Closed Double Double, Toil and Trouble [Verin Rush]

[Redd]

Day 45, Autumn, 514 AV

The one-eyed wolf paced the room, her footsteps making her cross from one side of the room to the other. She had been pacing mostly in front of the door and she could have sworn that if the floor wasn’t wood, she would have by now worn a track into it. She lifted a hand to tug through her red brindled locks as a continuous growl stayed upon her lips. Her ribs ached every time that she turned, but she didn’t let that stop her pacing, for it was her pacing that kept the urges to rip into anything available and breakable, away. The young wolf stopped by the door once again and she tried the knob, finding it locked still. Why had he locked her in? Why did this man care enough to lock her in? Her last master had just vanished, once more and she was hurting, both physically and emotionally. She wanted to lash out, to kill something and taste the crimson blood as it spilled from its vessel. Again and again blows continued to rain down upon her, physical ones and even emotional ones. Her loyalties betrayed over and over again and it hurt, it hurt and she knew that she had to some-how distance herself from her own emotions.

Slowly she turned to view the window with her one hazel hue and she crossed the floor so then she could peer out at it, her hands lifting to gently settle upon the window sill. There is no such thing as home... The words echoed inside of her head as she lifted her hands so then to push on the window pane, pushing the window open so then she could let the air drift into the room. As the wind drifted in, she lifted her chin just a little so then she could feel the wind’s playful caress across her pale skin. The young wolf would then draw in this oxygen, feeling this activity expand her lungs before she exhaled and she repeated this process a couple more times. She had to calm down, she knew it, but she just wanted to revert back to her basic nature of survival. To run, run far away from this place and the humans that dwelled within it. However, she was trapped within the room that the human Verin lived in. She could tell that this Verin, had lived in this room for some period of time, because his scent was all over it. Old and fresh scents alike and it made her slightly ill for she could still remember Venser’s scent. The two were brothers, brothers.

A frown creased her forehead at this thought and she turned away from the window to view the door, her hand lifting to tug at the edges of the bandages that covered the right side of her face. Her missing eye was in Venser’s possession, at least, she thought so. She hadn’t seen it since she was writhing around on the floor in pain and bleeding from her eye socket. Her hand fell to grasp at the collar that was secure around her pale neck and she felt tinges of despair colour her fury. Ever since Verin and herself had found out that her master had pulled a disappearing act, the man had turned around and placed a collar around her neck. No more could she shift without strangling herself again and she was basically where she had started in the beginning. Her left hand lifted to lightly rest over the left side of her face, covering her left eye as it slid closed. Why was all of this happening? Why was she cursed to stand beside the brother of the man that she loathed? All Redd wanted to do was leave Ravok and forget about it, she wanted to just forget about all of this and just simply run with a pack of wolves. Wild and free.

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[Verin Rush]

Verin was furious. He had been for some time. The compulsive, obstinate red beast had had the blond bartender at loss of six hundred gold mizas... granted it was his own foolish mistake to step in an protect the wolf Kelvic from what he perceived as a terrible punishment, perhaps death. But he had only stepped in because of her own brash actions, which had led to exacerbation of an already terrible situation.

Worse, Verin had not yet been reimbursed by the slave's true owner, Miro. Upon visiting his apartment with the girl, Verin had found no trace of the man, nor had he been able to track down Ender, whom he considered a friend. So far out of pocket, Verin had endeavoured to keep the slave; until reimbursement, he could not see any other way - the slave was rightfully his. And it would stay that way.

Yet the stubborn, self-involved creature seemed not to realise the severity of her situation, she seemed to either be unaware, or unwilling to accept, that her life had been forfeited to Verin, and the only reason it was as such was because Redd had forced her way through a crowd to attack a man. She owed her life to the blond, bound to serve him, yet she seemed determined to disobey him at every opportunity. The most recent infraction that he had learnt of was perhaps the most insulting to his pride. The collar that he had placed around the young woman's neck, which restricted her ability to morph, and thus asserted his dominance, had been locked into place.

Since locking the collar into place, the Elder of the Rush twins had allowed the girl to have a little freedom, allowing her to come and go from the room as she pleased. Yet, within days, she had abused that trust - she had stolen the key to her collar and released the clasp on her collar. Today, he was returning home with a sturdier collar, a more expensive one. The girl would be disciplined.

