Closed See a Man About a Dog (Redd)

[Verin Rush]

22nd Day of Fall, 514AV

The dim light of Syna’s early morning rays shone through the open window, bathing Verin’s room in the warm glow of promise. Sat at his desk, his fingers brushed lightly over the many glass vials contained inside his small leather poisoncrafting kit. Most were filled with previously created poisons and it had become untidy. Parchment and charcoal in hand, he slowly made an inventory of which poisons he currently had corked and, more importantly, what ingredients he was running out of.

Some, plants for example, he knew he could forage himself in the lands just beyond the shores of Lake Ravok. Or he might have been able to a season or two ago, before the terrorisation of the monster in the lake grew bad enough for the Black Sun to limit the amount of ferries making the crossing from the city to the lakeshore. Now he would likely have to buy such ingredients from market… or he wondered if he might be able to arrange a deal with Master Parnell – he didn’t require many… well it was something to think on, at least.

A soft growl caused the elder of the Rush twins to look down to his right where the auburn coated form of the she-wolf that had crossed paths with him at the prayer service yesterday. The Temple of the Black Sun had almost become the site of a riot, with one of Verin’s closest friends at the center. He had stepped forward to assist his associate, but had ended up removing a kelvic slave from the situation. Not knowing what the fate of the feral slave would be, particularly as her master had not been present to keep her in check, Verin had, without thinking of the consequences, stepped forward to claim the redhead as his own.

And now the wolf slept by his feet. Putting the charcoal down, Verin pushed his chair away from the desk, angling it slightly so that his body was close to facing her prone form. Breathing in deeply, the blond bartender hesitated, wondering how the kelvic would respond; his first sight of her had been one of violence, so how would she react to Verin?

But he steeled himself. In order to succeed, he would have to instantly assert his dominance. The wolf might be physically stronger, but he still had to win – he could not show weakness. Gently, he nudged the canine’s back leg, “Wake up, slave.” Leaning back in his chair, he waited for the red form to stir, “wake up, girl. And morph into your human form. I wish to speak with you.”

[Redd]

It had been dark... The moon over head shone brightly and she lifted her nose high, her golden hues watching that silent orb as it slowly moved across the dark sky. Even the stars seemed to wink occasionally, always staying in the same position behind the moon. Her ears pricked forwards as she heard the wind as it gently rustled through the leaves of the tall trees above. An ear suddenly flickered back, her gaze leaving the slow moving moon so then to look back over her shoulder towards the small cave that she had lived in for almost three years. She could have sworn that she had heard something, however she couldn’t be sure as to whether it had actually been something. The wolf slowly drew in a breath, before exhaling, settling her nerves and she turned to face the surface of the lake.

She dipped her head so then her nose nearly touched the surface, her golden hues reflected back up at her from the depths of the water. Her gentle breath made the water ripple and her reflection was then broken. The young wolf’s tongue was about to dart out to lap up the water before she heard the snap of a small twig and she lifted her head to glance behind her, a growl quick to rise. People emerged from the depths of the forest and one by one she recognized them. Her mother, Vayl, Elias and even the pack of wolves that she had once ran with, were scattered around their feet. She turned to fully face them, her ears lowering as did her form as she slowly began to back towards the lake. Fear pushed her backwards into the lake, the water lapping around her paws. Her own words echoed inside of her mind, ‘There is no such thing as home…’

Redd woke with a start, her head snapped up suddenly and her ears pressed back against her head while her gaze quickly darted around the room. This wasn’t her master’s house, no, it was similar to the room that Elias had. Then she heard Verin’s voice and she remembered the event that had happened yesterday at the temple where the citizens of Ravok had gathered to pray to their god Rhysol. An ear flickered forwards as she lifted her nose to view the male that was seated at the desk. Taking a moment she went back over his words, her head angling to the side before she slowly moved to stand up onto her paws She then pushed her weight back onto her hind quarters as she stretched, her maw opening wide as she yawned. Although pain was to be had in this task, for her healing ribs protested. After this had been done, she then padded over towards the door, turning to view him while the familiar shift began to happen.

