PM to join It All Ends The Same

[Elias Caldera]

The mage couldn't help but frown at her reaction, or more frustratingly, her lack thereof. Hazel eyes continuously darted for the door, across him, over the collar she struggled with. She was frightened, confused and driven by animal instinct. He had to be more than just careful, he would need help if he was going to influence her with anything more subtle than whips and chain. He took a cautious step closer, careful not to make his gentle movement anything other than what it was meant to be; comforting. A soggy footfall nearer, Elias towered over her shivering frame, slumped and wary as it was. The power within him began to stir as her eyes, undoubtedly inhuman, met his gazing down at her. He softened his voice as he spoke. "If you venture out there again, you know what you'll find. The very same cruelty you told me of when you and I first spoke, you remember that don't you?"

Djed slipped from his thin lips, carried on the convincing tones of his words, and into her jaded thoughts, mingling and perusing as if they had always belonged. The young Ravokian wasn't quite sure what the read of the girl so far. She was all the obvious things, sure, but her response had been muted and mitigated, clearly not outrage, but encouragingly absent of too much dismay. She was perilously contemplating something more than just her current situations. Was it the symenestra, the ex apprentice wondered. Her master? That seemed pointedly unlikely. The spider seemed more a mournful lover, melancholy and enraged at the sight of his affections with another. Just as quickly as his temperament had gotten the better of him however, they faded, replaced with only sadness and surrender. Any slave owner wouldn't simply abandoned their quarry to the first stranger who it spoke to. No, Elias was certain she was owned by none. No markings, no loyalty, just the longing look of someone lost, looking for guidance... It was easy to let himself think that, it made any stigma of remorse he should have felt turn to that of pride and satisfaction. He was indeed saving her if that were true, but even it weren't, Elias was hard set on not allowing himself to be ensnared in such trivial perceptions, lest he turn into something akin to the Vayl character from before.

"All you'll find out there is more of the same, and less of me." He pushed for feelings of gratitude first. An emotional response that would anchor her thoughts towards him, not her own predicament. As a kelvic, her mind would surely be more pliable to his influences than any other, especially if he angled her inclinations directly towards the type of things all their kind were instinctively want to do. Connect.

He knelt beside her, his brown eyes burning into her own as she sat before him. He needed to make sure she thought of none else but his revelations. "I placed that collar around your neck, not because I wished you harm, but because you need it." He was acutely aware of her austere and unassuming lips as he reached around and placed a hand upon hers, taking it reassuringly in his own. If his own actions weren't enough, that fact that the air was so heavy and stifling with the magic he worked upon her certainly would have helped. "This city is not for the timid or the ignorant, Redd, neither is the rest of world." A sudden push towards the mindfulness of pain of her injuries to go along with his creeping epiphany. "You need someone to watch over you. To protect you from the dangers you can't see on your own. To take your hand firmly..." He said, squeezing tight. "...and guide you from the dark and deceitful."

"You need a master."

"You need me."


oocWanted to stretch this part of the dialogue between them out a little longer, but was running low on material. Apologies.

[Redd]

x

Redd had been intent on getting the collar off and leaving, but the moment that the human took a step closer, his form towering over her, she couldn't help but return her attention back to him. Her hazel eyes becoming locked with those muddy pools, his words reaching her ears.

"If you venture out there again, you know what you'll find. The very same cruelty you told me of when you and I first spoke, you remember that don't you?" Did she remember? Of course she remembered, he had saved her from making a mistake... One she had fallen into once she had separated herself from the towering male before her.

However, if she did manage to get back out into the wild, there was the problem of running into her old pack and they wouldn't be too friendly. Not after defying the alpha instead of rolling onto her back in complete submission when they had found out. There would also be humans chasing her off with those weapons of theirs, if she ever managed to escape the pack's notice. Not to mention that strange man that kept reappearing every now and then.

"All you'll find out there is more of the same, and less of me." Were there always going to be more of them trying to kill her? Would she always be in constant danger of death? Never able to relax and always constantly looking over her shoulder in fear of pain? Always finding her next meal already dead and half eaten?