Stepping out of the ravosala, he thanked the man and entered Tarsin's Boarding House without wasting any time. His strides were long and be barely looked around to meet the eyes of the boy behind the bar, even though (having a job in common) they bonded well. Taking the stairs twice at a time, he reached the door to his brother's room, where he paused for the first time, straining his ear to listen for any noise from inside. After half a chime, he sighed - it had been too long since he and his brother had spoken.

The door to the right was his, and he pulled out the key and inserted it into the lock, twisting it and pushing to reveal his sparsely occupied room and slave. He gave her a quick once over, keeping his face impassive as he did so. He turned away, raising his free hand to release the clasp on his cloak and drape it over his chair. “Kneel down.” It was a simple command, and she had the choice to obey... and when he turned around, he would learn a lot from her decision.

[Redd]

Redd’s sensitive hearing had picked up the sound of a key sliding into a lock and unlocking the door. Her hand fell away from her face as she lifted her hazel gaze to view the door from where she stood by the window, watching it as it swung open to reveal the blonde man as he entered the room. The man that looked so much a-like to Venser but had a completely different scent. A fact that she had to keep reminding herself, for otherwise she would start to think Verin as his brother. Her hazel eye however, had fallen to view the collar held within the man’s grasp and a soft growled was issued forth. Yet another collar, one that he would probably be cautious with around her; cautious enough to not forget the key anyway. The corners of her lips twitched as the man ordered her to kneel and the word, 'resist' came to her mind so very quickly. She didn’t want to bow to this man, she didn’t want to pledge her loyalties to another man when they would only leave her behind. The young wolf had added another name to her list when she had found out that Miro had also deserted her.

Beast, was the word that soon followed. Who would want a beast? This questioned popped up into her head then as her single eye watched the collar held within the man’s grasp, refusing for the moment to kneel before him. Why was this man so intent on keeping her? Why did he even care to keep her around, collar her when it wasn’t likely going to work. She wasn’t going to ever be what the humans wanted her to be, what that was however, she didn’t know for if she was to accept this man as her master, as it would then be her third. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone? Let her disappear back into the wilds where she wanted to be, instead of being moved around. Why was this man any different to the rest of the population of Ravok? He is the brother of Venser… The one that took your eye… Whispered her consciousness and she was reminded then of her revenge upon this man’s brother. Venser had also disappeared along with her master and the soft growls stopped. Perhaps, if she bent to this man’s will, maybe some-how she would eventually run back into Venser and she could kill him once and for all.

Although, that was the problem, bending to this man’s will. It meant having to swallow her pride and do as he said. He just wanted her to kneel for the moment, that was all he wanted so then he could place a new collar around her neck. This one though, looked a lot sturdier than the one that she had before. She angled her head slightly to the right then as he gaze trailed upwards to view the man’s face. Perhaps it was in her best interest to serve this man until she could exact her revenge, if only for a little while. After all, she was used to never being in one place for too long, what did it matter if she was to serve another after she had killed Verin’s brother. She glared at the man, before she slowly moved to obey him, her knees bending and the young wolf lowered her form until she knelt upon the floor on her knees. She did, however, refuse to bow her head and so, she lifted her chin just a little to show her defiance. Redd knew, that deep within, she would continue to test this man, test his patience and his strength of will on a daily basis. For she wasn’t going to continuously submit to someone, only to have them walk away from her, her sanity depended on her own strength of mind and will.

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[Verin Rush]

Facing away from the slave, Verin also placed the collar down on the table. He had been mentally preparing himself for this on the journey home – emptying his mind as he had learnt as a younger boy. He had also spent the time debating how to address the situation. Should he break her down, destroy her spirit until he was left with nothing but an empty case, which he could then build up again into something that pleased him? Or should he appeal to her better nature, reason with her and make her feel worthwhile?

The problem was that Verin knew nothing about the creature that had been thrust into his care so suddenly. He knew nothing of her past, of previous training, of how she came to be a slave. Whilst collared, she wasn’t particularly dangerous, yet he was nonetheless keen not to trigger an adverse reaction, lest it stunt any progress he might make with her.

Raising his arm, two fingers trailed long the red-head’s hairline, down her forehead and cheek, as he reached deep into the pools of djed that resided deep within him and called forth some of that energy. Though it was clearly an act of defiance on her part, which irked him, Verin was glad that Redd had kept her head raised, her eyes boring into his. It meant less work for him as he wove the gathered djed into three strands, passing them through to his hand, his tongue and his eyes, intent on using sound and the sense of touch to pass on his own. "I have sacrificed much for you, Redd."

