Closed Nightmare Creatures

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru was irritated, he had been enjoying his slave, who's body had started to warm up nicely in those last moments. He started to ignore the man, but as the smell of scum and blood filled his nose he knew that she could also smell it by this time. Of course he didn't mind the smell as much and could ignore it while enjoying Shayna's sweet scent, but humans were so sensitive with things not normal for them. Shayna didn't seem as bad, though she may have been pushed enough for the night to demand more.

When Shayna squirmed under him again, the trickster returned his attention to his pet, nuzzling her chest again and lapping his tongue out to suckle her tender flesh. She sounded breathless, a tale that let him know that she was enjoying the attention as much as he was enjoying giving it. The trickster enjoyed her a little more before removing his mouth from her aching breasts and uncoiled his tail from her body afterwards. "You can handle the clean up, there hass to be ssomething around here you can usse." Mamoru slithered around to the body and snapped his hand out to grab the head roughly. "I will ssee to thiss one and the other outsside."

He offered the topless beauty a last glance before quickly slithered outside and dragging the body with him. He didn't have to search far for the second which was still laying in a clump beside the cottage. Mamoru moved quickly , slithering over to collect the other by a leg and then dragged them both off into the night. The Dhani wasn't concerned with burying them, that was something that he had never done before. Instead, Mamoru slithered further out into the night until he was deeper into the swamp. The rain had settled into the grounds for hours until it was soaked completely through.

The waters of the swamp had all spilled over onto the lands making it thick with muk. Mamoru slithered on until he found himself tail deep in swampy water. It was the perfect place to leave them. The trickster stood by and watched the bodies both sink underneath. Of course once they filled with water they would float back up, but he would be long gone by then, and the waters may have carried them further out as well. He returned to the cottage, collecting his soaked pants and weapon from the grounds first before going back in.

Mamoru stopped just outside the door, his body tightened and his back arching as he started to shift back into his human form. It was another thirty ticks of bless and the Dhani enjoyed it. With the transformation complete, he moved back inside the cottage carrying his weapon in one hand and a pair of soaked pants in the other. He seemed pleased with himself as he moved across the floor and left his pants to dry beside Shayna's shirt. The trickster moved towards his bed and laid across it to relax and try to warm up again, leaving Shayna to her work.

[Shayna]

His attentions were well received, her back arching on it's own accord as his mouth and tongue work at her a few ticks more. When he uncoiled his tail from around her, she felt a moment of disorientation as she lay on the floor for a tick, supported by bent elbows. She didn't move until he snatched up the Rujaro's hair, which seemed to breath new vigor into her limbs and she rolled to her knees. Her pale flesh was reddened in a few places, mainly spots around the tops of her breeches where his tail had coiled, and his scales and rasped at her skin. She felt these places mainly as a light burn, just a mild irritation that she dismissed easily enough.

When he had gone she looked at the puddle of blood, slowly turning from a bright red to a black as it aged and died. She didn't know why it was turning darker of course, only that it was. With a distasteful shudder she pushed herself up to move across the room. Near the basin there was a bucket, she grabbed it and a cloth then headed to the rain barrel that cottages in the swamp are generally equipped with to catch rain water. Dipping the bucket in, not really caring if her bare body was made wet once more, the cold waters almost soothing to her, she carried the now filled bucket back in.

She tried not to breath too deeply, the smell of the blood was becoming a little nauseating as she set the bucket down and kneeled beside the puddle. Shayna found the idea distasteful, but it had to be done if for no other reason then her master willed it. Her hand grabbed the cloth and dunked her hand into the cold water, wetting the cloth to put it on the puddle. She used large circular motions, smearing the red substance around, at first she didn't think it was getting any better. However as she paused to dunk the rag back into the bucket of water, the water in the bucket turned first a light pink, and then a darker pink as she kept at it.

When he returned she was still scrubbing the floor, having gotten most of the blood up but wanting to make sure that every last drop was up she continued for a few chimes, trying to ignore him without much success. He distracted her from her duties far too much it seemed to the slave, she needed to work on her discipline. When she finished she sat back on her haunches and tossed the rag into the bucket, then looked at her stained hands with a mixture of disgust and annoyance on her face. The memory of the snapping of the bone returned unbidden but was pushed firmly down. "Let me wash my hands M'lord." She murmured without looking at him directly. Standing she took the bucket of soiled water once more outside and emptied it out near the rain barrel and filled the water bucket again to bring back into the house.