This human male had done more than a strange human male would have done, he had stopped her from falling straight into those men's grasp. He had made her laugh, a strange feeling she had never felt before. This man had also rescued her from the men that she had managed to get captured by and even taken her back to his room when she fell unconscious. He hadn't left her behind.

She continued to remain within her thoughts, her hearing still catching his words however, for they seemed to make sense, her hazel hues still remaining locked with those brown depths as he knelt beside her. "I placed that collar around your neck, not because I wished you harm, but because you need it." She needed this collar? She questioned as she felt his hand reach up to take her own into his grasp. The sense of touch made her take a deep breath, her loneliness leaning towards the point where they made physical contact.

"This city is not for the timid or the ignorant, Redd, neither is the rest of world." This made her realize her ribs and she winced, a whine wanting to creep onto her lips, but she forced it down. Was she weak?

"You need someone to watch over you. To protect you from the dangers you can't see on your own. To take your hand firmly..." She felt his hand squeeze her own tightly. "...and guide you from the dark and deceitful." How many times had he done that for her already? Guided her? Cared for her? Already he had taken her hand before and guided her from a mountain man. The man before her was just like an...

"You need a master."

"You need me."

"An alpha..." She finally whispered as her hazel eyes drifted closed. This man before her had done nothing other than what an alpha would have done. Guided her, cared for her and had even begun to teach her some patience, just like an alpha. So if he said that a collar was for her own protection, that had to be true, an alpha wouldn't do anything unnecessary.

Taking a deep breath, her eyes opened to peer back into his eyes once again, her form relaxing as she nodded her head, "You're right, I'm sorry, I should have realized that what you was doing, was what an alpha would have done."

Slowly, she slipped off of the bed till her bare feet touched the floor and she herself knelt down upon it, peering up at him, "I should have known that you wouldn't do anything unnecessary, I'm sorry."

x

"I can't give you the sunset,
But I can give you the night."

x

[Elias Caldera]

A smile crept gleefully unto Elias's face. "An alpha." He breathed, the unfamiliar word feeling strange and new upon his tongue, but yet so much more exceptionally perfect. "You're right, I am." He spoke, a confidence building in him less for show anymore but through sheer bravado. Look at him, he had taken this utter stranger, led her along, and now she knelt before him, a slave to her master. Her alpha. I've got her wrapped around my finger... I could make her do whatever I wanted. I should make her do whatever I want. Hypnotism had never truly served him with the same enthusiasm as he showed in the pursuit of its initial understanding. In fact, if he was being totally honest, today had probably seen more of the arcane's subtle talent employed than any other, ever. I'm getting better and better. He silently mused, his eyes locked with those of the pleading hazel moons of his wolf. That's what she had to be, its the best guess he could make when all he knew as put together. Now a wolf, what a prize that would be. Elias wasn't sure he'd care whatever it was she turned into, just that she did it at his bid and beckon.

"No apology is needed, you're reacting the only way you know how. It must have been difficult before. That will change now." His words were less statement, more probing question. He may be proving exceptionally skilled at pressing all the right buttons when it came to this kelvic, but as for reading her afterwards, he was still unsure he had made any progress. "As long as you are willing to learn, I can care for you as you deserved to be cared for, in return you need only obey me. Do you understand?" He laced his words with the essence of comfort, but it was haphazard and lazy, barely taking shape and almost not taking hold of its prey at all. He was getting sloppy with his djed in his overconfidence, he couldn't allow that. He still knew so little of her, it was intimidating in some ways. Like staring into the face of savagery and wild instinct barely restrained. He knew he had to be wary of what her small figure and fiercely curious eyes belied. There was a beast beneath the skin, and the young mage had to tame both it and the girl that shared its mind as one entity.

