Closed Lesson Learned (Lucillius)

[Yoona]

9th Day of Summer, 514 AV

Yoona wasn't familiar with the term "freeloader." If she was, however, she'd probably argue fervently against being one, all the while happening to match the description perfectly. It'd only be more perfect if she had a job.

It'd been a couple of days since Lucillius had brought her to his lavish, unnecessarily large abode. Since then, the Chaktawe woman had been given free reign over the house, permitted to wander about and do whatever her little heart desired, as long as she promised not to "draw attention" to herself. In reality, the lawyer hadn't really told her that she could do what she wanted, but he hadn't advised her against it, either. Really, he hadn't said much to her since their arrival on that ravosala; the charming mask that the man had been wearing seemed to fall away once he'd returned home, and he didn't make many attempts at conversations or random chats. He spent his time taking care of his own, personal business, often stepping out for bells in the process, and though Yoona would admit to being curious about it all she never bothered to ask him questions. If he wanted to be left alone, she'd happily leave him alone.

Besides, it was still a bit awkward, being a temporary resident in a wealthy stranger's gigantic house. The Chaktawe woman couldn't help but feel out-of-place amidst all the marble flooring and expensive furniture and fancy decorations. At the same time, she made sure to let herself enjoy it all. This was a rare experience, after all. And a Ravokian's generosity was fleeting, so Yoona didn't plan on taking the next few days for granted. As unwilling as she was to admit it, she was still thankful to the man for sparing her from whatever horrid punishment Isaac had been prepared to give her.

It had to be around midday, now; the fifth or sixth bell of the day. Yoona was depending on the rays of light that streamed in through the windows to tell time for her, despite the fact that the kitchen barely had any. The Chaktawe woman was standing near a counter and rifling through a basket of fruit that she'd found, pushing aside the many pears, bananas, and oranges in hopes of coming across an apple. She'd come to like the sweet red fruits, and doubted that Luc would mind if she helped herself to a few. In the meantime, Ruki was on standby at the archway that led into the room. The guardian had been oddly quiet and still during the last few bells, but when Yoona had pointed it out to him and asked him what was wrong earlier, he'd simply claimed that he had explored every inch of the house, already. There was nothing else for him to do but talk to her, when he felt up to it.

In other words, the hyena was bored. Yoona couldn't really do much about that.

When she finally managed to fish an apple out from the basket's depths, the front door suddenly slammed shut, bringing Ruki onto all fours and causing Yoona to jump in surprise. The sound had been loud enough to send small tremors through the floor.

Ruki poked his head through the archway, peering down a hall that led to the foyer for a moment before curiosity seemed to get the better of him. And as he started down the hall, Yoona found herself following behind him, the apple still held securely in her hand. 'What do you suppose that was?'

"To me, it sounds like your lawyer-friend is back," the hyena replied, his ears twitching as he raised his head and continued on into the main room.

The Chaktawe woman didn't comment on that. Sure enough, they made it into the foyer just in time to see Luc's back as the man stormed away. He seemed furious, his shoulders bunched up, his feet stamping at the ground as he walked. If they'd been able to see his face, Yoona was sure that the man's skin would have been a bright, flaming red. A red like...like...well, like her apple. Apple-red.

He vanished, after a while. Ruki took a few steps towards where he'd gone trudging before coming to a stop. "Huh. That was...weird."

'It was. He looked pretty mad.'

"He did. ...You should go and see what's wrong with him."

Yoona raised an eyebrow at him. 'What? Why me?'

"Well, obviously I can't do it. He can't see me. Which leaves you."

'Ruki, I'm not going to poke my nose in the man's business. Whatever it is, he can deal with it on his own. He probably wouldn't want me bothering him, anyway.'

"And what if he stays a sour, upset ball for the next few days?"

'Then I'll stay out of his way. Simple.'

"Guh...could you at least go and find out, for my sake? I've got nothing better to do, Yoona. Do this for me. Please?"

At the hyena's pleading words, the Chaktawe woman rolled her eyes. 'Fine, fine,' she replied, relenting. 'I'll go and ask. But this is the last stupid favor that I do for you, Furface.'

Instead of outright thanking her, Ruki offered her a toothy sneer. Yoona sighed a little before she started to retrace the lawyer's path, mentally mapping out where she assumed he'd gone as she strained her ears to listen for any helpful noises. Eventually, a few distant grumbles and shufflings led her to a closed door. It sounded as though the lawyer had shut himself inside. Maybe the door was even locked.

Frowning a little, and ignoring the eager look upon Ruki's face as he stood at her side, Yoona rapped on the door a few times with her knuckles. "Luc...? Something go wrong?" she called, her voice tinged with uncertainty. "You angry. It very obvious."

[Lucillus Nitrozian]

Lucillus Nitrozian

Freeloader? Freeloader? Are you kidding me?

Luc couldn't believe it. There was no way to believe it, let alone process it. There was only anger, white hot inside of him, threatening to explode and tear the whole damned estate down in the process. As he stomped through the corridors, only a hair's breadth away from breaking down, he just kept repeating the word over and over again in his mind.

Freeloader. I can't believe it. Me, a freeloader? That old petcher is out of his mind.