The tone with which he spoke was soothing and slow, though he would have spoken it the same way regardless of the use of magic; the girl needed to be aware of the gravity of the situation, of how disappointed Verin was. Through his djed-fuelled touch, the Black Sun initiate willed the wolf kelvic to feel the guilt of disobeying and betraying him. The words were layered with an emotional response, designed intensify the sensation of guilt within the selfish wolf’s mind as his fingers continued to trace along the young woman’s jaw and neck, "your careless, inconsiderate actions led could have been your undoing. Worse, my associates and friends might have suffered far worse punishments because of your recklessness."

"I am… disappointed to see that reckless behaviour continuing when you disobey my direct commands or remove fetters placed on you." He slipped his fingers inside the cheap collar that currently rested around hr neck, the collar her knew she had stolen the key to and then replaced before returning to him. Pulling the key from his pocket, he released the clasp and removed it, "In the Temple you proved to Ravok that you cannot be trusted to restrain yourself, thus someone, or something, must aid you."

"In the recent days, you have proven to me that I cannot trust you with the freedoms I granted." Releasing her from his gaze, he turned away, reaching over to the table, where he had left the silver collar. "Miro might not have seen fit to regulate your shifting, but this most recent transgression will be your last. You are my property until such time as your Master can reimburse me for the costs you are incurring."

[Redd]

Redd’s single gaze followed everyone of his movements, especially when he put the silver collar upon the desk. She had half expected to have it placed around her neck as soon as she had knelt. She had also expected to have felt some kind of physical pain, for she had begun to grow use to it. Instead he simply trailed two fingers down along her hairline, forehead, cheek, jawline and throat. She wanted to shiver at this, for it felt unnatural, it felt weird to the wolf. However, the moment that the man began to speak, it felt as if after he had touched her skin, he left some kind of slime, much like how a snail did. As she stared into the male’s pale blue eyes, it began to feel as if it was sinking in to her skin as she began to feel guilt slowly spread through-out her form while she continued to listen to his words. He? He had sacrificed much for her? What had he done except restrict her wolf form? Restrict her from being who she truly was? However, she would admit one thing, the man did take her in after Miro had left her behind and she guessed that she did owe him for that, but did that also mean having to accept someone else as a master?

The young wolf gritted her teeth together as the turmoil of emotions began to bubble within her, guilt mixing in with anger. Mostly, Redd felt anger at the guilt that she did feel. Why was it that she was the one that had to feel guilty? Why did she have to feel guilty for being who she way? A fresh wave of guilt flooded through her as the man said that he was disappointed and she remembered her first master saying those words to her after she had tried to shift with the collar still around her neck. Suffice it to say, Redd had plenty of troubles with wearing a collar around her neck, especially consider that she was used to roaming free since she had been two months old. He slipped those two fingers into the collar and she lifted her chin a little to accommodate this action, even though she was aware that this flimsy collar would be replaced with a much sturdier one. The guilt that had been swirling and mixing in with her anger began to press down on her with more force as the man continued to talk. Slightly, just slightly her shoulders dropped just a little. Was she the reason that her masters kept abandoning her? Because she was a beast and unable to change? Too old and set in her feral ways?

Verin released her gaze and she diverted her gaze away from the silver collar that she now heard him pick up from the desk. From the way it sounded as it drew across the wooden surface, it sounded a little heavy. She fixed her one eye upon the bed and remained silent as she felt even more guilt weigh in heavily upon her. Still she refused to bow her head, even though it almost felt as if she was suffocating with the guilt and the anger that she also felt that brewed just under it. The young wolf drew in one breath, before she released it and another breath quickly followed as she finally gained the courage to ask, to speak her mind. ”Why does it matter so much to you humans? You all call me an animal, a beast, yet you try to make me into an image of your desire. Don’t you think that I’ve tried? To be loyal and obedient? It got me no-where except pain and starvation.” The last words were growled as she jerked her head to glare at the human before her. ”I killed a wolf that I used to call family for one of my masters and look where that got me. Here, feeling guilty for being who I am, for what I am.”

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[Verin Rush]

It was a pleasant feeling to see his words affect the girl so fully. The desired effect might not have been perfect – he was, after all, no expert in the art of Hypnotism, but it was becoming more and more evident that the kelvic slave was struggling with some form of guilt over what she had done, and Verin could tell from her expression and the way her body tensed that she didn’t like it… perhaps she didn’t even understand it. But she couldn’t rid herself of the feeling, and that pleased Verin, though he worked hard not to show Redd.