He rose from his knee, carefully pulling her up along with him to sit on the edge of the bed once more. If nothing else, he wouldn't forget how delicate his new slave could truly be. He grimaced at the thought of her wounds ravaged his focus once more. That would be an issue, a large on, unless sorted soon. It did raise the question of what the hell it was exactly, this kelvic had been up too before today? If it was anything like today, which Elias imagined it was, then it would likely be quite the tale to be heard. "You and I will need to get... acquainted. I fear I've not told you my name. I am Elias. Master Elias. I would like for you to call me as such from now on." Make her! Came a voice all too loud and righteous. Don't ask her to do anything. Make her, with your magic, just make her. He pushed the thoughts aside for the moment, noting their particularly alluring reasoning. He countered that with the dull throbbing scratching at the back of his eyes. "You told me before you were new to Ravok. Tell me now then, where is you come from before, and who was your master then?"

Redd, as he deemed to grow comfortable calling her, was a mystery he had brought into his room against his better judgement. If she truly was his now, it was going to be a mystery he would need to unravel. He would proceed with a number of questions after that, growing more and more eager with each passing answer. Midway through the inquisition, Elias would eventually bring it upon himself to go scrounge the kelvic up a towel, the dripping from her mattered hair and clothes growing more on his nerves than he unsavory condition did. He didn't need her dying of a fever so soon after claiming her. In the end, all the questioning eventually boiled down into one thought and one thought only: I should see it. I need to see it. I'm her master now, correct? Then I deserve to see it.

"Redd." He asked, cordially. "The animal inside you. The other half that makes you, you... Will you show it to me?"

[Redd]

x

Redd had watched a smile creep upon his lips when she had called him alpha, a smile she hadn't seen since the shop, and she allowed a small smile herself. She was glad that he was happy, however that had come about.

"As long as you are willing to learn, I can care for you as you deserved to be cared for, in return you need only obey me. Do you understand?" Her head angled to the right, her eyes questioning his words. She had to learn? Did she have to learn to be human? Being human was already confusing enough, why did she have to learn to be human? What was the point of being human if it served better for her to be a wolf?

He said he would care for her and her gaze dropped to the floor of the room. Care like she deserved to be? Those were words she had never heard before, not from human lips anyway. She had been cared for by a wolf pack when she had almost died and now here he was, saying he would care for her like she deserved to be, but she just had to obey him. Did that mean she had to follow his command? She gave a brief nod of her head.

As he rose, she felt the gentle pull of his hand and she rose with him, careful to seat herself upon the edge of the bed, a shiver travelling down her spine. She haunched over a little as she looked back up at the male when he spoke of calling him Master Elias. Master? Was that the human word for Alpha perhaps? Elias must be his name then.

"You told me before you were new to Ravok. Tell me now then, where is you come from before, and who was your master then?" This was something that she didn't particularly want to talk about, but does it fall under the, obey rule?

She figured that it did, after all if an alpha padded up to you and growled menacingly, you backed away from the offending action. It would be the same thing but in human form right? She bit down upon her bottom lip before she took a deep breath and began to tell her story.

"As far as I can tell, I've never had a master. I don't remember much from when I was a pup except that I was born in Nyka. I don't know who my father was, he was never around, it was just me and my mother. She was human as far as I could tell."

Her hazel gaze drifted away from him to look to the floor, her soaked hair falling into her face. "I was two months when I first shifted into a wolf, although it was a wolf pup at the time. Next thing I know, my mother was screaming and beating me out the door with a stick..."

A tear fell down her cheek and she quickly dashed it away with her free hand, a growl upon her lips as that free hand than grasped the edge of her cloak. "I almost starved to death, living on the smallest pieces of scraps that I could find, having to occasionally eat corspes as I was chased away from my birthplace. I almost died, especially when my first winter came around."

She felt as if she had been thrown back in time again, something she hated as she recountered her memories. "By winter time, I had found a small cave, just outside of Ravok, nearby the lake. I had been stuck in there as the wind howled and the snow fell, starvation drove me out. I walked for bells and finally I had to rest, it was then when a grey wolf with black tipped ears found me. She howled and laid beside me for the night. When I woke the next morning, she was gone, but it looked like there had been more than just one wolf sleeping nearby that night.."

Redd slowly looked back to Elias, Master Elias, she told herself before continuing on. "The grey female returned and she took me back to the pack and I lived there for a while. Occasionally leaving them for a couple of weeks before returning, it seemed fine with them. Then one day this spring, a human man was going through my back pack and I returned to find him doing so. I guess an instinct to defend my territory kicked in and I attacked. His beast spooked and dragged him before he was left behind and I chased after him."