The gilded home of the Nitrozians was usually a comfort to him, his home far away from the filth of Ravok that he normally associated with, but right now every wall seemed to be crawling with discomfort. You don't belong here, the furniture screamed as he passed by, the paintings watching him with wary eyes and dark looks. The servants he passed attempted to approach him, but soon thought better of it when they beheld the absolutely black look of hate etched into Luc's face. His skin crawling, Luc made sure to try and take the most direct route to his room that wouldn't end up crossing his path with another member of his family, but of course he ended up doing so. With a panicked clenching in his heart, he realized that his cousin Davros was standing in the middle of the hall, his arms folded and his eyes trained on a familiar piece of art. Luc tried to quickly sidestep the man and leave the area without being noticed, but of course Davros spotted him. "Lucillus," he began, his voice deep.

"Dav," Luc answered, affecting a tender voice, hoping to work some of his charm on his powerful relative... Maybe he can change old Sit's mind?

No such luck. Davros only responded with a firm shake of his head. "Sitanos is right. It's time for you to move on." With that, the wrinkled man pushed past the standing Luc and turned around the corner, leaving the lawyer alone in the corridor.

"Stupid bastard," Luc hissed, shaking his head and resuming his furious march down the hall. "Wouldn't know a friend if he got punched in the face by one. Old Sitanos will get a dagger in you two, vagik... just you wait."

Throwing himself into his room, Lucillus slammed the door behind him and locked it, barring access from the treacherous, maddening, frustrating outside world. Feeling all the energy leave him then, the lawyer slumped against the hard surface, banging his head roughly against the wood. Now that he had stopped moving, Luc realized that he was only barely managing to breathe, his whole body tense with a frightening electricity; closing his eyes, he tried to regain control over his numbing body. Easy... come on, Luc, you've got this. You just have to keep yourself calm and think of a way to solve the problem. Shuddering, he pushed himself off the door and walked two steps into the room, staring at his home for the past six years. He stared at the wide, richly decorated bed that dominated the floor, home to many an exciting conquest. He stared at the long, blood-red drapes that covered up the window, a window he had spent bell upon bell staring out of at the nearby city. He stared at the empty fireplace, and at the small silver tray set on the nearby table, two filled glasses of wine waiting for him upon it. Nodding quietly to himself, Luc snatched the first of the glasses and drained it whole, trying to let the wine restore his spirits. Easy, easy... you're okay. You're in your home. Everything's going to be alright. This is your home.

This is your home.

This is your home, that you're about to be kicked out of in less than a fortnight.

"Bloody shyke!" Luc snarled, pitching the wine glass as hard as he could at the far wall. The glass fractured on impact, hundreds of glittering pieces shooting out in all directions. But he was not done yet; giving out a thunderous roar, the lawyer ran forward and kicked over the silver tray, sending the other wine glass crashing into the floor with only a faint tinkling sound to accompany the fall. Feeling every nerve in his body grow tense and explode all at the same time, Luc struggled to maintain control of himself... and struggled to hold himself back from tearing this place apart, sliver by sliver. The stupid bastard thinks he can force me out of my home? He thinks I'm going to listen to a single word he has to say? I'll rip him in two. I'll ground his bones into dust. I'll... I'll...

The knocks at the door interrupted his thoughts. "Luc...? Something go wrong?" came the distinctive voice of the Chaktawe slave, Yoona, and Luc only barely restrained himself from howling back at her. Taking a deep breath, cracking his neck from side to side, the Nitrozian approached the door, swinging it open and letting her behold his disheveled appearance. His fine surcoat and silk clothes, usually looking quite pristine, appeared to have been viciously handled by some unknown party. His eyes were weak and a faint red, hinting that he was on the verge of tears. And his whole body continued to shake, as if convulsing from some inner feeling of disgust. There was something wrong with Luc, that much was clear to all that saw him. "Points to you," he drawled in a dead tone, giving Yoona an overwrought sigh. "You're so very perceptive."

Though he treated her with a sullen sarcasm, Luc still held the door open for her and ushered her into the room. "Come on in. Since you're so interested in what's going on." Pushing the door closed behind Yoona, Luc dragged himself over to his bedside nightstand, his every step slow and apparently painful. Reaching down for the first drawer, the lawyer retrieved a small metal flask and brought it to his lips, taking a deep swig. Letting out a content breath, he turned and tossed the flask over to Yoona. "Might as well drink up. No harm, right? I mean, we're both at the ends of our rope here. Soon you'll be heading back to your slave master, and I'll be returning to mine. Good old Siiitanos petching Nitrozian, taskmaster and most vicious bastard in all of Ravok. Yup, it's a fine life for us." Grimacing, Luc shook his head, working intently to keep his anger suppressed. "In just a few short days I'll be packed up and out of here, Yoona... forever. Can you give me a few tips for living on the street?"

[Yoona]

Yoona wasn't sure what she'd been expecting when the door finally opened, but the pupil-less voids of her eyes widened in surprise when Luc revealed himself. The man looked like an absolute mess...it was as if some vengeful brute had slipped in through his window and roughened him up. There were no bruises or cuts on his body, as far as she'd noticed, but he was trembling, and she couldn't tell if it was from exhaustion or some sudden bout of sickness; perhaps both...?

Whatever it was, the Chaktawe woman was starting to doubt that she'd done the "right" thing by asking him if something was wrong. Really, she was only standing where she was now because Ruki had nearly pleaded with her, his curiosity far greater than her own. And Yoona could understand his want of answers after the little show that the man had put on, with all of his huffing and stamping and breaking things, but she was stepping into delicate territory, now. Potentially unsafe territory. She had come to know Luc as an unpredictable being, and there was no telling how volatile he'd become. For all she knew, the man could have just gone out and gotten himself drunk.