In silence as he watched Redd process his words, he thumbed the silver-plated collar in his hands, running his fingers over the smooth, cool metal. He was in no rush to collar the girl – if she had planned to attack him, she already would have, so he would take his time over placing the new one on. "I think it might be worth taking a trip to see Nolan, however..." Verin wasn’t sure, but he was vaguely aware of the existence of something that might curb Redd’s ability to morph, and if she insisted on betraying his trust, he would have to use more permanent means of control until she was ready to submit to him.

When the girl finally spoke, Verin couldn’t suppress the frown that settled over his features. "You are mistaken, Redd. I cannot speak for other men, only for myself. But I have little interest in the aesthetics of your chosen form. I do care about the dangers that present themselves when you take on your kelvic form." Verin wondered just how much damage the girls previous masters (because she had just admitted to multiple) had inflicted on her.

He cursed his younger brother too, for his part in destroying beauty and breaking the girl down enough that she had no respect for humans. Venser had made training this creature all the more harder, and he resented the impulsive Rush for that. "Your escapades in the Temple of the Black Sun proved that easily." He sighed and looked away, out of the window where mild cloud cover hid the cerulean sky from view. He wanted to find Ender, he wanted to return the slave to her rightful owner, rather than have to be the one to deal with her psychological defects.

But that wasn’t an option. "I… am not my brother, Redd. I don’t know why he did what he did to you, nor am I inclined to investigate. But nothing you could do would ever cause me to inflict lasting physical damage on you." He was careful in his choice of words; corporal punishment was not below him, and he would not lie to the girl. "The collar is being replaced, and your freedoms revoked, because you saw fit to ignore my orders. You have financial value to me; six hundred mizas worth, which is what I lost to keep you from the clutches of the Ebonstryfe. But I am not a rich man, and I will keep you until your Master can return that money.."

[Redd]

Redd’s kelvic form had always been an issue with everyone, because she was apparently dangerous, that she was just a simple animal with no other inclination but to kill. Yes, she killed, she killed for survival, the humans would too if they didn’t have their city to rely upon. However, all anyone ever saw was the beast and they never really thought that maybe, she felt alone, that maybe she only wanted to connect to someone who actually cared about her. Someone that wouldn’t leave her behind or chase her off and she had had feeling that that was exactly what Miro had done, he had left her behind… It cut into her deeply, for she had sworn to be loyal to him. She drew in a deep breath as she turned her head away from the man, gritting her teeth together. Her behaviour was based solely on how she had been treated, of how angry and betrayed that she felt. She only wanted to be accepted somewhere, to be wanted and needed. To find somewhere that she belonged, but other than when she traversed the wild lands, she never truly felt like she belonged anywhere. She wasn’t used to being human, to having to deal with humans which made the task even more difficult to learn.

”I didn’t mean to cause trouble for your friends. I just, I saw Yoona in trouble and I pushed a man over to give her more time to deal with the one she had.” She closed her single eye for a moment as she replayed the scene within her own mind. ”I felt like I owed her, because if it wasn’t for me, she would have gotten away. She would be where ever she considers home, instead she is now a slave all because of me. If my first master hadn’t of ordered me to track and chase her down, she would be where she wanted to be instead of being here.” She shook her head as she realized that the guilt that she felt for betraying Verin was also reminding her of her own guilt for being the one to be the instigator of Yoona’s present problems. Ever since that day, the young wolf had thought about Yoona and wondered as to what had happened to her. She had known one thing though, that Yoona had been sold into slavery. At the time, she had thought that slavery was fine, but then Elias left her and everything got turn onto its head. ”It doesn’t matter now anyway.”

She opened her eye then to view the man and she remembered that he had said that he wasn’t his brother. That he had lost mizas because of her and she shook her head. ”You should have let the… Ebonstryfe have me and then I wouldn’t have costed you a single… Miza. I wouldn’t have been your problem. I am still puzzled as to why you even bothered to step in, I wasn’t even your slave.” Her lips pressed together as they turned downwards while she silently questioned the man’s motives. He hadn’t even known that she was Miro’s slave until the day after the event, so why had he stepped in? With the way that everyone kept talking about how dangerous she was, she wouldn’t have been surprised if this Ebonstryfe had killed her for the way she acted in the temple. Perhaps they might have even locked her in one of their cages, where she would have made sure that she starved herself. For she was a free spirit, she would refuse to spend the rest of her life couped up inside a cage, at least, not on a human’s term anyway. Her gaze glared at the man, ”If you hadn’t of stepped in, then they would have dealt with the problem. So why did you? Why did you step in to save me?“

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[Verin Rush]

For the first time since she had met Verin, the girl was finally apologising, finally admitting that she had done something wrong. The words appeared to be sincere and Verin watched as blood rushed to her cheeks, flushing them with a rosy colour. Her remaining eye was downcast, and Verin believed that her guilt and embarrassment was genuine. It was pleasing to see, but only because he wanted the slave girl to understand the gravity of the situation. His expression did not change, however - he was finally getting through to the girl and he would not risk showing weakness of compassion.