A pale red light would surround her wolf form and the kelvic would then borrow her human form, the red light receding until she stood there naked before the male. Her scars were visible to the eye, the claw marks trailing down over the left side of her rib cage and the bite mark around her right ankle. The half black sun was fairly visible in both forms, it was on either the back of her left hand or her left paw. Where her right eye used to be was a hollow eye socket and yellowing bruises covered the left side of her face and around her neck. Her now hazel hue would regard the male silently for a moment, glancing over his form for a brief moment. She still hadn’t exactly been one hundred percent sure of his intentions, but what he had said yesterday did make some kind of sense, however, she hoped that master Miro wasn’t worried that she had left him. ”You wished to speak with me?” She asked softly as she brushed back her brindled red locks, her movements being slow and deliberate.

[Verin Rush]

As the flash of bright light faded, Verin was left to stare at the bare form of a young woman. From what little he knew of Kelvics, he guessed that the creature could not be older than about four years old, though she looked to be about sixteen winters. Despite her young appearance, it was clear that the situations in her life had taken a toll on her body. Across what should have been blemish-free, porcelain shaded skin, Verin could track the newer lines of red and purple scars - the most obvious being the angry, uneven line that followed the left side of her ribcage. Not as new, yet still just as obvious, was the line of teeth marks, like a rose bush, around her ankle.

The pair sat in silence once the female had responded. She was clearly waiting for him, and he was silently assessing the situation, social etiquette did not apply around such creatures, and it did not occur to the Rush scion that he might be making his guest uncomfortable. Littered across her body were paler, silvery scars, ones which were much older and had long since healed, but Verin could just about make them out. Upon her left hand rested the tell-tale sign of a slave. Verin had noticed the black crescent the day previously, but he cast his gaze over it once again anyway.

"She's feral," the scars were clearly from animal attacks - Verin could not imagine a Ravokian master who would inflict such rudimentary wounds onto his property. No whip could cause such a scar, and no human teeth would pierce the skin as such. "The girl is far too in touch with her wolf nature. It's a wonder her owner hasn't got her collared and caged." Itw as incomprehensible to Verin why this slave in particular had been let out unsupervised, or why she had been allowed into the Temple unaccompanied.

Even more baffling was why Verin had even stepped forward to claim her as his own. He closed his eyes as a hand rose to rub at his temples. “Do you have a name, slave?” his questions were short, and he spoke slowly, as if speaking to a small child, or a foreigner; he had no idea of her linguistic capabilities, nor of her intellectual capacity, so he would assume. He did not look back up as he waited for her to answer. Yesterday he had not bothered to discover it, more intents removing himself from the situation before an Agent questioned their latest hopefully initiate on why he kept such an untamed beast.

His options were limited; he had no need for her. More importantly, however, Verin was an honourable man - he had not purchased this slave, it did not belong to him, and he was not about to steal the property of another man, even if it had walked so willingly into his life. Removing his hand from his forehead, piercing blue eyes met with hazel and he released a breath. Hopefully this animal would be able to remember the way home. “Who is your owner?”

[Redd]

Redd felt and saw his eyes criss-cross over her from, taking note of every scar that littered her body and she perked a brow. The young wolf was very much aware of the scars that littered her body, she knew that it set her apart from those within Ravok, that she was far from being civilized. In fact, she struggled with the whole concept of being human and there was still so much that she did not know about. To her, this felt very much like he was sizing her up, almost like he was about to try and take up an alpha position and she wasn’t going to allow that. Miro was her alpha, he had freed her from her collar and fed her. He had given her more than she could have asked, for he had saved her from starvation. The wolf had tipped over the blade’s edge when he had come across her attacking someone he had called a non-citizen. Although, he had some-how managed to bring her back and she had been very grateful. For when lone wolves get desperate, people saw a very nasty side, one that was ruthless and completely devoid of a care in the world. They were the ones that had completely reverted back to the very basics of basic instincts, ‘kill or be killed.’