He motioned for her to come into the room, all of a sudden. Yoona threw him a narrow-eyed glare and held it as she went, only letting up when he'd gone digging into a dresser drawer beside his bed.

"Might as well drink up. No harm, right? I mean, we're both at the ends of our rope here. Soon you'll be heading back to your slave master, and I'll be returning to mine,"

The flask was tossed, and Yoona fumbled with it when it landed in her hands. Wary, she unscrewed its small cap and lifted it up to her nose to take a whiff. The pungent odor of alcohol pierced her nostrils, and she held it away from her face, frowning a little. The Chaktawe woman wasn't much of a drinker.

And what was it that the man was going on about? Some "Sitanos Nitrozian" being a slave master, of sorts? Mulling over his words and how resigned he'd sounded as they'd left him, Yoona was silent for a few ticks. "You family kick you out of home...?" she ventured, raising an eyebrow at him. "Why? You spend too much money? You owe too much money?"

She didn't wait for him to respond, a slight smirk playing upon her lips for a moment. This was irony, wasn't it? Just a few days ago, the man had used his name, his title, to his advantage. He was a member of a rich family that held some influence over the lake-bound city. And now, for one reason or another, he was being expelled from his own house. At least his family hadn't entirely disowned him; without money, that fancy surname was probably all the man had.

It was funny, but the Chaktawe woman would admit to pitying him a little, too. How couldn't she? He looked like he was a few ticks away from crying or throwing things.

So she let the smirk fade, a cautious-yet-thoughtful look on her face. "You try talking to this Sitanos...? Or bribing? Promise him you do something, and he let you stay in return...? I mean, this is your house," she said, crossing her arms as she stared at him. "You can't just leave if he tell you. That giving up too easy."

"Listen to me" - 'I'm thinking'

[Lucillus Nitrozian]

Lucillus Nitrozian

For a few ticks, Lucillus was happy that he had Yoona in the room with him. Despite their rather strange introduction, he had grown to like her for her rebellious fire and determined spirit, and she perhaps had grown to like him as well for... well, for whatever reason. That made her the closest thing he had to a friend in this whole damned estate, and right now, he could use a friend. There were a million things he wanted to say, wanted to scream, but without an ear to speak to, he was left with the emptiness of the room around and the rage brewing inside his own mind. And a man could grow insane left in a prison like that. Yoona had to be here. She was going to help keep him sane.

Unfortunately, as soon as Yoona began to speak, Luc realized how horrible a situation this truly was. "You family kick you out of home...?" she began, the very sound of her halting Common making his teeth grit. Oh dear Rhysol, please remove all the bile from this venomous little she-bitch. The last thing he needed right now was a sarcastic slave that he had saved from a grisly fate to be mocking his plight. "Why? You spend too much money? You owe too much money?" Instinctually moving to lash out at her, Luc was stopped when his left foot accidentally connected with one of the bed frame, sending a spasm of pain shooting up his leg. "Ah, shyke!" He hissed, doubling over and grabbing his ankle with both hands.

The Chaktawe didn't have the good sense to stop talking. "You try talking to this Sitanos...? Or bribing?" Too pained to speak, Luc just shook his head. Bribing Sitanos Nitrozian? She really has no idea how this city works. Only an ignorant foreigner would suggest something as ridiculous as bribing the head of the most prosperous noble house in Ravok. What Yoona had to say next was the most offensive thing Luc had heard all morning, and that was saying something: "You can't just leave if he tell you. That giving up too easy." Gritting his teeth, the lawyer pushed himself back onto his feet, ignoring the pain that continued to affect his left leg. "Ha.. aha," he began, chuckling grimly to himself. "You don't understand... anything, do you?" His chest was heaving with the stressed weight of his breath, and his temples felt close to exploding.

Finally, he could not hold himself back. "What do you think I've been doing for three years?!" He screamed, his voice breaking apart with the unexpected volume and bouncing off all the walls of the bedroom. Luc was sure that his words would echo throughout the Nitrozian home, but he didn't care right now. All that mattered was that he get the daggers buried deep into his chest ripped free. "Do you think I'd be working for these vagiks if I had a choice? Do you think I'd be wasting my time with the 'success of the Nitrozian enterprises' ' if I had other options?'" Letting out a ferocious cry, Luc seized the nearby closet and shook it, sending it toppling down to the ground in a thunderous crash. "My name is worthless in Ravok! Everyone knows me as Lucillus Nitrozian, son of a simpleton! Son of a Kelvic! The worthless, whoremongering bastard! The other noble families see me as the enemy, the drug dealers a big stack of gold, the Stryfe think I'm a disappointment to the city... I don't have anywhere else to turn!"

"The only thing that's kept me in this house is all the petching work I've done for Sitanos and his piece of shyke associates. And every night, my family looks at me like I'm a giant rat that's infested their estate. I'm a problem that needs correcting in their eyes, and they've been inching to this day for! Three! Petching! Years!" Gripping his hair tightly with both hands, Luc turned on Yoona with a wild look. "And you know what's the best part? The reason that I'm getting kicked out? You. That's right, you." Stepping close to her, close enough to breathe directly onto her, Lucillus pointed at her face. "They've been willing to put up with a lot of my shyke in the past, but taking you in? That's what finally made them snap. Letting you into our home, walk around the halls like a guest, seeing the anger in your eyes every time one of us gives you so much as a glance... that's what finally got me screwed out of here. So let's not talk about what I can do for them."