She paused as he draped a towel over her form and she pulled it close to her body to quell her shaking figure. "I attacked again of course, but then he did something to make me pass out and I woke in my human form to find a bandage wrapped around my shoulder. The beast's noises must have attracted the pack of wolves because before I know it I'm stuck in a tree, with a bite to the ankle and unable to shift. Then, a bell? Maybe longer passed and he created a distraction so then I could climb down and shift, diverting the attention to me. I ran and they followed suit, but due to my injury I was a little slow and when my attention broke, I stumbled and then nosed dived, rolling into a tree."

The young wolf paused to take a breath, "I had just barely made it to my paws where I felt the sharp claws of what was once a fellow pack member and I responded with a sharp bite to the ear. It was then that a large black cat had joined in and diverted their attention to it, which was where I made my escape. I stayed in my cave for a couple of days before hunger lured me out and that was when I met Vayl, he took me into the city and took me to get my wounds treated..."

Pausing she looked back into those muddy pools, "And I believe you know the rest from then on, E... Master Elias." Catching herself herself in the process of making the mistake.

"Redd." She angled her head as he spoke. "The animal inside you. The other half that makes you, you... Will you show it to me?" Was he asking her to show him her wolf form? Most people humans would turn on her, but he had said she was safe with him, safe and cared for if she followed him.

After a moment of pause, she finally nodded her head. I... I will show you my wolf form, Master Elias."

As the words had slipped from her lips, she felt as if she had given him all of her, no one else had seen both forms except for Vayl. She watched him lean forward, and a soft 'click' was heard as the collar fell away from her neck, now held within his grasp.

One day, she told herself, she would ask him about the collar and how it would keep her safe. Slowly she edged herself off of the bed, tugging the towel from her shoulders and allowed it to fall to the ground. The rest of her clothes soon followed suit, the cloak, her shirt and then her pants until she stood naked before the male.

After taking a couple of steps back away from him, her hazel hues slightly weary, but the shift began, a pale red light surrounding her naked form and shielding her from his view as she borrowed her wolf form.

Once it began to fade, she stood before him on all fours at a height of 2'8. Her red coat clear, but he could also see the browns and blacks through-out the red. The colour white, trailed from underneath her chin, along the underside of her neck and trailed off under her stomach to finally blend with the other colours.

The wolf peered up at the male upon the bed with golden eyes instead of hazel and slowly, the young wolf would edge further back away from Elias, expecting some kind of out-rage. However, she stopped herself during her back wards movements. She had to trust him eventually... Right?

Slowly, she forced herself to move closer towards Elias, her head lowering and her ears also pushing back and then lowering. Once she had reached his feet, she was basically crawling along on her stomach and so she flipped over onto her back, giving him clear access to her stomach. This was the most submissive action she could show him.

x

"I can't give you the sunset,
But I can give you the night."

x

[Elias Caldera]

The two of them sat there for a long while, Elias mostly listening as his questions found their homes amidst a sea of answers. He found himself forced to repress the dumbstruck look he knew his face was eager to lapse into. He tale of fleeing Nyka as nothing more than a babe, falling in with a pack of wild animals, and then being turned on all struck him with perhaps not the same passion Redd showed as she recounted the tale, but certainly more than he had expected. This wolf had lived a harsh and unfortunate life. First on her own, banished and abused, then with her animal kin, only to have that too torn away from her just as Nyka had been. It all boiled down to a distressingly tragic story, one made even more difficult to restrain himself from reacting to with Redd reacting so emotionally herself. Before I sell her, I'll make sure she wants for nothing. He decided. Life as a slave here in Ravok would prove a godsend to the kelvic, he was sure of that, but clearly this poor creature deserved whatever small mercies he could impart upon it. I mean how much could a wolf really need to be happy?

There lingered parts of the girl's cheerless story that troubled Elias with their incongruity. Who was this mystery man for example. The young mage had deciphered the 'beast' was likely a horse by all likelihood, and that whatever had knocked her unconscious while also disabling her from reaching into her animal side must have been some kind of poison. He knew Ravok was the hub and birthplace of such concoctions, so it wasn't so unlikely to hear of its use. Aside from that however, the Caldera could not pinpoint the missing facts that eluded him.