She poured a little of the water into the basin, setting the bucket that still held more then three quarters full beside, she turned and washed the last of the evidence of the Rujaro from her hands briskly. Only then did she turn toward Mamoru, whatever she was going to say flew from her mind when she saw his shoulder. "M'Lord your hurt!" She hadn't noticed it in his Dhani form, but in his human the spot where the Rujaro with the limb had gotten a hit in was damaged, a bruised welt that looked as if had bleed at some point. She bent and grabbed the bucket of water, and a fresh cloth before moving toward the bed.

She did not want to settle on the bed because she still wore her damp breeches, so she stood beside the bed. "I don't know much about tending wounds M'Lord but it doesn't take too much training to know one should at least clean it out."

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru laid nude on his bed, moist skin glistening in the light from the fireplace. His hair hung loose, locks curled and plastered against his face which hid the cut on his head where the Rujaro had struck him. The cut on his shoulder was easy to see as a thin layer of blood and new skin were trying to mix into a bond for healing. He no longer watched Shayna, instead his eyes were glazed in a way, drawn to the fires. Yellow-green orbs remained focused with the reflection of the flames dancing in his eyes.

Something like this would have never happened in the nest, as bold and crazy as the Myrians were, they would never brave the maze of tunnels and attack the nest. That was their one certainty in all that went on. The nest was safe and unless they left it to search the world outside for food, the monkeys couldn't get them. But here it was different, here he was on his own, and anyone could wander up to the cottage at any time. A fact that he had just learned first hand. This would have to be fixed and fast.

The trickster needed some sort of security for his home. Shayna wasn't a warrior and her job, as far as protecting the cottage, was just to keep an eye on it and report to him anything suspicious. However when it came to danger, animals, Rujaro, even Dynasty or freeborn looking to start trouble..he needed more. A fence of some kind seemed like a good idea, but building a fence in the swamps wasn't a well oiled plan. Even if the fence stood up, it wouldn't have much to get passed it.

Mamoru thought about getting more slaves, but the only slaves bold enough to attack on command were all Rujaro, and they weren't about to go against their own. He needed something that would have an undying loyalty to him and no fear of death by the Dynasty. He needed an animal, or animals, beast that would be at his command and watch his property day and night. He recalled the Akila hounds that he had faced in the jungles. Huge dogs with jaws strong enough to break bones. If they could be trained, they would make great beast to watch his home, and could kill Rajuro without his help.

But that was impossible, they were too fierce for him to control and they were also too far away for him to bring. He liked the idea, but Mamoru knew that he would need a better plan. Something that he could use that was close by, and wouldn't run and hide at the sight of Dynasty. This would take thinking for a while, and as it was..he had plenty of time. He had been so deep in thought that he hadn't realized that Shayna had moved to the bed, until the girl called out. Mamoru glanced up first, then to his shoulder where the mark was. "It's just a scratch." he said, resuming his voice work. Dhani were known to have trouble with normal speech patterns which always gave them away.

For this reason the trickster had taught himself, through morphing, to hide that flaw so that he could speak as the rest of them did. Shayna knew that he was a Dhani now, but he was so used to doing this that it came naturally. "I've had much worse in the passed..this won't stop me. These slaves are quick, but they're not much for fighters." He looked away from her, redirecting his eyes back to the fire again after he spoke. If she wanted to continue, he wouldn't stop her, but he wasn't worried in the least..his mind was else where.

[Shayna]

Shayna bit her lip when he speaks, standing uncertainly for a chime. He seemed more introspective, a little more withdrawn, which was alright with her. She hesitated only because she didn't want to disturb him, but sometimes experience won over superiority so she moved closer, still careful not to get her wet pants on the bed itself. She bends to dip the cloth in the cold water, pulling out the cloth and wringing it out so that it was not dripping before she raised and leans over.

"Your not in Fa-lyn-dar any more M'Lord. Here in the swamps infections get in wounds easily. I don't know if your.. kind.. succumb to infections the way humans do but it's best not to risk it." Her words are quiet, and her eyes watch his face very carefully, waiting for signs of annoyance at her impertinence. With a breath given she presses the cold cloth against the would, her free hand bracing herself against the bed to give herself support. She thought briefly of shucking the dark breeches so that she could get closer but felt it would be a waste of time since she was already there.