"Let's talk about what you can do for me." He might have thrown himself at her then, but the Chaktawe was noticeably much bigger than him, and even Luc in his infuriated state could tell he would get nowhere with that confrontation. "Because it seems to me, that you owe me a great deal. Remember, I gave you a shelter from a master that wanted you dead or worse. I let you have a nice little vacation in one of the nicest homes in Ravok. I haven't got a damn thing out of this petching arrangement, and I'm starting to lose my patience! So tell me, Yoona, why shouldn't I be feeding you to the goddamned fish right now?!"

[Yoona]

Without warning, Luc—quite literally—exploded.

Yoona supposed that she had no real reason to be shocked. The man before her was nothing more than an unstable ball of nerves on legs; an anger-fueled fit waiting to be triggered by the slightest disturbance, the smallest excuse. If anything, he was probably looking for something that he could focus all of his turbulent emotions on. There were risks that came with trying to talk to him, but the Chaktawe woman had been well aware of them before she'd knocked on his bedroom door.

And yet she found herself flinching when he suddenly screamed at her, every muscle in her limbs seeming to go stiff.

The Chaktawe woman wasn't one for giving advice. Really, it was rare that she was ever in a position where she needed to; a mere slave was the last source people confronted when they were dealing with troubles. But she'd be lying if she said that she hadn't genuinely tried to say something useful to Luc, earlier, when he'd half-joked about living on the streets. And he was right in saying that she didn't understand, because she truly didn't. The man's issues were in a realm that was far beyond Yoona's comprehension, and she hadn't the slightest desire to try and figure them out. So she'd given him the barest of suggestions, quietly hoping that they'd inspire an idea or two. It wasn't like she could relate to whatever the hell he was dealing with—what else was she supposed to have said?

Unfortunately, it was looking as though it didn't help. And Yoona remained still as the man yelled, her heart practically throwing itself against her ribcage when he sent the closet crashing to the ground. He was like an enraged beast on a rampage.

Then he turned to her, a crazed and furious look in his eyes. Alarmed, she regained enough feeling in her legs to be able to take a step back. As if acting on instinct, the beast began to advance, driving her into a slow retreat as he stalked forward. Void-like eyes searched around for a vase, a book, anything within arm's reach that could be used as a weapon. If he so much as reached for her, she'd be ready...or, at least, she wanted to be. But there was nothing of use to her nearby, and though she was pretty confident in being able to overpower him with sheer force, she had no idea what he'd try or what he could do as far as fighting went, and she hated this, this dreadful feeling of being forced into a damned corner...

He was close, now—threateningly, uncomfortably close—and for the briefest of moments, the smallest sliver of fear crept into Yoona's stomach, making her feel nauseous.

But then a finger was jabbed at her face.

"Letting you into our home, walk around the halls like a guest, seeing the anger in your eyes every time one of us gives you so much as a glance... that's what finally got me screwed out of here."

'Me...?!' The Chaktawe woman inwardly screeched, disbelief washing over her face. 'You're saying this is MY petching fault?!'

How dare he...? After he'd been the one to decide to help her out, and after he'd offered for her to spend a few days in his home, everything was suddenly her fault?

And now...now she apparently owed him...?!

Yoona could barely believe was she was hearing. She was stunned, and stood gaping at Luc for a few ticks as she tried to get a hold of herself, slowly but surely processing his words. "Owe you...? Owe you?" she said, the disbelief starting to give way to anger. Straightening herself up, Yoona narrowed her eyes down to cold slits as she met his. "No one say you need to help me. I never say I need your help. You do it because you want to, and I let you. So why I owe you anything?!"

The distance between them was already short, but the Chaktawe woman made it even shorter by taking a step toward him, to the point where her chin may as well have been touching his head.

"You have sad life. So do other people. So none of this my fault, because it would have happen, anyway!" she spat. "We don't have 'arrangement.' You didn't need to help me, and I don't need to help you."

"Listen to me" - 'I'm thinking'

[Lucillus Nitrozian]

Lucillus Nitrozian

"Owe you...? Owe you?" Yoona exclaimed indignantly, and Luc repeated the words tauntingly back at her. He knew that even at his peak physical condition, tangling with the Chaktawe slave was a stupid idea. She was almost a foot taller than him, definitely outclassed him when it came to sheer size, and there was no doubt in his mind that she would throttle him to death with her bare hands if she thought it necessary. There was something in her that scared him, something that he didn't see in the dens of Ravok's lowlife or in the grim faces of Ebonstryfe executioners. She was wild in every sense of the word, and it was hard to predict what she could do next. Luc's first instinct was to call it brute savagery, but he knew that Yoona was no simple barbarian. She simply... did not show fear. Nothing fazed her. Nothing troubled her. Nothing made her stop and worry. The Chaktawe had erased fear from her mind, had become so focused entirely upon her survival that nothing else mattered. She was something else, a far cry from the panic that Luc now felt deep in his heart.

He was jealous of her.

He resented her.

