My Master....

[catch22]

Torn moved toward the area of the pack leader, limping as swift as he could. He had been out attempting to feed himself, but then again, who was he to leave the side of his master? A brief flash of anger spurted through his head, but it was short lived. He was no match for the the Cadre members as he was, and they usually notices when his eyes glazed for elemental use. The Cadre leader seemed to enjoy making his life as lowly as possible, not that the other member didn't.
As he approached the area of Rhia's den he slowed. He had been using his newfound ability of forcefields to hold his leg together as well he could, but he didn't dare use it in front of the other members, not since he had been severely punished for it.
"Master?" He said it slowly and humbly. He was hoping she wasn't in a rage as she sometimes was. And as he thought about it she surely wouldn't be amused that he had left her service for something so dull as hunting. He began to quake slightly, which did not make his crippled leg feel very nice. He tried to keep still, avoiding attention to his leg. It was a spot of sport amongst the Cadre.

Torn waited for an answer.

[RHIANNON !]

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[atrb=background,http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad144/FallArrow/RHIANNONbg4.png] Rhiannon was rolled onto her side lazily in the den, staying out of the summer heat. Her thick fur was not suitable for the hot weather, so it was much easier to have the other wolves take care of things while she dealt with being hot and bothered. Dawn, dusk and night time were fine, but right now in the middle of the day? No way. Her tongue lolled lazily out of her mouth and her eyes were closed. So many strange things were happening, and with the tournament fast approaching, she really should be busy concerning herself with other things besides lazing about in the damp coolness of the cave. Her thoughts were interrupted by the padding of paws. It was easily evident that the wolf was limping and so without even opening her eyes Rhia knew who it was. His voice pierced her ears and she snapped her mouth closed, lifting her head to stare at him menacingly. "What do you want?" she growled, staring at him for a moment, staying where she was. The silence she had had when he was gone had been nice, and it seemed off for him to interupt her now. Either way, she'd rather know where he was than not. "Your leg looks worse," she merely muttered, sighing and staring at it. She snorted slightly, rolling onto her stomach and lifting herself, padding towards the pool. "Come here," she said, not looking to see if he was moving towards her. ------------------------------------- OOC ;; n/a

[catch22]

She sounded unamused. Then again she always sounded that way. She ordered him to follow to the pool, and he didn't dare hesitate, even at the mention of his leg. He knew that once he was in range there was a good chance of something unpleasant happening. Then again if he purposely stayed out of range there was a worse chance.

He fumbled toward her, keeping his head low. Only raising his eyes every now to judge his distance until he reached her at the pool. He sat carefully, murmuring an apology for disturbing her. Then the thought hit him that he hadn't been given permission to sit. He cursed himself, but didn't dare stand. With luck she wouldn't notice perhaps.

"What may I help you with Master?" He said slowly. He hoped it wasn't too terribly strenuous. He wasn't sure if he could handle a whole lot. Of course that was his problem for exhausting himself hunting. Besides food was option wasn't it. Silly him. He waited for whatever impossible task she had for him.

[RHIANNON !]

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[atrb=background,http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad144/FallArrow/RHIANNONbg4.png] Rhiannon waited for him to come forward. It was slow going with his leg, and even then he pushed himself to get there as fast as he could. She scoffed lightly as he moved towards her, seeing him sit. She raised an eyebrow but said nothing, her eyes finding his leg. "We need to fix your leg." She said the words slowly, pausing at the end before turning back to the pool. "Come dip your leg in. It'll wash it off. I'll see if any of the herbs here will make a poultice. Is it broken?" she moved towards it, examining it slowly before moving towards a pile of herbs she had been gathering. Most were dried by now but a few were still fresh. ------------------------------------- OOC ;; n/a

[catch22]

She was being nice. Torn relaxed a bit. She was indeed prone to mood swings, but she must be in a dang good mood if she was being nice after she was probably napping.

"It's not broken Master, it's set that way. I was born with it." He murmured quietly. It wouldn't particularly help to try and heal. He did have moderate amounts of healing powers, he had wasted many long days attempting to work with it.

Rather than argue further he didn't wait to see if she reacted negatively to his remark. He obediently positioned his leg into the pool, washing it gently he did so. He was scared out of his mind. He was vulnerable. Not to mention with a strong, proud, authoritative she-wolf that he happened to be scared gutless of. She seemed to flick between moods at an instant, and was perhaps one of the most sadistic wolves he had met, while still managing to be kind, in a way.

