Closed The Prices We Pay

[Shayna]

Shayna did not think anything odd in the fact that he was not quite as affectionate as he was when they were alone. She knew the dangers in being too forward, but she also had an urge to simply throw caution to the wind. That urge was enough to keep her grounded, putting a fear in her heart of losing control of her training. She knew her master was far more lenient with her then most would be, and she was starting to fear that the leniency was going to dull her training, make her reckless.

So she didn't call attention to their entwined hands, she didn't move her free hand over to stroke his arm affectionately. Instead she stood there quietly, her head held high though her eyes were properly downcast so that she did not seem aggressive.

Trent harrumphed under his breath at Mamoru's words, but what else could he do? "I doubt there would be anything you can do. Our days were numbered already. She isn't really my beloved, she was just a past time that I shall miss and did not want to give up too soon."

Shayna's black brow raised but she did not remark on his words. It was strange for her to hear of a person speaking of another that was not a slave in such a demeaning fashion. Perhaps this mystery woman was a freeborn marrying 'up'?

"However, it would not do if the Rajors know too much about who has been seeing her behind the man's back. Though I get the feeling they really don't care much for him anyway. I can't say I do either, the man's eyes are just wrong." Trent shivered a little but composed himself as best as he could. "His name is .. Petch those names. She refers to him as Hossior but I am sure he has one of those names that those Rajors use. Her name is Trista." He didn't give a last name for his lover.

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru had set the stage and left it up to Trent to decide what he wanted to do. He gave the man an out, something better to cling to in hopes that he would take it and leave Shayna be. But that wasn't his only plan, there was a triumph card in store. He never planned to use it unless there was no other way around fixing a problem, but unknown to most he was the Magistrate's body guard. That title didn't get him to Dynasty level, but he had the man's trust and his ear. He could use that to his advantage if he really needed to, but the trickster was sure that he could handle this on his own.

Shayna stood beside him as still as the trees surrounding the cottage. He could imagine what might be going through the teen's mind, and if she were Dhani, she'd be coiled to strike. That thought caused him to smile weakly. Seeing her as Dhani did sound interesting, but then he figured her being human was part of his fascination with her. It was rare that she saw his Dhani form, and he took pleasure in the looks she gave him when she did.

Mamoru kept most of his attention on Trent, but still continued to hold Shayan's hand. His thumb gently caressed the inside of her palm, and he moved his fingers suggestively between hers. Perhaps his way of telling her that he wasn't angry with her, or just that he had missed her while she was away. "You wanted to know who was watching you and how much they had saw." He remarked to Trent when he said there wasn't much that he could do.

The trickster narrowed his eyes at the way the man spoke about the woman. First she was his lover, and now she was just the bed warmer of the month. That was something that happened a lot in the nest, but he didn't think that these people acted the same. In fact, he was sure that Dynasty held themselves higher. He spoke about the woman now almost as if she were a slave.

Odd..

Mamoru listened to the names, and he did noticed that the man left off the woman's last name. He was an odd character, one moment she was his lover, then his whore, and back to someone special again. It didn't matter if he hid her name, Mamoru would find it out when he started to ask around. It wasn't impossible. "I'll find out what they know, and who..if anyone was spying on you. I'll get you the information, but from there you're on your own. I mean..what can a no body like me do anyway?" he almost cackled then, reminding the man of what he had called him before.

[Shayna]

Shayna often tried to just ..ignore the oddities of her master. His Dhani form both fascinated her and repulsed her. She hated snakes, having a close encounter with a water moccasin that thrived in the swamp had left her with an innate fear of them. However, the fear of him as Dhani was also something that fascinated her, and if she were honest pleased her. Knowing that her master could gobble her up in a single bite, but didn't because he valued her gave her a pleasure that she could never explain.

His thumb in her palm almost made her smile, almost but she managed to only allow a slight quivering of her lips. She bent her thumb just to return his affection, her digit met his thumb to stroke and caress as much as she was able to without drawing undue attention,

Trent looked at the Dhani with a little disbelief and a lot of suspicion. "And if you do that, and the information is good I will forget your slave's .. impertinence... I will even forget she ever existed." The Ackina man seemed more at ease now that he had managed to retrieve a promise of a sort from the other man.

"I am thinking that perhaps the child.. would be more .. beneficial to stay with me.. just to make sure you aren't trying to play both sides of the fence." Trent halfheartedly suggested, highly doubting that the other man who had threatened a Dynasty with a katana over the little slip of a girl would allow him to do that.

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru watched the man closely as he took it all in. The human was obviously trying to see just how much he could get out of the deal. If the freeborn had been frightened, he knew that he could have bullied him more, but there was something about this man that was almost scary. Finally he spoke and made the deal. It was good, and from the man's own mouth he would leave the girl be. It was best that he kept his side of the deal or else the trickster might come back for that tongue and slice it off.