"You have sad life. So do other people. So none of this my fault, because it would have happen, anyway!" Yoona spat on the ground, prompting a mocking cry from Lucillus. "Oh go ahead, spit wherever you like, you petching bitch! You look like a camel, it's about time you started acting like one!" He wanted to back down before the slave, but his own demented pride prevented him from giving up any ground. Luc instead straightened up to meet Yoona, staring up into her black eyes, a sneer fixed to his face. "You think you didn't need my help? You think you would have survived without me? I'm the only reason you're not at the bottom of Lake Ravok right now!" Throwing his hands up in the air, the lawyer grabbed hold of the roots of his hair and tugged hard. "I don't know how things worked in your shykehole of a desert, but around here, people show gratitude when they get helped out. But have you done anything for me? Have you showed me how much you appreciate not being slaughtered in the streets? Of course not. And now, even when I'm getting forced out of my home, you still have the nerve to talk back to me. What gives you the right, huh? You're just a petching slave!"

Finally, Luc could take no more of this stare down. Letting out a ferocious growl, he spun about and stomped back to the centre of the room, his shoulders quaking with rage. He had to bite down on his lip to prevent himself from attacking Yoona - from attacking everyone - and he ended up drawing blood. Taking a deep breath, the lawyer slowly walked towards the open door to his bedroom, wondering if he should leave this bitch behind, abandon the Nitrozians, and make a living for himself far away from here... His head down, Luc grabbed the door and swung it shut. With trembling fingers, he reached for the door's locks and fastened them shut.

Meanwhile, his mind was no longer spinning. It had settled on Yoona, the only thing he could even try to focus on with the world around having gone so crazy. It was clear to him now what he had to do.

He had to break Yoona.

The Nitrozian closed his eyes, reaching deep into himself and calling upon the invisible Djed that crackled within him. Gathering it to his side, like a shepherd calling his flock to order, Lucillus took a moment to centre himself. "Because that's what you are, after all," he murmured, layering every word thickly with hypnotic power. His words seemed to echo faintly around the bedchamber, hoping to inspire a specific emotional response in Yoona: fear. Pure, undiluted, growing menace.

Turning back to face her, staring the Chaktawe down with a narrow gaze, Luc slinked over to the side of his bed, never taking his eyes away from her. "Out there, in the wide world, you might have been someone else. You might have once been Yoona, a free woman of the Chaktawe, proud and strong. But that's long past, isn't it? Because today, and forever more, you are a slave. A nobody. A servant meant to honour the wishes of your betters. You are nothing." He hissed, pouring himself into the suggestion that everything now was hopeless for her. There was no point in running, fighting, fleeing. She wasn't free. She was weak, terribly weak. "And that's the way things have to be. Cause if you upset that order, you get punished. You get tortured. You get killed. That's what you have to look forward to."

From the drawer beside his bed, Luc retrieved his long knife. It glittered brilliantly in the light pouring in from the bedroom windows.

Advancing now on the Chaktawe girl, Luc made sure his every step was purposeful. He did not charge at her madly like he did before... he walked like he imagined a panther would, trying to inspire fear into the cornered slave. "There's no escape from this room. There's guards patrolling the halls, the perimeter of the estate, guards in the street and guards at the docks. You won't get past them without being cut down. And if you so much as think about trying to plough through one of these windows, you're going to end up into Lake Ravok with a very hungry, very big fish looking for you. There's no escape." He knew that he was stretching his limits, but again he pushed more hypnotic power into his words, suggesting to her the futility of resistance, the absolute fear she should have of displeasing him. "And when Issac comes here tomorrow to pick you up, guess who gets to decide your fate? Me. I am your owner, I am your judgement. If I want you to suffer, I can make that happen. I can make it happen right now," he purred, slicing the knife through the empty air.

"So you're going to have to tell me, Yoona..." And once again he came within striking distance of her, this time staring her directly in the eyes, giving one last push of Hypnotism. "Are you going to be a slave? Or a martyr?"

[Yoona]

Gratitude...what a sickening word.

So was this what the man had meant when he'd said that she owed him? Was he spouting all of this inane, bitter nonsense just because she hadn't given him a "thank you"? Because she hadn't fallen to her knees and sobbed with gratefulness?

'Oh, but of course...! How rude of me,' Yoona darkly mused, gritting her teeth in frustration. 'I should be worshiping you for helping a poor, defenseless slave-woman out of the sheer kindness of your petching heart!'

That's just what he wanted, wasn't it? Or, at the very least, what he'd been expecting from his supposed good deed; a never-ending shower of respect and thankfulness. But this wasn't some folktale meant to entertain naive-minded children. This was the real world, a cruel place full of liars and thieves...a place where one only helped to be helped, where kindness was offered in return for personal benefits. Perhaps Luc hadn't known it at the time, but the Chaktawe woman doubted that he would have wasted his breath on her had he not wanted something out of that avoided conflict. Sparing her from the Stryfe would ultimately lead to some sort of reward, some conquest.

It was in his nature. In the nature of all Ravokians, really. They were born as cold-hearted, manipulative wretches.

Luc's yelling had grown almost shrill, and Yoona had half a mind to yell right back, but there was a slim chance of that happening. She was simply too angry and shocked and...and angry. Mere words wouldn't do the burning feeling within her chest any justice, and with how limited her Common was, it'd be pointless to even try. She'd only end up tripping over her own tongue.