“Even the best intentions might have negative consequences, Redd.” his voice was soft, but firm. He wasn't letting the matter drop so easily... if he was to keep the girl for an extended period of time, he needed her submission. If he couldn't get her back to Miro, he would have to take the Kelvic with him to Sahova. He couldn't risk her disobedience there,he needed compliance so that he could set his mind to the task that the Black Sun, and Rhysol, had given him.

“The means don't even justify the ends... you slave friend would have been fine, had you not intervened. In fact, she would be better off now if you had done nothing,” the bartender wondered if Redd knew why the incident happened, if she knew that the poisoncrafter had been at the centre of the conflict. Given her attitude, he thought not. For a moment, Verin was reminded of his brother - Redd was just as rash and thoughtless as the younger of the Rush twins.

That needed to change. “You felt guilt over her this girl so you acted, and now you feel guilt over your actions.” He placed his fingers under the girl's chin, enticing her to keep her eyes raised in order to look at him. Djed was swelling again, and some passed through his fingers as he spoke in soft, lulling tones. “It is irrelevant why I stepped in to protect you, Redd, and it is something that you do not need to know.”

Again, he would not allow the girl to perceive weakness in him because of his fondness for animals, or his occasionally gentle nature. Such questions didn't need to be answered. “All you need to know is that you are here now and I need to be able to trust you.” He raised the silver-plated collar again, allowing Redd to see it once again, though he made no move to place it on her; she would chose to wear it, he wanted her to want to wear it. He waited for her to digest the information, and when she met his eyes again, he spoke. “Prove to me that you deserve my trust, Redd.”

[Redd]

Redd listened to the man’s spoken words as her head seemed to bow with the weight of the words and guilt that pressed down upon her. Not too far underneath that guilt, laid a well of anger. She wanted to sink down through that guilt until she felt nothing but anger. However, the man’s soft voice seemed to keep her away from it for the moment and she wrestled with that feeling. Although the guilt only intensified as she felt his fingers place themselves underneath her chin and guided her head to lift upwards. Her single eye refused to look at him for a chime and instead stared at the desk. Why was this happening? She silently asked herself as she drew in a long slow breath and exhaled, her gaze then moving to look up into the man’s pale blue eyes. His voice that came next was soft, lulling even. It reminded her of a time when she was within the wilds, lying under a nice shaded tree while the wind playfully breezed through the leaves. It made her want to close her eyes and simply listen to it while she drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Although deep within, she knew that she couldn’t, for she knew that this man was not to be trusted.

The lulling tones began to smooth the guilt away slowly, but it didn’t fully go away, no, for it was pushed to the back for the moment as she tried to focus upon the man’s words. The reason for why he stepped in was irrelevant? She questioned as her hazel hue attempted to search the man’s own eyes. The young wolf tried to make sense as she felt more of his words begin to sink into her, much like before. However, she wanted to shake her head at this statement, but then she began to agree. Perhaps she didn’t really need to know as to why he stepped in, it’s just a small event. Is it? Is it really? Slowly the fingers of her hands fisted at this thought as she wanted to simply shake it off, she wanted to push more upon the subject, however, his words continued to linger within her mind and she finally conceded to them. Perhaps she didn’t need to know for the moment, but maybe later… It was then that he lifted the collar to bring it into her line of vision and her nostrils flared, her single gaze taking on a look of anger. The young wolf clamped her teeth together as she grinded them.

No way did the young wolf want the collar wrapped around her neck; no she did not, although the man hadn’t put it on her just yet. What was he waiting for? She silently asked as she eyed it. The man needed to trust her, this much he had told her bu-… Her thoughts cut off then as she then realized that maybe… Just maybe he wanted her to put the thing on, to wrap yet another collar around her pale neck. Her single eye darted up to view the man’s face searching to find any confirmation, which was given almost immediately with his words. He wanted her to prove to him that she deserved his trust… The words began to sink in as her breathing picked up, the oxygen rushing in and out as icy fear trailed down her spine. She was reminded of the time when she would be willing to put on the collar herself, to prove to her first master that she could be trusted. However he never did trust her and eventually he had left her to starve with the collar firmly locked around her neck.