Her brief and bitter history coming to a close, Elias found himself smiling reassuringly as she named him master. It was familiar to hear as the young man was no stranger to slaves serving him. His parents had owned more than a few over his childhood, a fact that integrated their submission and devoted servitude to him as just another aspect of life. Somewhat regrettably, he had never had the chance to grow spoiled and rotten by such pampering. A life devoted to the stryfe had robbed him of any such indulgences, and sometimes Elias would wonder of the kind of life he could have had if he were born to say, one of the five. Rich, fat, lazy and not a care in the world. It would have certainly been heavenly, at least for the first five minutes. Then he imagined, the stir craziness would strike, and it would strike hard, driving him insanely mad with boredom and fulfillment never found. That was not his life, nor would he ever truly want it to be... not until he earned it anyway, then at least he could revel in his accomplishments as he supped on fine and exotic fruits along with equally exotic and fine slaves.

Well, if in the future he decided he wanted another slave, and catching and breaking them was anything like it was with Redd, then he imagined he'd have an easy if not terribly exciting time with it. The thought made him want to smile, but instead, he contained his victorious mirth. His focus was instead intently focus on the kelvic, his eyes never leaving her for even a moment as he watched on in wonder. There had been a moment of hesitation as he slipped the collar from around her neck, the two of them drawing heatedly close as his key found the little iron lock that kept him safe. If she had been acting, plotting to take his life the first chance she could get, the wolf would have likely deserved it for her superb acting skills. Elias would have never expected it from Redd after what she had shown him of her demeanor, nor the trust she placed on him with her story.

He stepped back, collar in hand and guilty pleasure rushing through his core as he watched her strip away her tattered and soaked clothing piece by piece. The drench cloth had left little left to the imagination, and perhaps if the young mage hadn't been so invigorated with himself at that moment, he might have taken a more indecent notice of the woman before him. She was undeniably beautiful, even with the flaws that plagued her body. It was those that controlled her mind however, that stopped the usually robust Elias from losing his composure. She is an animal He reminded himself curtly as the last vestiges of modesty was tossed aside. She stood before him utterly unprotected, supple curves and rigid insecurities all laid out for just his eyes to see. The abruptness of it all, this girl, the slavers and his decision, it all came to him at that moment with shocking clarity, but he shoved the foreboding thoughts aside. He wanted to see this.

Red radiance enraptured him as he stared, pale and gaunt flesh disappearing in the sudden flash to be replaced with brindled fur and fangs. A hand slowly flew to his mouth, covering them as he allowed him a small, considerate gasp. "Stunning..." He breathed. He was at a loss for any other word he could use. of course he had seen kelvics shift before, but this, with Redd, the beguiling little girl had gone and made it so maddeningly personal with her piercing gazes and trembling lips. He was angry at himself for feeling anything, even if he knew how irrational that truly was. With his hand clipped to his jaw as if he were critiquing a piece of art, he managed to hide his gnashing teeth, but apparently it wasn't enough to fool Redd. The golden eyed predator began backing away, its head held low and weary at the sight of him studying her. He was surprised to be honest. He had expected her to be so much more comfortable and confident in her second skin seeing how long and intimately she had spent the years in it. Instead she showed fear?

Eventually her backpedaling came to a cautious end as the creature seemed to consider something. Elias had wanted to beckon her to come hither, but instead he saw the turmoil her fierce and scared golden eyes echoed, and decided better of it. Best to let her come to him of her own volition. The animal had to want what he promised as much as the girl. When eventually she lay at his feet, prostrate and pleading, he knew her conviction to him was true and genuine. Did he repay her obedience? He was tempted to stroke her fur or at least pat her atop the muzzle if her bruised ribs protested. Was it too early to reward her for such things, or was it simply to be expected from the beginning? Again his inexperience caused him to stumble. Frustrating as it was, he knew he had to learn such things sooner rather than later, lest he end up the fool who was torn apart by his own kelvic.