The Chaktawe woman was running low on tolerance, now, but she summoned as much self-restraint as she could to keep herself from lashing out at the man, clenching her trembling fists at her sides until the skin on her knuckles had turned white.

'Foul-mouthed, waste of flesh...I should tear that mouth right off of his face and shove it down his petching throat!'

As if tired of attempting to tear his own hair out, Luc went stamping further into the room, and for a moment Yoona was convinced that he would start looking for something else to break or push over. Instead, he stood still and hesitated. Then he was stamping past her, and before she could whirl around to fully face him, refusing to let him out of her sight, the door was slammed shut.

And in that moment, something seemed to change. Even before Luc had begun to speak, again, Yoona could feel the unnerving wrongness that was emerging in the air around her.

"Because that's what you are, after all."

Slightly confused but still fuming, she met the man's glare with a threatening one of her own. What had happened? A moment ago he'd been shouting loudly enough to shake the foundations of the house, and now he seemed to have...calmed a little. The relentless fury was nearly gone from his voice.

Had Yoona been a little less stunned, she just might have inwardly praised Luc for his audacity. For the time being, she stood motionless as he described the weight of the situation that she'd apparently gotten herself into, his words melding into a malice-laced drone that bothered her ears. And then there was a knife in his hand.

Every muscle in the Chaktawe woman's body tensed at the sight of the weapon. The fool had lost his petching mind...and yet, he was admittedly right about her next-to-nonexistent options. She had nowhere to run because he'd locked the door, and flinging herself out of the nearest window would end terribly. If she tried, she could probably wrestle the knife out of his grip, but...

Yoona's mind was whirring with desperation, and her eyes went back to searching the room for something she'd be able to defend herself with. And she wouldn't admit to being scared, wouldn't relent to the viral feelings of powerlessness that were trying their hardest to invade her skull, her senses...but when Luc had drawn closer, it was obvious that the woman was struggling to keep herself together. The foreign emotions within her were threatening to destroy her certainty, her belief, that things were going to turn out okay. Because maybe, just maybe, they weren't. Not this time. Not for her.

Not knowing what else to do, Yoona grabbed at a nearby vase and backed herself up against the bedroom door, clutching it to her chest as if it was an impenetrable shield. And she couldn't bring herself to speak, so she settled on staring back at the man, her void-like eyes as wide as moons.

"Yoona! Don't listen to the bastard!" a familiar voice growled. "He's trying to scare you. Trick you. You can find a way out of this mess if you just think...!"

"Listen to me" - 'I'm thinking'

[Lucillus Nitrozian]

Lucillus Nitrozian

He was getting to her, Luc realized with a rush of excitement. Though it was difficult to tell with the pitch black of her pupils, there seemed to be a wide, panicked look to her gaze, as she frantically cast her eyes about the room for some form of escape. And though she was much taller and stronger than he was, Lucillus was able to observe the Chaktawe noticeably backing away from him, driven away by the doubt that was crippling her resolve. I have you now, the Nitrozian thought, all memory of once admiring her spirit gone in the thrill of the hunt. Slowly, but surely, his words were able to pierce the iron wall that Yoona had erected around her heart. The slave was tough, far tougher than any lone foreign girl with no allies had any right to be, but not invincible. With just a little more force, he might be able to crack her wide open.

The Nitrozian did not attempt to hide the savage glee that consumed him now, figuring that it would just help coerce Yoona into submission. "No... you're going to stay a slave. You wouldn't have come this far if you wanted to become a martyr. There were plenty of opportunities to go down fighting, in one final blaze of glory. You're still here because you want to live, and in doing so... you've accepted that you're going to remain a slave. You've already lost, Yoona," Luc murmured, flicking the knife absently. Another push of Hypnotism, another twist of his words, trying to inspire despair in the failing Chaktawe. "So the more you try to resist, the worse your punishment will be. I don't want you to live in fear. I want you to be safe. Resisting is not the way to stay safe."

Success! cried the lawyer as he watched Yoona back up against the door, holding his eleven-year-old vase like it would ward him off, like he was some terrible spectre. And maybe that's how she saw him... the thought made Luc giddy all over. Somewhere, deep in the recesses of his mind, he knew that this wasn't bringing him pleasure. He had risked his life to save Yoona from getting murdered by the Stryfe - backing her into a corner with a knife wasn't something he had ever envisioned doing. Somewhere, deep within himself, Luc knew that this was terrible. A man that brought terror to a poor slave with nowhere else to turn was repugnant, that much the Nitrozian had learned at an early age. Yet the alternative, confronting his situation with a clear head, was too difficult for him to even consider. This was easier, this was preferable to being civil with her. The joy of the hunt, the pleasure of lying and twisting her about his fingers like a puppet, this drove the weight off his shoulders.

So Luc gave himself up to the chase, stopped pretending to be anything other than a wolf circling his prey. He ignored the taste of blood in his mouth, ignored the feel of the knife in his hands, ignored the squirming of his heart... he ignored it all, and just focused on Yoona's delicious fear.

It was all that he could do.