She wanted to refuse, to tell the man to wring his own neck with the damn collar, but the guilt that she had felt before, soon rose its ugly head once again. She had caused problems for this man and his friends and she also owed him for saving her from the Ebonstryfe. Maybe, just maybe, if she pretended to give in to the man’s wishes now, then maybe he might even accidentally lead her to his twin brother, she told herself. Slowly she fought back the anger, the guilt and even the fear that had appeared when he had held up the collar. She reached up and should he allow it, she would take the collar into her own hand, her single gaze turning to view the silver collar. It felt heavier than the leather collar and she realized that there was a good chance that it could rub against her skin. Her left hand reached up to lightly rub at her neck, tempted to toss the collar out of the window behind her. What if he disappeared just like everyone else? She asked herself, but she already knew the answer to that. The young wolf was going to have to take some risks if she wanted to get her revenge upon Venser. Who knew, perhaps she would find out this time, as to whether she was meant to live or die.

Slowly, she drew in a deep, slow breath to calm her thoughts and to attempt to quell the shaking of her limbs. Yes, she was scared, collars had never been her friend, but she was just going to have to take a risk. Slowly she lifted the collar and slid it around her neck, making sure to brush her hair to the side in the process so then it wouldn't get caught. The cool surface pressed against the skin of her neck finally and she hesitated before she bought the two ends together, a soft click could be heard to confirm that it was now locked firmly around her throat. Her single eye closed for a moment as she tried to quell her now shaking form. Think, think of Venser’s death and simply look to that. Look past this, she silently told herself as she drew in a couple more breaths. Even if she didn't want to get her revenge upon Venser now, to change her mind, she couldn’t for the man before her held the key. He held the key to her freedom. She did not speak any words, for she was sure that if she did, it would betray the real reasons behind her willingness of placing the collar around her own neck.

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[Verin Rush]

Pale blue eyes were intent on the slave girl's single golden-brow orb. Within that single eye, he could containing to watch the myriad of emotions. Anger. Guilt. Upset. For a moment, he wondered if he saw forced apathy flutter across that gaze. Was she fighting the Hypnotism? Did she realise what he was trying to do to her? He wouldn't put it last Miro to use the arcane art on his property, so it was possible that she did know about it. It was also possible that his attempts at magically aligning her to him were not working as well as he'd hoped because of previous hypnotic suggestions.

Every time he looked at her, Verin was assaulted with up an unwanted, unwarranted feeling of guilt. The Kelvic's. Physical appearance was a constant reminder of what his little brother had done to her, and Verin hated it... he hated how low his brother had sunk that he was willing to attack her, to destroy her in such a way. He wished that he might see his brother before he left for Sahova - knowing why might help him to understand, because right now... he could feel nothing but horror at what Venser had done. Watching the girl's eyes, Verin finally realised that he must remind Redd of Venser, and of what he did. He was once again saddened, and finally began to understand why Redd might not want to trust him.

Then, the girl moved. A pale hand reached out and he allowed her to remove the silver plated collar from his grasp. The red-head was operating slow, very deliberate movements, and Verin thought that it was likely she had worn such a thing before... and hated it. Though he was pleased that Redd was obeying him, Verin was careful to school his features; he didn't want to deter her actions by provoking a reaction from his expression or words. The process was slow, it seemed to take a bell for the girl to close the clasp, but she finally did. “Good girl...” When done, Verin reached up to around his own neck where, hidden up until now, he revealed the thin chain around his neck which held a matching key. He lifted the chain and used his free hand to angle the slave's head so that he could see the lock,which he quickly fastened.

Returning the chain to around his neck, his movements were also deliberate, as if daring the girl to steal it again. The two continued to stare at each other. Proud, Verin would never admit that his twin brother could be at fault to anyone outside of his family, so he would definitely say nothing to a slave. He would, however, attempt to quench what he perceived to be her fears, to convince her that she would be safe with him. He had said something to the effect already, but he would emphasise it now, “You are safe with me, Redd. I will not hurt you.” His gaze bored into her's as he spoke, waiting to see if there would be a reaction.

NoteNote to self: try to understand the nature of jewellery prices so that I can deduct monies!