She didn't do much, just cleaned up the surrounding area of the scratch, checking for any splinters or debris before she nodded to herself. She was responsible for him, to ensure that he was safe, healthy, happy, and pleased. Even if that sometimes meant insisting on caring for him. "Is there any other wounds M'Lord?" She asked politely, waiting only a tick before she did her own inspection, visually over his body.

She didn't see any more, but then of course she couldn't see the parts hidden from her view by hair, or simply by his seated position. She did note his nakedness, and briefly wondered if it was warm enough for him, but refrained from going that far. He was capable enough of knowing what temperature his body could handle, it wasn't like not knowing how poisonous the swamps could be to wounds. She moved away quietly, giving him his space taking the bucket that she had used to clean his wound out and tossing it the door, away from the walk way not that it made too much difference with the rain. Once done she slipped back in and secured the door.

Once done she moved to the fire place, checked the coals, and hummed under her breath a note as she determined that it wouldn't hurt to put another log on. Moving to the bin that held the rough hewn logs, she used both hands to pull out a moderately heavy one to push into the fire place. The swirl of embers was pretty, but deadly so Shayna watched carefully to make sure none escaped. She then settled on her knees in front of the fire, staring into it almost as intently as he. Though her thoughts were simply on the fact that he was Dhani.

He was one of the snake people, the ones that was whispered that enjoyed hurting people. It was whispered that there were proclivities that they enjoyed that sometimes the subjects of those proclivities did not necessarily enjoy. She wondered how true these were, she half wondered if she would find out first hand. She glanced over to her master brooding into the fire as he was, before returning her gaze to the flames.

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru enjoyed solving problems and riddles of a sort. It normally put him in a state of thought that sometimes could seem as if he were in a bad mood when he was merely thinking. The only thing about this problem was that he needed a solution faster than not. It wasn't likely that he would be injured gravely, but Shayna was as delicate as a flower and he was putting a lot into this girl to just lose her so easily. In fact, if something were to happen to her, the trickster wouldn't bother trying the same thing with another slave. It was too risky and not likely to be worth it to try again.

He glanced up at Shayna as she started to care for him and listened to her soft words. Dhani weren't this kind to each other, at least females were never this kind to males. His whole life he had been taught to suck it up and brave whatever injury he had and continue his fight. Having his pet so worried about him and looking out for his well being gave him a curious tingle. "Well then, I guess it's a good thing that I have you my dear." He did wonder why she kept her body away from his, seeing that it would have been easier to clean his shoulder if she sat next to him, but he allowed her to do it her way.

When the girl asked about any other cuts, or wounds, he simply tilted his head and drew back his hair to reveal the smaller cut that had only bled a little. He let her work, and put his mind back to the task of a solution to their privacy problem. It wouldn't do for just anyone to wander up to the cottage while he was training Shayna to use weapons or discussing secrets with the girl that no one else needed to know. "It's only a scratch.." he added just in case she had been talking to him while she worked.

The girl moved on, and Mamoru turned his body and sat on the side of the bed, his arms resting on his thighs and his body leaning forward as he looked into the fire again. Over time he would have to come up with a better solution, but for now it was simple. What he needed were traps, normal man made traps to position around the cottage. He could easily show Shayna where they were so that she wouldn't get caught in them herself. It was only a matter of figuring out what places were more likely to get traffic from outsiders and place a trap there. It wasn't a perfect plan, and it wouldn't kill anyone, but it would alert them to anyone sneaking up on them in the dark.

The trickster smiled weakly, not even three bells and he was already sorting out the problem that had just fallen in his lap. By this time Shayna had returned and settled in front of the fire place. In all that had happened, he was just reminded that she had learned the truth about him. The girl hadn't said much, only asking a few questions here and there, but he could tell she was taken aback by it all. "Are you warm enough?" He asked, noticing that her breechers were still soaked and clinging to her body.

Standing up, he walked over and found his dark robes and clothed himself in them for more warmth. "I take it that Kenash isn't always as...violent, hmm? But what more can you expect when dealing with savages. We did what we had to, and every bit of information that we get can better suit our cause."