I've given her reason to start panicking. Now it's time to reel her in. With the knife still in his grasp, Luc stalked over to the Chaktawe, now adopting a stern, almost parental look. "Oh, Yoona. I feel awful for you. Lost in the big city, stripped from your home, subject to the whims of the cruel Ravokians... I can't even imagine what you must be going through." Ignoring the slight dribble of blood that emerged from the corner of his mouth, the Nitrozian gave a deep nod. "You can't get through this without friends. You have to know that - there's no way you can survive here without having an ally or two. You already have enough enemies... make any more, and you might wind up in an even worse place than you are now." Stepping closer and closer over to her, Luc held up a hand. "Shh..." He gestured over to the vase in her hands. "Put that down. You don't want to do anything you regret. After all, I'm your friend." His dark eyes fixated on hers, he made sure never to break the contact as he continued to advance, hoping to seduce her into a hypnotic lull. His every word was meant to placate her, to ease her fears, make her rely upon Luc as her escape from this hell. This is the most crucial part. If I mess this up, she won't be truly broken... just pissed.

His fingers discretely shaking, the Nitrozian reached his hand out to Yoona. "Shh," he continued to murmur, gently grabbing hold of the bottom of the vase. "Shh. You can trust me." Working the vase slowly out of the Chaktawe's grasp - keeping the knife always at hand to keep her complacent - Luc tossed the empty thing to the ground and let it shatter. He took one more step forward, pressing the two dangerously close together. With a sympathetic sigh, his empty hand now reached up and softly brushed Yoona's hair back, fingers making gentle circles against her scalp... another attempt to induce his hypnotic effect on her. "It's okay. I'm sorry I scared you, but I'm not going to do that anymore. You can trust me. You have to trust me. I'm the only friend you have." Drawing his fingers seductively down Yoona's cheek, he fixated them on her chin and tilted the Chaktawe's face to meet his. "Kiss me," he purred, bringing the tip of the knife up to grind against the door frame. "Kiss me."

[Yoona]

Yoona could practically feel the chill that slithered through her veins when Luc grinned, his apparent joy threatening to split his mouth at its seams. He was enjoying this...reveling in her growing anxiety, feeding on the irrational fear that seemed hellbent on engulfing her body and mind. She was encouraging him without meaning to, unwillingly fanning the flames of his hunger with her new-found helplessness.

But that wasn't what bothered her the most. No, what bothered her the most was the fact that he was, to an extent, right. Vile and manipulative as they were, the words that rolled off of the man's tongue held some truth to them.

The last few years hadn't been kind to the Chaktawe woman. It was more often than not that she'd find herself handed off to some random slaver during her "travels"; they tended to hate dealing with her, and mizas couldn't be made from a "rowdy slave" that no one wanted to buy. Not that Yoona cared. In all honesty, she tried to be the biggest nuisance that she could, wanting to be known as a savage, intolerable beast. And the slavers, not wanting to endanger themselves, didn't bother to discipline her, settling with keeping her hands and feet bound. Not that she cared about that, either.

Really, all that had mattered to Yoona was finding a way home. It was a wish that she'd kept in the forefront of her mind as she was dragged from city to city, and one that she spoke freely of to the other slaves she'd meet. They never shared her enthusiasm, though; quite a few even insisted that she give up on her little "dream," saying that there was no point in having false hopes. But she never listened.

Yoona liked to believe that she was better than them; not above them, necessarily, but...stronger than they were. Their willpower and senses of pride had been destroyed, lives of cruel servitude warping them until they'd become mere shadows of their former selves. But she hadn't changed at all. Her spirit was unbroken, and it would stay that way for as long as she lived. The Chaktawe woman swore as such to herself, slightly fearful of becoming another gaunt, hopeless face among the masses...fearful of becoming yet another slave. Even if others saw her as nothing else, all that was important was that she knew who she was.

But she didn't want to become a martyr. She didn't want to die with her pride. She wanted to live; the lake-bound city didn't offer much, but home was still out there, just sitting and waiting for her. As long as Eyktol was around, she had a reason to keep going.

And to keep going, it seemed like she had to accept the fate that'd been forced onto her...

Yoona visibly wilted a little, but her grip on the vase only grew stronger, and her eyes never left the man, the tip of his knife dancing in the corners of her vision.

He pitied her. Or so he said he did, though the Chaktawe woman couldn't ignore the slight mockery in his tone as he spoke to her, telling her that she was, essentially, alone. Telling her that she couldn't survive without friends. That he was a friend. And had things been going differently, she might have laughed at that.

Friends...what use were friends in the accursed shit-hole that she was in? Better yet, how was she supposed to have any? Nearly every person that Yoona had met during her time here had been a wretched soul in some way, shape, or form, with the exception of about one or two.

Yoona narrowed her eyes, but made no moves as Luc reached forward and slowly took the vase from her. Somewhere off to her side, Ruki was growling; she could imagine how he looked, right about now, his hackles raised while his blue fur stood on end, lips curled back to reveal sharp teeth. She didn't shift her gaze away from Luc, though. Perhaps he was actually trying to calm her, to put her frayed nerves at ease...but she was still frightened. The existence of her fear was scary in of itself, but something else had come up that was worrying her, now, some alien pain that seemed to come from deep down in her chest.

And then, out of goddamned nowhere, the man asked for a kiss. They were already uncomfortably close to one another, but this...this was on a whole new level of discomfort. Near-repulsive, really. Yoona forced herself to look away from him, at that moment, her void-like eyes a turbulent storm of conflicting emotions.

All of a sudden, something hit her.

She wasn't powerless. No, not completely. In the end, when all else failed, she still had a weapon that she could use against the bastard. And if she succeeded, she could get the knife away from him...