Her gaze drifted over this man’s own form that was still seated within the chair. He was taller than her, that much had been clear yesterday. He had some muscle, but she wasn’t sure how much, that was still to be determined in combat of sorts. Blonde hair and blue hair, it was simple and she actually wondered if he did anything other than sit around looking… What was the word? She angled her head as she searched for the word but gave up after a moment’s pause, what did it matter? She didn’t expect to be here for very long as her master would probably come find her eventually. He did mention that he would track her down if she ever did go missing for a lengthy amount of time. The man had said that he wished to talk to her, however he had not said a word and she was growing bored, tempted to simply shift back into her wolf form. She could go back to sleep, even though she had strange dreams, it was preferred rather than wait for this man to speak. This man that was not her master. Finally he asked for a name after he had placed a hand to his forehead, a strange gesture that she was most definitely not familiar with. ”My name is Redd, just Redd.”

Her tongue darted out to lick her bottom lip as her gaze turned to the window that was allowing light within. She did not want to be here, in fact, she wanted to be out hunting, chasing deer and rabbits. She wanted out be out running free and wild, to enjoy the wind as it ruffled through her fur… However, that thought reminded her of her dream, a dream that reminded her of her ever-changing present. Nothing was permanent and she was always being chased or left behind. She just didn’t understand as to why she would have had that kind of dream and a frown creased her features as she pondered upon its meaning in the silence that seemed to stretch between the two. Her gaze flickered back to Verin and his hand fell away from his forehead his blue eyes meeting with her hazel one. Finally he asked about who her owner was. She pressed her lips together as she lifted her right hand so then the fingers of that hand, could lightly trace over the half black sun upon her left. The corner of her lips had twitched briefly when he had mention owner, ”My master, is Master Miro.” She said, making sure to place emphasis on the word Master.

[Verin Rush]

He couldn't help it, but the corners of Verin's lips curled slightly when the girl answered his first question. He wondered if the name had been given to her or whether she had thought of it herself. He wondered how lazy a parent or owner would have to be to create such an appellation. With fiery hair like that, such an attribute would have been obvious from birth. No, such a basal name must have come from the girl herself. But he did not comment, remembering the fox Kelvic Rowan, who had also been named for similar reasons.

The bartender did not return the favour and offer his own name; the Kelvic had no right to such knowledge... she might have overheard conversations from the previous day and learnt his name, but he did not care - in a few bells, the female would be off his hands and he would likely never lay eyes on the creature again. Then, the girl said a name that the blond had become somewhat familiar with: Miro. His mirthless smile grew.

“The man had no sense of moderation, does he?” Verin spoke more to himself than to the girl. Though he knew the man, and the two had an understanding, Verin had no allegiances to the Mage. Instead, Verin had found himself claiming the title of "friend" to the wizard's Familiar, Ender. Since meeting the Fyrdenese, Verin had since come to think of Ender as much more than what his purpose suggested, but he had the distinct impression that Miro thought of the Irylid as little more than a slave. He wasn't sure, but he believed that Miro had a number of slaves, servants and apprentices, all bound to do his bidding. Verin might have been one of them, had he been a weaker man... or had he not been warned by Ender first.

But the beauty of the matter was that Verin knew of the wizard's abode, so he did not have to rely on the Kelvic's own sense of direction. Pushing himself up from his chair, Verin strode across his room and pocked up the first of his well-worn boots and placed it over his foot. Soon after came the second, and he made quick work of lacing the boots up. Turning back to the girl, he could see her fingers twitching, a fidgety motion that he had seen a number of times before in small children who had been sitting still for too long. The girl's eyes were also darting about, in a similar fashion to the tailor, Piraen's. “Get up, girl.”

Redd clearly did not want to remain where she was, and Verin had no desire to keep the girl now that he knew where she could be returned to. “Get dressed. Your clothes are in the corner.” Appraising her once again, he saw how thin she was. Reaching down he picked up the cloak that was draped over his wooden chest and flung it around his shoulders. After fastening the clasp, he smoothed the fine fabric down, the neat embroidery visible on the outside. When the Kelvic was dressed, he would guide her swiftly over to his door and lead her out, through the tavern to find a ravosala.