[Shayna]

Shayna sat as close to the fire as was safe, hoping to dry out the wet breeches as much as possible. She might remove them shortly but for the moment she was feeling just a little less secure and while linen was not much protection it was more then none. It had nothing to do with modesty or seeking to hide her body, and wasn't even a conscious decision on Shayna's part. Much had changed, well not changed she thought as she contemplated the dancing flames. However more seemed to be at stake, then simple do well be rewarded, do poorly and be punished. Granted a lot of that feeling had to do with the rumors of Dhani amongst the slaves.

Then there was what he had asked her to do, what the Rujaro man had forced her hand in. She would need a day or so to process, he was a Rujaro, his life was forfeit anyway, and he had turned his back on his masters. Surely he deserved what he had gotten, and perhaps more. When he spoke she automatically turned toward his voice, abandoning her thoughts to focus on him once more. "I am warm enough for the moment M'Lord. Warming as the ticks go by." She speaks with a smile, though one hand rubs her arm briskly once or twice but no more then that.

Her green eyes followed him as he pulled his robes on, assuming he must be chilly she turned back to the fire, and with the poker stirred up the flames. She gives a light laugh at his words, not really at him but simply at the ideal of violence not happening in Kenash often. "I have seen violence M'Lord. I have-" she hesitated for a long tick before she swept her hair over her shoulder and gestures to the scars that decorate her back. "I have experienced violence.. I have never.. not once.. been violent. When he screamed.." Her eyes closed and she took a breath, "Forgive me M'Lord it is a weakness that I will have to excise."

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru looked over the scars on her back, the scars that he had noticed for a short time now. They hadn't spoken of them, but now since she had brought them up, he saw no reason not to ask more. "Battle scars my dear? I take it there's a story behind it, one that's dying to be told?" he moved back to his bed and sat down to relax again. Morphing was still tiring, though not as much as it had been once. Adding the fight to that and the trickster was ready to recline for a while.

He could hear the worry in her voice, Shayna wasn't the violent type and had only done so because he told her too. It was a good thing to have in a pet that did what they were told even if they didn't want to. He watched her from the bed and leaned back on his arms. There was something about him that brought the worse out in others, and scared others to even be near him, but Shayna wasn't doing too bad with all that had happened. She was just a girl, not an hundred year old constrictor who had been bred to be violent and viscous.

"It's not easy..I know. " He lied, attempting to make his voice sound more human and less..dark. "But if you've experienced violence I think you would understand that being weak will get you killed...hesitation will get you worse." He sighed, enjoying the new air now that the stinky, bloody body was gone. "It is a part of the world that we live in, but don't worry. I'm here and I will see to it that you will make it through the fog." Mamoru sat still, his gaze lowering to the fire again as he listened to the rain fall.

[Shayna]

Shayna tilts her to the side as she watches him, his question on her scars was inevitable but she was more concerned with his well being. He seemed a little more tired then usual, it wasn't really anything more then just look of his eyes the set of his body. She turned to straighten his pants he had laid near her shirt, and her shirt to make sure they dried evenly before slipping her own wet breeches off to lay them flat as well.

She then pads over to where her clothing was stored, what was left was the burgundy dress and the shapeless shift the auction house had sent her home with him in. Neither seemed like a good option, one too dressy for simply sitting around the cottage, the other he had seemed to take almost an affront to when he had purchased her. So she opted to remain nude, oddly a little warmer then when she had stayed in the wet clingy linen.

She moved to the wall near the bed to settle down once more on the floor, in a familiar pose of crossed legs with her knees brought up to her chest and her arm around her legs. "Not battle scars M'Lord." She said slowly, as she tried to decide where to start, how much he wanted to know, and what details he wanted. Details she had in spades, though she didn't think he really wanted to hear every nitty gritty moment. "A slave overheard something I said, and told his Mistress that I knew about the Rujaro." She quickly added "I don't! I didn't then and I don't now. I have no dealings with them.. at all.. " Her tones took on a plaintiff quality, almost as is if she were trying to convince him that she wasn't a Rujaro sympathize, and perhaps she was.

"They took me to Sweet Home the Askara plantation and kept me for some time. A day at least.. maybe more. Time slipped away from me." Shayna lifted her shoulders, not quite sure how much he wanted to know or if the bare bones was fine. "I swear M'Lord, I am not working with them. After ...some time the head of the Askara house came and told them to take me back to my Mistress. That what I knew I would have already told them."

