in all things. However, outside of our responsibilities to them, I do not wish to be your enemy, Zee. I have made your life difficult, and in some cases this should not have happened. “ it was an apology, of sorts, or perhaps the closest he would get from one slave to another, and more honest then what he would give one who commanded it from him. "Speech"

So far he hadn't touched her, and that allowed Zee to feel slightly more confident in their interaction. Perhaps he only thought to threaten her when the Klein's were nearby, and in that case she might be safe for the moment outside her den. He cracked a smile at her remark, and she returned it shyly. Truly she did not want to hate this man - though his mood swings and unrelenting devotion to the Klein's made it difficult - and so it was nice to see him relaxed. His companion shifted down from his back then. It was a massive, horrendous thing much like himself. She'd never seen a familiar in these lands so huge but it looked fitting and right standing before him. It dropped a branch at her feet, and Zee looked down at it in confusion. He said his piece then, and the small slave looked back to him with a crooked smile. "I think it's supposed to be an olive branch." She joked before leaning down to grasp it in her mouth carefully. The she-wolf turned from him, placing it against the entrance of her den so it leaned against the dirt. "It's beautiful, thank you. I will find a good home for it decorating my den." She wanted to say more - the injured part of her soul wanting to give him a witty remark on how she was a slave and property shouldn't own property - but she didn't want to injure their mending friendship further. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

[/b]

She gave a cautious smile back at him, which told him that friendship might not be impossible, despite how he had treated her thus far. She looked to his companion, and then to the twig that had been dropped at her feet. Her smile grew more crooked, and there was spunk to her voice as she told him what she thought of it. He laughed then, the first time he had laughed since he had entered these lands and reclaimed his place as Vessel to the Empress. It boomed from him for a second, before he fell silent again, and shook his head. “No, this is color in a barren landscape,” he explained. “Thank you” likely she would not understand the full workings of his mind as he made the gesture, but it was enough for him at the moment that she was amused by it. The interaction took from his mind what was happening in the den of his Mistress, and he was eager to remain in Zee’s presence a while longer, elsewise he was not certain what his emotions might drive him to do. “I see you already have a decent den for yourself, but if you need help adding to it, I will help you in its construction” he said, offering his strength in labour, a small gesture, but one she wasn’t going to receive from any other in this pack. “Will you walk with me, Zee?’ he asked then, as his vulture hopped back towards him, flaring his powerful wings and beating them, driving up dust from the ravine floor before he gained enough air to land back on his Masters back. "Speech"

Zee could not believe her ears - the laughed. It was sudden and surprising and the tiny slave was so very pleased to hear the sound. It gave the man a more genuine appearance then his gruff and stern slave-side usually displayed. She cocked her head curiously as he spoke of color in a barren landscape, not fully understanding it but not needing to question it further. He mentioned her den then, and the small wolf turned to look at it. "It's not much." She admitted sheepishly. "But I could very well use some assistance in digging it out further." To be honest, she was not strong enough to pull the various roots that escaped the walls and she couldn't help but think they made the place look much less clean then she'd like. "However I'd like to be sure our mistress' home is finished before I work on my own. I need to take a trip to fetch her some decorations." She considered on asking him to accompany her, but from Sirius' devotion she assumed he'd refuse to leave her side. "A walk?" Zee wasn't sure where he wanted to go, but the idea sounded like a nice break from the other things she'd been doing around Ashen as a slave. "Sure." She smiled at him again, though it wavered slightly as his companion returned to his perch upon Sirius' back. The thing sure was large and frightening, not unlike his master.  She waited to see where he might lead her. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

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He nodded his head gravelly as she spoke of digging it out further, and knew he wouldn’t not back out on a promise. He never did, unless circumstances offered him no other choice. “Yes, her comfort comes first” he agreed, uncomfortable right then at the mention of Deathbelle, and ventured no further words on her. He was trying very hard not to think too hard about her. Because of this, his words likely lacked some of their devoted zeal. She agreed to accompany him, and losing some of his spark as thoughts of Deathbelle chased him, the Titan would turn from her den. He moved further into the ravine, in the opposite direction of their Mistress’s den, and began to walk quietly besides the gently burbling creek. He walked in silence for a time, before turning and looking to the shorter wolf beside him. “What was your life like, before you came here?” he asked. It occurred to him to wonder what life she might be fleeing, that would choose to become a slave. "Speech"

He walked away, and she turned to follow. Their path went along the creek and as they walked in silence Zee watched the water ripple. Had he asked her to accompany him for a walk in silence? She assumed there'd be some friendly banter. If he wanted someone to patrol with then he had the other ranked members of Ashen. “What was your life like, before you came here?” His words didn't appear anything more then simply curious, and Zee took several moments to consider her response. Did she tell him the truth? Would he see her dreams and goals as an enemy to the empire? "You'll think it's silly." She said with a smile to hide her shame. A heavy exhale worked itself through from her chest and out her nose, and she continued. "My life was ordinary - too ordinary. With normal parents, a normal pack, a normal den. It was boring, dull, and just not me." Gaze moved to watch him out the corner of her eye, sizing up his response. "I've always dreamed of being more, you know? So I set out on my own to accomplish that." She'd not expand further - he didn't need to know that her version of more was not to take on the role of a slave... though it definitely was less ordinary. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

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She paused, and he found his head turning towards her in curiosity. It was hard not to look down at the smaller wolf, and he peered at her over his long muzzle as she began to speak. He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, only offering her an encouraging upwards flick of his head, as through to say go on. She needed little prompting, for she launched into her story shortly after a heavy exhale, that only escalated his curiosity. What story did his little Zee have to say, that seemed hard to tell, and she feared she might be judged for? “I wonder what that would be like…” he mused thoughtfully at her words, no laughter in his tone, through he had promised not to find it silly. He could barely remember the parents that were taken from him too early, but he remembered sternness and drills in his earliest memories, and then the life of a slave shortly after. He gotten beatings a lot in his first year, until he properly learned respect, and how to address those above him. “I don’t think a slave counts as more, Zee” he said, raising a brow, and wondering what more she had to say. “Does befriending an Empress sit on that agender?” he wondered. He did not believe she had any ill intent, but befriending someone of lofty rank could benefit her, perhaps that had been her purpose all along, only in that god loving wolf, and not Deathbelle. Not that she had shirked her duties since coming here. "Speech"