But why on earth she hadn't killed him after he had wandered onto the Cadre's land and mentally exhausted himself to the point of passing out was beyond him. Even farther beyond him was why she seemed to enjoy having him as a personal slave practically, playing with him as a hawk might a mouse in a field.

Torn suddenly realized he was thinking. He shouldn't think, he didn't pay attention while he was just thinking. What was going on? He didn't know. Terrified he looked up suddenly for the Master.

[RHIANNON !]

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[atrb=background,http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad144/FallArrow/RHIANNONbg4.png] Rhiannon wasn't sure what made her so nice right now. Perhaps it was that she just frankly did not have the energy to be a bitch. She sighed, hearing him speak. His leg had been like that since he had arrived, but had seemed to get worse. She pursed her lips, turning her head back and looking at it. It was quite unseenly and she winced a little bit. He moved forward though despite saying that there was nothing she could do and dipped it in the water. She watched, saying nothing to him. It was just about the first time she realised the limp was something he had had all of his life. The idea was a perplexing one. "How come your parents didn't kill you when you were born?" Wow, Rhia, way to be a bitch. It wasn't meant in an offensive way, merely a curiosity question. She wasn't sure what she would do if one of her pups had come out deformed. It was tough, and she decided not to think about it. She looked down at his leg again, falling back onto her haunches and pursing her lips for a moment in thought. "I'm surprised you've made it this far," she said again, not necessarily trying to compliment him, merely musing aloud. While he was dipping his leg in the water, she stood up, wandering over towards where she had laid before and grabbing a quail carcass she had caught a few days ago. Most of the choice meat was stripped away but there was some still hanging on, as well as the marrow from the bones. She tossed it at him, flopping back onto her bed. "When you're done, come sit by me. Can you sing?" ------------------------------------- OOC ;; n/a

[catch22]

Torn felt the Cadre leader's eye's bore into the back of his skull. He could tell she was watching him. Probably amusing herself as she saw him fumble attempting to clean his leg. The she spoke, and the question cut like a knife. He hated the thought.

"I don't really know Master. Perhaps they assumed it would heal, or they knew I would be a Lupus with elemental powers. It was an all Lupus pack, nomads. Anyone with skill was valued." He shut himself up after that. He wasn't used to speaking, and his voice was harder than usual.

At he second comment he winced. He knew it was true, I mean by all rights he should be dead. "I'm alive because I'm a coward." Torn muttered. He had been left behind one day, considered useless. He had some luck, that was it. If staying alive, hungry, could be considered 'lucky'. Then Torn realized he had said his comment of being a coward out loud. Perhaps she didn't hear it.

Turning out of the pool a carcass landed in front of him. A quail. He glanced at his Master in shock for a moment before tearing into if, quickly finishing it. "When you're done, come sit by me. Can you sing?" Torn stopped. Sing? He didn't really know, he never tried. Well, he was going to have to find out.

He was cleaned up swiftly. Being tossed a meal didn't give him permission to dawdle. He came and sat carefully some distance from the Master, not wanting to be close unless specifically ordered to. He cleared his throat. What did he even know? He didn't, so he improvised.

"Day after day, night after night,
seasons turn, the sun stay's bright.
With burden found, and pride away,
countless come to the call, yet still some stray..."

He trailed off. He didn't think he was any good. He closed his eyes, waiting for the bitch session to start. Surely that rambling that had come to his head wouldn't be counted as a song. Come to think of it he was too nervous to notice how he had even sounded. He should have paid more attention. But what if it was okay? Torn smirked scornfully in his head. He couldn't possibly be any good right?

[RHIANNON !]