Being weak was what being a slave was inherently. Anyone who was a step higher then you on the class ladder could and often would do whatever they wished. It was something Shayna had lived with her entire life, and wasn't quite sure that it should change. However she couldn't deny the idea of being able to prevent the Cecily's of the world from hurting her again appealed. "Are you well M'Lord? Can I get you something?" He still seemed tired to her.

[Kalesserimamoru]

Sitting on the bed, he rolled his head around slowly, and stretched his fingers and toes beneath his dark robes. It came with long term morphing and while it might seem to be very similar to the shifting that Dhani did, it was very different. The shifting came natural and it was always a wonderful feeling throughout. However with morphing his form, if he did so a lot or to a greater level, he could feel the effects afterwards. By this time the feeling wasn't negative, just the proof that he had used the magic. The tiredness would also pass soon, and since he was just resting it would be even faster.

Mamoru watched the girl as she removed the breechers and laid them out to dry. It had been a pleasant enough night before the intruders arrived and now they were both soaked and looking for more warmth. He realized then that he needed to have another fire place built in, or have the first one widen enough to offer them more heat. Of course that also put them more at risk of a fire, but he decided to wait until he could have the cottage added onto first. I should have this done before the next winter sets in...

He watched her still, having no reason to turn away and followed her lithe form as she moved closer and sat down beside the bed. He finally heard the story behind the scars, and as he expected it was a good one. He didn't doubt her words when she said that she didn't know anything about the Rujaro, but he was curious about one thing. "What was it that you said that caused the other slave to think you were with the swamp mice? I can't imagine you being rude or..rebellious." He was fishing here, trying to see of there were any secrets that she might let slip at the moment.

Mamoru smiled as she offered to help him, wanting to make sure that he was well enough. Lifting a hand, he reached for her and waved her over. "Come here Shayna." When she would come, he could pull her into his arms by her hips and set her in his lap, pressing their bodies against the other, and wrapping his robes around them. She felt cool as he did at the moment, but he was sure that she would warm up soon enough. One hand slid up her back, fingers gliding over her scars as he spoke into her ear. "I can do something with these..hide them so that no one can see them when your skin is exposed. Appearances are serious after all, and that part of your life is over."

[Shayna]

Shayna was relieved that he didn't want her to recount the entire night and day, of course she would but it wouldn't have been pleasant. Instead he asked what she had said that made the slave believe she was with the Rujaro, which made her give him a true smile. It reminded her that he was not from Kenash, and that until he had learned the ins and outs of the politics and the game she was still useful. "Oh he probably never believed it M'Lord. Someone, from somewhere called Meyora.. Muro... Where the Konti who aren't Konraths live." Her lack of knowledge outside of Kenash was profound, though she soaked up anything that she could get...mostly scraps of quick conversations. "She asked me what I would do if I could run far away. I told her that the only thing I could do if I ran away was die in the swamps."

It was actually a common question to slaves when someone from outside of Kenash spoke to them. It made Shayna wonder if there were no slaves outside of Kenash as much as that question is asked. As if being a slave was a choice or an option. When he bid her to come she stood, pushing off the walls to pad over, the redness left by his scales from earlier had faded mostly and when he pulled her into his lap she curved against him willingly. Her legs parted to allow her to settle flush against him, her knees curving easily and her arms settled around him. He felt cooler then usual, and now that she knew he was Dhani, it concerned her. She didn't know too much about Dhani but she did know that they were like their serpentine counterparts and did not do well in cool temperatures.

His robes closing around her made her feel warmer already, but there was a little bit of safety there in his arms and she was surprised. The feeling of protection was new for her, and she took a moment to enjoy it before she began to analyze it. His hands on her back caused her to slowly tense, and when his fingers stroked across her scars for the first time she flinched from his touch. "M'Lord? How would you do that?" She asked, when he offered to hide her scars, her mind trying to prevent her heart from rising at the prospect. "It would look better on you if your slave wasn't damaged, so it did not appear that you owned a disobedient slave." Her arms tighten around him without thought, her body burrowing as close to his as it could, pressing the softness that was her against the hard planes of him.