Sending a brief glance Ruki's way, Yoona dipped her head forward and pressed her lips up against the man's, all the while squeezing her eyes shut.

"What the hell are you doing...?!" the hyena cried, his mouth agape.

'Distracting him,' she mentally replied, forcing herself to pretend that she was getting more and more into the kiss, despite the nausea that was threatening her stomach. 'If I keep this up for long enough, I can get a hold of that damned knife.'

"And then?"

'What do you mean, "and then?" It doesn't petching matter! Without that knife, he can't do a thing! And I...I could get out of this. I could get away without having to lose my petching mind...'

"Listen to me" - 'I'm thinking'

[Lucillus Nitrozian]

Lucillus Nitrozian

If there was one thing that Luc had learned throughout his life, if there was just one sliver of information that would stay with him until the day he died, if there was just one gift of knowledge that the city of Ravok could give him before it sunk into the lake, then it would be the understanding of how to break a slave. The process was burned into his mind, had been absorbed into his soul at an early age... in a way, it helped form the ground work for who he would become later in life. Getting to learn the ways a slave could be twisted about and prodded for weakness had given him the thirst for deception and manipulation that had brought him to this point. Getting to force his will on someone and watch them bend as they tried to accommodate it had given him a thrill that nothing else could match. For if you could break a free spirit and transform them into a slave with just a few words and a small application of forceful persuasion, then you could do anything to anyone. Slavery had built the foundation of Ravok and the Nitrozian household. From his first breath, Luc had known slavery, and was one of the rare few that got to taste its sweet nectar. And once he tasted that nectar, he had endeavoured to learn how he could coax more from those poor, unfortunate souls.

If there was one thing that Luc could do well, it was break slaves.

The first step was easy enough: instil in them a fear of authority. Making the slave dread the repercussions of resistance was crucial to the process, and Luc was delighted to see that he had already managed to work that dread into Yoona's heart. She was not stupid, she knew the risks of rebellion... but the fear in her eyes when she gazed upon his knife was palpable. The second step was more difficult, and the one that the Nitrozian had struggled with for the longest time: giving the slave an alternative to fear. If the slave was given cause to mistrust everyone and everything, they would become sullen, refuse to do their duties, and eventually grow useless. They couldn't just be pushed around day to day, beaten into submission with brute force... they had to be seduced into compliance. So, if one wanted to break a slave, they had to first present them with the gift of honey. Convince them that you have their best interests at heart, that you are their only salvation, and they'll start doing everything they can to appease you. It was a tricky process, but success would be easily determined if the slave started doing things they would never have agreed to beforehand. The fear had crushed their hopes that resistance would see them set free... the honey convinced them that obedience was the only way to survive.

And Luc knew that he had succeeded when Yoona finally gave in to his demands and kissed him. A dark, unrestrained glee taking hold of him, the Nitrozian closed his eyes as the Chaktawe stooped her head, eagerly pressing his lips back against Yoona's. His empty hand, now dropping from her chin, came to rest on her waist. Again and again his fingers dug into her flesh, drawing those same hypnotic circles into her, that kept reinforcing the mantra, You are enjoying this. This is something you can lose yourself to. Slight murmurs and moans of pleasure came deep from his throat, echoing this notion with deep, seductive power. The knife in his right hand still rested on the doorframe, digging small notches into the wood, and the lawyer kept telling himself he had to be ready to strike in case Yoona attempted anything. She's starting to give way, but a retreat isn't the same thing as a victory. If she wants to, she could break my neck right now... I have to keep the upper hand here. But it was hard to police himself, grateful for having something as sweet as a kiss to throw himself into. He knew that Yoona wasn't enjoying it - of course she wasn't, it was easy enough to tell that knowing her as he did - but that didn't matter so much right now. Right now, all that mattered were her lips, and her breath, and the thought that rang so clearly in his mind...

The third step in breaking a slave is humiliation.

"Enough," Luc growled, breaking away from the kiss with his eyes still closed. "Enough," he repeated, shaking his head and taking a step away from Yoona. "You're going to give me more," the Nitrozian murmured, staring at her with a look of firm intent in his eyes, pouring himself into the glare. You will not resist. You want to give in. Holding the knife tightly at his side, Luc reached over and turned Yoona about by the shoulder, pushing her chest roughly up against the door. "I'm your friend," he repeated huskily, pawing at her bodice, trying to strip her bare from the waist down. All the while, the words from his past continued to howl their message at him: Slaves must be made afraid first, seduced second, and then broken last. They must be made to feel less than human. They must be made to hate themselves and love you for being stronger than them. They must be humiliated, totally and utterly, before they can be truly subservient. It was a lesson Luc had learned from his father and grandfather, uncles and cousins, friends and strangers. It was a lesson he had been expected to teach to his children, and the grandchildren that would come after that. it was the Nitrozian legacy; it was the legacy of Ravok itself.

It only took a few quick motions for his belt to come undone and his breeches to hit the floor. Baring the blade against the small of Yoona's back, Luc grabbed the Chaktawe by the waist and closed his eyes. "You're a slave," he whispered to the woman, his every word sly. Lucillus ignored the blood that was continuing to trickle out of his mouth, now reaching his chin, instead reapplying firm pressure to Yoona's hips. "You're always going to be a slave. So I don't know why you still bother to fight."