"Good, then we have an agreement." Mamoru nodded to the man. He felt Shayna's fingers against his palm, showing that she had properly received his earlier silent words. He didn't squeeze her hand, but allowed their connection to stay loose at the end. Trent's last try gave Mamoru a smirk, he was a Dynasty through and through. "I'm afraid I can't let you take her, I will need her with me for this..whatever you want to call it. Slaves can be very useful in these situations, you should know that."

The trickster turned his fingers into hers and lightly pulled her behind him. His eyes were focused on the male, and his katana was held firmly in his other hand by his side. "But with my word I will find out the information that you seek. I would suggest that you stay here, but I doubt my musty little cottage would be to your liking." Trent thought over what he said for a moment, and a slow frown crawled across his face. "Fine just take care of it and fast. Do this right freeborn or that little sword of yours won't be able to protect you."

Mamoru almost scoffed and took a swing at the man, but his held his tongue. He had gotten his pet away from the man and out of trouble, he had only to come through with his side of the bargain. "Fair enough Trent, fair enough..." Trent stared at them both for a moment before taking a step backwards. "Good..good. Take care of that and come and find me the moment that you do." He started to walk backwards down the steps as if he were afraid to turn around, Then, in a quick move, he turned on his shoulder and stomped off back towards the city.

[Shayna]

Shayna felt the gentle tug of her master's hand and followed his silent command easily. She stepped gladly behind him, grateful for the buffer between her and the Dynasty man. Thanks to their difference in height it was easy for her to remain unseen, and she used this. She raised her hand to lay against his back, not a tentative touch any more but still gentle and light, a silent gratitude for not agreeing to let the man take her for a form of collateral.

Shayna waited until she heard the footfalls of the Dynasty retreating before she moved back around Mamoru, her eyes watching the retreating back for a long while silently. Her master had protected her but had put himself once more at risk, and she was unable to quickly come up with what she wanted to say. Even though he was lenient with her, encouraged her to speak up, Shayna still walked the line of pointing out possible errors or pitfalls and being respectful and obedient.

"Forgive me M'Lord. I did not mean to cause trouble." She began, one hand raised to tuck a strand of black hair behind her ear, revealing her branding readily in the process. "I was just.. looking to see if Selena was still there." She lifted her shoulders, she couldn't tell him why she cared because she didn't know herself. Everyone had to take care of themselves in this world, no one was going to do it for you. However she did care.

'You should have just allowed him to punish me as he saw fit M'Lord.. With you present he wouldn't have chosen too harsh of one that would render me useless. It would have bee far less risky then what you have been tasked to do."

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru watched the man leave and was sure to follow his figure for as far as his human eyes would allow him to. He didn't need anyone stalking him, and following his every move just to see what he was up to. However, in the dangerous swamps, it would have been convenient if something jumped up and swallowed the man whole. That would put an end to this favor and all future associations. But that was just wishful thinking on his part. Trent was Dynasty after all, and even the swamps bowed to their wishes. The trickster almost laughed at how stupid it sounded, but it appeared to be true.

He was now tasked with making a trip to the Inn again, this time on a different matter to see what gossip could be found about the man who had just left. A trip to the Dhani' estate might also be a good idea, but for this he didn't mind as he was curious about them. He wasn't all that sure what breed of snake they were, but if they were constrictors, he might have a better time to speak with them. Unlike the half breed, Mamoru was a full blooded constrictor and knew all about the ways of the nest. That could give him an edge..or not.

With the man gone and no one around to bother them, Mamoru turned to face Shayna as she spoke. It was as he had thought, she wanted to check on the freeborns they had been paid to find. He leaned down closer to her height and lifted a hand to touch the cheek that she had just revealed to him. "I had a feeling that you might." he started while stroking her cheek gently. "You understand that they're gone...don't you? If they were smart they would have left when I gave them the chance. However, if they chose to stay..I'm afraid Berk would have collected his daughter by now and left Kenash for good."

Mamoru smiled weakly still cupping her cheek and allowing his fingers to slip into her dark hair. "Don't worry for me dear, I have things under control." he replied halfheartedly. "But I couldn't allow him to punish you." He removed his hand and stood then and took a look around. "I had no idea that you were missing friendships? You should have told me. Hm..perhaps after this is over I will find us entertainment. But for now it seems we have an urgent need to return to the Inn."

[Shayna]

When he bent to her, his hand raised to touch her cheek, Shayna raised her own hand to stroke the back of his, and turned her head more fully into the palm of his hand. Her eyes closed a little with his words about the fate of the couple, she still did not quite understand why she worried after them. That fact that she didn't understand didn't negate that she did worry after them, it was almost like a loose end that now would never be tied. "I understand M'Lord. I just, was hoping perhaps that .. that the man would have left them in peace."