OOCI don't think I've ever had such a quick moving thread (in terms of plot). If you think I'm rushing a little just let me know and I'll slow down xD

[Redd]

Redd’s hazel hues had taken note of the simple fact that the corners of the man’s lips had curled slightly and she briefly wondered as to what was so funny. Humans, they were so odd. All of them, they were so different especially in their natures. So she wondered just what was so funny about her name, she found it to be fitting. She hadn’t been given a name at birth because her mother had already noted the fact that she was growing way too fast for her to be normal and so had withheld. Redd had named herself after her coat, mostly because she felt that it had been fitting enough. Besides, wolves had very little use for names, but seeing as she had a human form, she figured that she might as well give herself a name. Master Miro didn’t seem to have minded her name, so she simply blinked at the silent male. Perhaps there was some other kind of motivation for the small smile? Or was she just simply imagining things? Or… Perhaps she was just over-thinking it? At that thought she heard the blonde man speak but she wasn’t exactly sure whether it was to her or to himself.

Moderation? she questioned the word before it simply fell from her mind. Why did humans even speak aloud when they could just simply talk to themselves in their own mind? She softly huffed as he told her to get dressed, eyeing the man as he moved to grab his cloak. Silently, she moved to stand before crossing the room to the corner and she bent to grasp an item. First, she drew on her black pants, biting down upon her bottom lip as she then moved to slip on the shirt. She drew the cloak around her shoulders and fastened it by tying it, before she finally grasped the red scarf, it was the only article of clothing that she actually owned that wasn’t black. Granted, she had actually looted the clothes off of a dead human and the clothes were a little big on her, but they did the job. Well, she thought that they did anyway. She didn’t wear any underclothes, mostly because she was clueless about them. She considered them to be rather useless seeing as when she was alone, she would shift back into her wolf form. She could have also looted the boots, but she didn’t like them, she preferred to be barefoot, mostly so then she was lighter.

As soon as he guided and led her out the door, she instantly perked up and her pace quickened as she suddenly darted down the hallway and into the main room where Tarsin stood behind his desk. The man glared at her, like he normally did. He had never liked her, even when she had been staying at Tarsin’s with her last master, Elias. He had always glared at her, but she hadn’t let it bother her for she knew that she was different and a slave. While she hated it, there wasn’t much she could do about it, so she slowly got used to it. Silently, she waited for the blonde man and when he had settled into a ravosala, she was quick to follow, seating herself so then she was facing him. He had asked about who her Master was and she had told him exactly who her Master was. He hadn’t said much after that except to tell her to get dressed, were they going to her Master’s house? She watched the man’s face for a moment, her observant gaze attempting to try and decide as to what kind of mood he was in. Finally she spoke, asking the question that was begging to be asked. ”Are we going to Master Miro’s house?”

[Verin Rush]

Pale blue eyes followed the movement of the female form, watching the curves twist and sway as she stood and made her way over to the pile of clothes that she had left in the corner of the room. Despite knowing the true nature of the slight woman in front of him, Verin could appreciate the aesthetics of what he was watching. For a moment, he could almost forget that she was a kelvic, an animal, a beast.

The elder of the Rush twins raised a brow when she witnessed the young woman forgo underwear, and his impression of her as being less than human was cemented. When the girl was ready, he nodded in approval and held the door open for her, directing her out of the building. Again, the girl entered the ravosala before Verin, who murmured the Mage’s place of residence to the ravosalaman before also taking a seat in the small vessel.

A small section of the journey passed in silence, as was how the blond bartender preferred to spend his travels through the city, yet the red-head wasn’t aware of him, and at her question, his gaze shifted over to her, slightly irritated that she would presume to disturb his peaceful journey. “Yes,” he replied shortly, and began to turn his gaze back to watching the buildings float by.

Then the blond thought better of it, and looked back, “I am acquainted to your Master, and in my time of knowing him, he, nor the Familiar, never mentioned the existence of a slave.” Though he did not know Miro well, he did consider Ender to be his friend, and he knew that Ender would have relished the chance to mention a slave anything to use as ammunition against the Mage. “How long have you been the property of Miro?”