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[atrb=background,http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad144/FallArrow/RHIANNONbg4.png] Since Toril's face was turned she couldn't see his reaction to her question. Not like she cared too much either. She had a question and wanted to know the answer. How it affected him wasn't really important. Her ears were pricked in his direction to gather what he said. She lay on her side, placing her paws over one another and watching him, his voice echoing in the cavern. "Hm," she murmured out loud, her eyes gazing off into the distance. "You never did tell me, or show me your power," she mused, but left it at that. It wasn't something important that needed to be done now. Her own pack had been somewhat similar, save for the fact it was mostly myou. She wasn't what her father mainly had been looking for. Her expression twitched as she thought to her past before turning back to him as he spoke again. Alive because he was a coward? How did that work. Rhiannon had always figured only the strong survived, only the brave... and yet here, Toril stood against all odds, alive and in front of her. The thought was perplexing at best and she decided not to say anything to it. She really had nothing to say. He quickly busied himself with the quail. The wolf had been hungry. Rhia figured it was probably hard for him to hunt, and yet he did so when she told him to. Musing again, when she looked back he was finished the quail, cleaning himself up and coming to sit beside him. He sat, and she watched, her hazel eyes staring straight at him. Apparently he could sing, and his maw opened and words began to pour out. Once the melody started she closed her eyes, her ears pulling backwards slightly as she breathed slowly. His voice slowly trailed off, and she lazily opened one eye to look at him. "Do you know anything else?" she asked, now opening both eyes to stare at him. His voice was soothing and though it was riddled with nervousness, it calmed her down quite a bit. ------------------------------------- OOC ;; n/a

[catch22]

Torn was practically shaking now. In another time and place he would have called this almost romantic, but as it was, and knowing the Master's quick changes, he was scared out of his mind. Did he know anything else, he didn't really KNOW anything, hell he made that one up.

"Are you sure you wouldn't well, um, we... I don't..." He was whispering for the most part, very much flustered. But if she wanted more then he had to give something. He didn't want a wrathful wolf on him right now. Or at all for that matter, but he realized he was just distracting himself.

Musing for a few moments he then came up with a continuing theme.

He sang, and although the words came out, he barely heard them, his mind busy thinking of always the next verse. He almost could laugh, here he was singing ballads as a slave, a million miles from everywhere, with no idea how the hell singing was really supposed to sound. Maybe she would fall asleep? Maybe she would let him go even? Fat chance, and even if she did, he had no place really in mind to go. It was wishful thinking, but it kept him singing.

[RHIANNON !]

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[atrb=background,http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad144/FallArrow/RHIANNONbg4.png] Rhiannon seemed to have put Toril in a tight spot and yet, she neither noticed or cared. She wanted him to sing and sing he would. His words made her eyes narrow and she bared her teeth, growling slightly. "Sing." Her voice was gruff as she commanded him, and finally he began to sing again. The melody was good, and it was a song like she had never heard before. She couldn't decide if she liked it or not, but she liked the constant noise and lilt of his voice so she let him continue. As he sang she relaxed, laying her head down and closing her eyes. She wouldn't sleep, she knew that. She was just thinking. No one had sang to her since she was a pup. Her mother had often sang her and her sister to sleep at night time. She flicked her eyes open for a moment, looking at him and speeaking. "My mother used to sing to me. She sang me this song..." she trailed off, trying to find the words. It took her a moment to find the words before she opened her mouth. "Land and bear, and land of eagle Land that gave us birth and blessing. Land that called us ever homewards, we will go home across the mountains. We will go home, we will go home, we will go home across the mountains. We will go home, we will go home, we will go home across the mountains." She stopped, the rest of the words escaping her lips. She had never sang for anyone before, and staring at him blankly. Then a snarl crept up onto her lips and she snarled loudly, rising from the ground, muscles tensed and fur on end. "Get out!" she snarled, lunging towards him, ears pinned back. She had opened up to him, making herself vulnerable and that could not be had. ------------------------------------- OOC ;; Rhia's song

[catch22]

The Master looked peaceful. It was beautiful in a creepy sort of way. Torn decided he preferred her with more of a leader attitude. It fit better. She spoke and he stopped singing immediately.

She sang to him then, and he listened. The words were well timed, and the melody had him practically falling asleep. Then it suddenly hit him that the music had stopped. He turned and looked at his Master, a new-found respect in his eyes. She was looking at him, a blank stare. Torn tensed up. Either she was going to shrug everything off, or tear him up.

"Get out!" Second option. Torn was sitting facing her as she lunged. He was in no position to get out with haste. His mind pulled a blank, and he fell backwards. He was going to die. It was inevitable. I closed his eyes and braced himself mentally, would it hurt?

Then his breath was pushed from him, and his head began to ache. His eyes snapped open. No, no, NO! A force-field thingy, not now! He was ready to die, screw everything, not to mention how the Master would react! She hadn't experienced him use any of his skills before, and force-fields he had as little control over as when he had first tried to use his Earth power, meaning pretty much none.