That might have been what bothered her about the situation, the girl and her husband was freeborn. They should have had the choice of what they wanted, but Berk apparently was taking that choice away. It messed with Shayna's ideas of how the world worked.

When his fingers threaded into her hair, Shayna tipped her chin upward, meeting his gaze briefly. "Why couldn't you let him punish me. It would have been far safer and more prudent then possibly coming down on the wrong side of a Dynasty." She did something a little bold for herself, when he stood to look around, and stepped forward to press against him, her arms circling his waist tightly. "I am not missing friendships M'Lord, I have you. I was just .. curious how the couple fared.."

[Kalesserimamoru]

Listening to her words, seeing the expression upon her youthful features, Mamoru realized something about his pet, Shayna was a romantic. That was something new for him, he hadn't known romantics in his life, but the theater inside the nest had provided enough stories about them to make it clear what it meant. There were also stories about love, and while he didn't understand that either, he could see the signs in others when they matched what he recalled from the plays. "You have to understand that there is probably even more to that story than what both sides gave us. In any event, I'd say those two were capable of handling themselves. They seemed to know Berk well enough."

This world was odd to him and the balance was, in some ways, the same as in the nest, but in others it was very different. The nest was refined in a way, but it was still brutish and animalistic. Where as Kenash wasn't nearly as forward unless the company happen to be Dynasty. Shayna had made a connection with the couple in some way and she was hoping for a happy ending...Mamoru had forgotten it mostly.

When she hugged him, he lifted an arm to wrap around her body, and followed with the other wrapping much lower as he held her against him. She wanted to know why he wouldn't allow her to be punished, and it was a good question. The trickster had cat tendencies and he hated for others to touch things that belonged to him. He had also grown fond of the girl's flesh and didn't want anyone to ruin it. Mamoru moved his hands inside her blouse and shifted upward to find the scars on her upper back. "They had harmed you enough my pet, and I rather enjoy your body then to see it mutilated."

He moved his hands from her scars but continued to gently stroke the girl's bare back. His lips met her forward, then he looked up again returning his thoughts to the mission. "Well keep in mind that things are not always as they seem. Maybe you will see them again someday."

[Shayna]

Shayna settled against him as his arms moved around her, and pressed her face against him. The slave nodded at his words on the couple being capable perhaps of managing their own affairs. That was what her brain kept telling her, that it was none of her business what happened once her master finished the job that they had to manage themselves but she still couldn't help wondering. Perhaps it was just trying to see some happy ending happen, any one at all.

When his hands stroked across her scars she trembled but managed to keep from stiffening or pulling away this time. They had hurt her, well one, but that was her lot in life. She was a slave, and she understood that it was their right if they wanted to harm her. However she did understand his wish to not mutilate her flesh. He for what ever reason seemed to think she was attractive, and more scars would surely diminish his attraction to her body. That was enough of an answer for her.

"Yes M'Lord. How do you plan on finding out what the Rajor's know about this Trent fellow?" She pulled back just a little, so that she could look up at his face. "I can't imagine any Dynasty house just opening up to someone randomly."

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru looked down at the girl, hand lifted to cup her cheek again as he moved his thumb across her kissable lips. She asked a good question, and even he had thought that far ahead. The man hadn't given him much to go on after all, and he seemed more interested in keeping his secrets than anything else. It made little sense to hide things from the person that was trying to help him. But Mamoru figured there was more to the story, it always was.

"No, I don't think they will be willing to talk with us. No, we will start lower on the chains of life. Perhaps a disgruntled freeborn or a slave with a loose tongue. Anyone who can give us a clue about either of them Trent, the woman Trista, or even Hossior. Maybe we'll get luckily enough and we won't have to visit the Rajor estate after all." He did want to visit there and meet the other Dhani, but he wasn't sure how Shayna would fair around them. His people were a cruel bunch and he didn't want them belittling him as they would in the nest and trying to keep her for themselves. He was very clear that he was the only one to have her.

"Let's be off then, I take it you're not too upset to continue?" His next course of action would depend on her answer. If the girl was too drained from her encounter with the Dynasty, he would allow her to go into the cottage and rest. It would be better that way, he didn't need her to drag him down if she couldn't keep up. However if she was up to it, he would lead her into the city. It was always a good walk back down, having a cottage so far away gave him privacy, but it also gave his legs work to reach the city.

The Inn was the destination and when he arrived he first looked around for the man that he had recently spoken with. He was no where in sight, which left the trickster to find someone to get information from. But he did see something very interesting. A tall woman with a mohawk style hair cut, wrapped in armor with weapons to boot. She stood out, not only because of her size, but the armor and heavy weapons didn't help. "What do we have here?"