There was no denying it, Verin thought, as he watched the girl, she was beautiful. But he thought that he had the measure of Miro, and he could not see the man using a slave, no matter how pleasing to the eye, for pleasurable services. Now Venser might find interest in such a creature for arcane purposes, especially since he had taught Verin about some of the ways of Malediction, but Miro? His curiosity was piqued.

[Redd]

Redd’s single hazel hue glared at the man for a moment before she turned her gaze away from him, the corners of her lips turning downwards as she was reminded that she would never be considered a person. No, Venser had showed her that when he took her right eye and Miro had done nor said anything about it. She drew in a slow breath before she exhaled turning her gaze to view the water passing underneath the ravosala. ”Not long… I became his slave at… Somewhere near the end of last season.” She finally said to the male even though she didn’t want to say too much to the man that looked so much like Venser. Why? How? How did he look so much like Venser? It was just so confusing to the young wolf, especially considering that Venser hadn’t mentioned that he had a look-a-like. Not that they actually did much talking, the man was all for violence and showing her how much that she liked it. It made her very, very aware to the fact that she had a predisposition to enjoy violence. He had woken a more primal beast within her and it had all started when he had ripped out her eye.

She silently watched the water as it rippled from the ravosala while it glided along the surface, the ripples reminding her of the beast underneath its surface. A beast, was it too misunderstood? Was its method of survival something that people considered to only be apart of a beast? The young wolf lifted her gaze and then angled her head to the right to view the man before her. Those familiar blond locks framed the face of a man and while his eyes were also a colour like blue, this man’s gaze, seemed to be a little more paler in comparison. Another thing she noted was that this man preferred to wear darker clothes, but Venser, he wore blues. It was strange, that they looked so a like but also have some qualities that set them apart. Redd was only aware of these slight differences because she had set her heart upon revenge, to kill the man that had caused her physical pain. So, he had tailed him, which didn’t really work out for her in the end and she had also tried to kill him once before, which had also turned out to be very unsuccessful. One day, she swore, that she would kill him, even if she died in the process. However, this man before her, was not him.

Finally, the curiousity was too much for her and she just had to simply ask the question, the one question that balanced on the tip of her tongue. ”Do you know a Venser Rush?” She lifted her chin a little to draw in a direct breath, to draw in the man’s scent, finding that the man most definitely did not smell like Venser. So why did the two look alike? Her gaze flickered over the man once more before she turned her gaze away to view the water once more, hardly expecting a reply from the man, for he seemed to get irritable when asked questions. It didn’t worry her too much, because she was confident that she could possible take this man on in any physical fight. However, she just didn’t know if he could do that magic thing that Venser could do. Indeed, she had begun to grow weary of humans, for magic wasn’t exactly apparent within someone until they used it. This she had learned and continued to learn. For her first master could do things to water, make it appear out of thin air, Miro could also do it and Venser did a magic thing that was apparently called flux. She just had to be better than Venser and one day, she swore that she would, even if she couldn’t do the magic thing.

Word Count656

[Verin Rush]

Verin might as well have not asked about the girl's relationship with her Master. Such was the pathetic amount of information that he received from her. He nodded blandly, wondering if perhaps his own question had been vague enough that she had not though that he wanted more information than she shared. Yet her answer told him something about the girl; Miro's ownership of her was short lived, so surely he would be invested in getting her back... he would surely be very grateful to Verin for going to such efforts in returning her to him. A small smile graced his lips as he pictured Ender's face when it dawned on the Familiar that Miro was in his friend's debt.

A second realisation occurred to Verin as he watched the floating buildings drift past as the ravosalaman pushed the boat slowly and carefully along the narrow canal, Redd could be new to slavery. It was no uncommon for those who did not have Ravokian citizenship, especially those from more exotic races, to be taken as slaves and sold. It was not unthinkable that this Kelvic could be one of those specimens, which would certainly explain her unorthodox behaviour. His smile grew as it occurred to him that he would take great pleasure in explaining how the slave had come to place shame on Miro through her actions.