"Good, Redd. Very good." Was all the wolf would hear, his own internal mutterings lost to her. He flooded her mind with simple thoughts of comfort, rewarding her with magical manipulation instead of physical touch. He soon followed that up with the essence of... Content I think. Yes, that will suit nicely. He let the uncalled for emotion swell within the girl, anchoring and addicting her to receiving such simple pleasures in the future. Soon, he imagined, she wouldn't need his magic defiling her mind to elicit such feelings, she would convince herself of them with time. He just had to be careful. Careful and smart. Anything less and the meek and submissive creature at his feet could quickly turn into the fierce and bloodthirsty one at his throat. Redd was more dangerous than she knew. but he knew.

He knew.

In the following days the young Caldera would return to the plaza of dark delights, a collared Redd at his side. She would have her hand pierced and inked by the tattoo artist there, her new half black sun distinguishing her as much a slave as her collar did a kelvic. Papers were eventually thought to be signed up as well as he registered the brindled haired beauty as his for all the city to know. His bravado on paper however, did not match what he displayed on the street. He kept her hidden with her cloak lest those slavers he had taken her from recognized their prey was very much still alive. She was his now, but still, the law would prove a weak shield in the face of furious men like them. Elias could not stand the thought of killing those men for no other reason than his greed, and even more nerve wracking, having it get out to the public that he had used his magic for such selfish gains.

It didn't take long before he also gifted Redd with the red scarf he had been forced to buy back at the Odds and Ends. She seemed constantly agitated by her collar, so it dawned on him how simple a remedy he already had. Now that she was his slave and her master however, it would be a necessity till he could trust he without it. A smile latched onto him at the thought. He hadn't realized how much he would enjoy that word. It seemed fit for him, like it belonged.

Master.


Summary-5 GM for Leather Collar
-15 GM for Manacles
-8 SM for Wash Basin
-6 SM for Tongs
-1 SM for Scarf [Given to Redd]
+1 Redd

[Nemesis]

Elias Caldera

Knowledge :

Skills

Skill	XP
Chivalry	+2
Hypnotism	+4
Investigation	+1
Negotiation	+1
Observation	+5
Persuasion	+1
Planning	+2
Reimancy	+4
Rhetoric	+5
Running	+2
Seduction	+1
Socialisation	+4

Lores

*Redd: A New Slave
*Redd: New to Ravok
*Redd: Wolf Kelvic
*Redd and Vayl
*Vayl: Symenestra

Micellaneous :

Injuries

*None

Loot/Expenses

*-5GM for Leather Collar
*-15GM for Manacles
*-8SM for Wash Basin
*-6SM for Tongs
*-1SM for Scarf [Given to Redd]
*+Redd (Wolf Kelvic Slave)
*+375GM from Redd

Redd

Knowledge :

Skills

Skill	XP
Intimidation	+1
Investigation	+1
Negotiation	+1
Observation	+5
Rhetoric	+3
Seduction	+1
Socialisation	+5
Storytelling	+2
Unarmed Combat	+3

Lores

*Elias: Alpha
*Elias: New Master
*No Good at Being Human
*Shopping: Buying Things
*Slavery: Safety
*Vayl: Feels Betrayed?

Micellaneous :

Injuries

*Continual stressed ribs from previous injuries

Loot/Expenses

*-Freedom
*-400GM

Vayl

Knowledge :

Skills

Skill	XP
Observation	+2
Rhetoric	+1
Socialisation	+1

Lores

*Redd: Doesn't Need Me Anymore
*Redd: Found Another

Micellaneous :

Injuries

*None

Loot/Expenses

*None

____________________________________________

Notes

*Really enjoyed this thread... wished I could have thrown an entire bucket of Observation and Rhetoric at you guys!
*Found Caldera's conversation about the "corpse" in his arms particularly amusing. I love how you characterise NPCs.
*I've made the assumption that Redd paid for her own expenses for the beginning of the season, so have deducted what that would have been from Caldera's loot ^.^

Feel free to PM me with questions, comments, or concerns, if you have any.
Also, remember to either delete your grade request or edit it as 'graded'.
Thank ye!