Torn hated his life in that moment.

[ARTEMIS!]

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[atrb=background,http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad144/FallArrow/RHIANNONbg4.png] Rhiannon had never sang before. Never. Even when she was a pup, she only ever listened. She had no idea what had possessed her to sing for the wolf, her slave... was he even a wolf to her? The anger inside her broiled and bubbled, filling to the brim and exploding violently. She was already moving and the wolf before her did nothing except stare, and fall backwards. Coward. But why would she expect anything more? Her jaws were open, and suddenly she felt a solid wall before her. Her paws hit it first, then her jaws. The momentum she had pushed her body into it and she flung back, tumbling over her head and rolling once and finally landing on her back. Hitting the wall didn't hurt, but the landing made her yelp. The pain was gone instantly, though she knew in the morning she would be sore. She scrambled up, staring with wild eyes at the male before her. The air rippled between them and it took her a moment to put two and two together. Forcefield. He had made a forcefield. "You little shit..." she snarled, her shoulders coming up, hackles risen. Her jaws were parted, baring her teeth, saliva filling her mouth. She spat the excess to the side, slowly padding towards the ripping field that stood before them. "You are going to regret that your parents didn't kill you before I got to you," she hissed, her voice low and even. ------------------------------------- OOC ;; n/a

[catch22]

Pain. Torn felt it the second the Master hit. His mind felt like it was being squeezed slowly by Ardent. He heard her yelp upon landing. Not good. Now she was presumably injured and annoyed. He couldn't get himself to move, he couldn't get himself to breath.

"You little shit..." The voice came from across a void. Torn tried to open his eyes, and then panic hit. They were open, why couldn't he see? His chest heaved as he tried to take in more of a breath, but nothing happened. What the hell was up with him? He was a little shit, he couldn't even use these damn things.

He heard something, he didn't know what. The Master was speaking to him. He couldn't make it out, he couldn't think, and his head hurt. It just hurt. Then he stopped trying. He let himself fold into the blackness, welcoming it. His last thoughts were something to the equivalent of 'Will I be alive when I wake up? Hell, do you wake up when you're dead? Damn, I'm still in my Master's den.....'

[RHIANNON !]

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[atrb=background,http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad144/FallArrow/RHIANNONbg4.png] Rhiannon didn't care if her impact caused Toril pain. She was pissed about the entire situation. How DARE he use magic against her. Her emotions broiled and soon whisps of smoke began to appear around her, seeping out of the rocks of the cave. They swirled around her, mumuring incoherently. It was barely evident they were wolves, their paws tumbling around Rhia and finally moving towards Toril. Before Rhia knew what was happening they had descended upon the wolf, and he seemed to lose consciousness. It took a moment for Rhia to realise what was happening. She snapped her eyes on his body and snarled loudly, the apparations replying by backing off the body. Her body reacted before her mind did and she leaped forward, moving her body in front of the fallen wolf's. The spirits stared at her, not moving, just staring. They spoke nothing as Rhia shook with anger and now fear, muscles rigid. "Go... away..." she hissed, and a moment later they disappeared, leaving the cave completely. She realised she was shaking, and she looked down at her slave, sighing a bit. The anger had dissipated from her body, and she growled a bit. Grapping his scruff he pulled her over towards her bed, setting him on a crude mattress of leaves and moss. After she was sure he was safe she laid down beside him, waiting for him to come to. ------------------------------------- OOC ;; n/a

[catch22]

Torn tasted blood in his mouth. Was he dead? He shifted slightly and winced. Nope, not dead. He opened his eyes, he wasn't in familiar surroundings of his own little den, but he didn't care. He glanced over his body. Bleeding. Bruised. But very much alive.

Torn wasn't alone. He turned over as well he could. The Master was still there, lying next to him. His breathing speed increased. What if she just wanted him awake to kill him? He suddenly relaxed again. It wouldn't matter either way.

"Master? Why didn't you...." He couldn't finish it. Kill him? How was that his business. After all, he was just a slave, worth nothing here. And yet he was alive. Did his Master actually give a shit about him? Perhaps.

He just lay there. He wanted to heal himself, using his skill, but he didn't know how she would react. So he waited for something, anything. Bizarre thoughts ran through his head, perhaps he actually liked him. But that was ridiculous. He. Was. A. Slave.