Then the girl spoke again, and this time Verin's head snapped round in shock, and he stared at the girl as she mentioned his brother's name. “You've seen Venser?” For a tick or two, Verin's façade fell away, revealing a young man controlled by his emotions. It could never be denied that Verin loved his twin brother, nor that he would defend his reckless actions until his dying day. Yet, for no reason other than differing schedules, Verin had not spoken to his brother in days, perhaps a quarter of a season or longer. He wondered how the younger Rush was fairing, and the dropping of his walls was entirely unexpected.

But he viewed it as a weakness, a relationship that his enemies might use to their advantage, so he cleared his throat and repositioned himself, seamlessly allowing his expression to fall into one of impassiveness as he regarded the slave girl in front of him. “Venser Rush is my twin brother. I am Verin Rush.” Having a vague idea of what Venser had wanted to achieve with his Malediction craft, a sudden wave of pity came over Verin if the girl truly knew his brother. And then it hit him. He looked closer, scrutinising her expression (it was clear that the girl had to not the natural human subtleties), he could see the anger and hurt at the thought of his brother. There was history.

The ravosala slowed and docked almost directly outside the building holding Miro's apartment, also Verin did not question the girl further. If she wished to talk, she could volunteer the information herself. He thanked the ravosalaman, offering him a tip in exchange for his silence, and assisted the slave out if the vessel. Then, he guided her up the stairs until he reached the familiar door that hid the Mage's world away from others, and knocked.

LedgerTip for ravosalaman - 5sm

[Redd]

The man’s voice when he asked her his question seem to be a little shocked, or was it something else? She lifted her head and angled it so then her left eye could flicker over the man, suspicion colouring her gaze. His response was quite unusual and strange, never had she seen someone react to a name as strongly as he had. Then again, she could never really tell or dissect the human emotion. Master Miro rarely ever responded with emotion and Elias had always been calculating, always planning. If anything, Verin was sort of like Elias when they were focused upon their task or preferred to remain silent, but then again, they were also so very different in many other ways. Finally Verin mentioned that Venser was his twin brother and a soft growl fell upon her lips and she slid back further upon the spot she was seated on so then to keep a distance from Verin. Was he like his brother? Able to do that magic thing? The pain that Venser had caused upon her body was real and here was his twin brother. What were the odds? She silently asked herself before she shook her head, no, there were no odds, she was just simply unlucky.

The two were soon enough exiting the ravosala and she followed the man’s guided movements up the stairs until they reached the door that she knew led to her Master’s apartment. She turned and pressed her back against the wall next to the door, her single eye watching the man for a moment. ”You should try opening the door; he normally leaves it unlocked when he is home.” She said softly, before she glanced back the way that they had come, still pondering over the idea of this man Verin, being Venser’s twin brother. She gritted her teeth for a moment, before she figured that she might as well answer the man’s question. The one that had been asked back when they were gliding down along the canal, ”I know your brother, because it was he who took my right eye. I’m not voluntarily half blind.” A scoff was issued then as she also leaned her head back to rest upon the wall, her arms lifted to cross over her chest and she closed her single eye. The young wolf didn’t know why he was knocking first, Venser had just charged through the door last time and for defending her Master’s home against a man that was likely a threat to Miro at the time, she had her eye ripped out.

A price that was paid for the loyalty… Suddenly the thought trailed off as she remembered her dream, the one dream that had repeated her own words, where the people and animals alike that had either chased her off or left her, had been present. Did it mean? Could it possibly mean that her newest master had left her? She glanced down to her left to view the door handle that would open the door… Unless it was locked. He probably just went on patrol Redd, she told herself as she drew in a deep breath slow breath. He wouldn’t leave her, he couldn’t for he had promised that he would look after her. She then eyed the blonde man, weariness showing through that single hue. The young wolf didn’t know this man, nor did she really want to. He was the brother to Venser, what if he was just like his twin? Did he enjoy inflicting pain? Did he enjoy taking from slaves, just like how Venser was constantly taking from her? "Or... Perhaps he is on patrol." She finally said, her words tainted with hesitancy and a touch of worry.

Word Count623