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crayons 4 the color blind
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 Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:04 pm
Akila huffed as Mr. Hyde walked by their cages, showing in a dark orange Hound before leaving. He was still a ways away from her but she set out immediately to make herself look as undesirable as possible. She rubbed her cheeks into the dirt, grinding yet another layer into her coat. At one point she could have been a pretty cat, but fighting and no baths made her entire coat nearly the same color. Dark and dirty.
The cat took the time to lift her back paw up and scratch her good ear, shaking the dirt out of both of them, then turned over on her side and rolled vigorously before getting up and sneezing three times in quick succession. Akila then chanced a glance out her cage and saw that he was getting closer. She backed into the corner of her cage and dropped to her belly, setting a sullen grouchy look that she hoped, promised a hassle if she was bought.
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:30 pm
"Bawhawhaw, a fine lad like yerself, no kittens? Well, you've come to the right place, I got 'em, and I got 'em cheap!"
Ottah couldn't help but to wrinkle his nose as he followed the rather mucky hyena past the cages. The fellow was trying on his patience, evident in the exasperated look on the reddish hound's features as he tried to listen, follow, look at the merchandise they passed, and avoid stepping in the piles of filth that seemed to spill out of every crack and crevice along the pathways.
"Yes, but price isn't everything. I assure you, Mr. Hyde, I am quite capable of browsing on my own. I shall call for you once I have made my decisions, agreed?" The hound was in no mood to stand in the hyena's presence and dismissed him as hastily as possible.
"You sure 'bout that, Doc? Ain't wanting you to pick the wrong kitten, if ya get my drift."
"Yes, I am quite sure. I think I hear another hound at the entrance, and they might benefit from your services. I have a keen eye for these things." Not exactly the truth, but at this point he was willing to say nearly anything to be rid of the hyena. Once he had shuffled away, he breathed an audible sigh of relief and, at once, regretted it. The smell of the black market was almost overwhelming and he nearly gagged with disgust.
Finally, he was free to look over the slaves at his own leisure. He did just that and, somewhere beneath his cynical expression and slightly narrowed eyes, there was a tug at his heartstrings as he remembered that kitten from his puphood.
He observed each, questioned a few, but was generally unimpressed so far.
And eventually, he came to the filthy, tattered feline that was trying so hard to avoid purchase. Perhaps that was what made her stand out so much to him in the first place. He neared the bars, his sharp eyes studying her and eventually settling on her vibrant, golden ones.
"Well, then, someone does appear to be in a sullen mood. What is your name, cat?"
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crayons 4 the color blind
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:39 pm
Akila slunk down further into her corner as the hound peered into her cage, and to her dismay he decided he wanted to talk to her. No!! They weren't supposed to talk to her!! They were supposed to glance in and think she was a hassle and move on. She huffed and flattened her ears, looking up at the hound in front of the bars of her cage.
She looked him over, deliberately not answering him. Maybe if she ignored him? Seemed cheeky and unmanageable... she looked over the dark orange hound looking at his faint markings and such before moving her gaze up to his blue eyes. She stared at him, daring to meet the gaze of a hound, but in the midst of her defiance she saw something else in his gaze. Something not quiet as nasty as the others and she narrowed her golden eyes before breaking the eye contact and looking away with another huff. "Akila.." she said even more sullenly.
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:59 pm
"Akila..."
He mused for a moment, studying her once more. Her ear was torn, as well as her tail. Scars on her face. If she were a true fighter, this would be a good sign, the sign of one who did not back down in the face of a battle, but was he really searching for a fighter? No... Not really. He needed a sharp mind and steady paws to assist him around the office. Still, if she were useful as a deterrent to those who might mean him harm, well then, he might have room for her.
That coat, though, was absolutely filthy. He couldn't have her tracking such muck into his clean, well kept office.
"Such a pretty name for such a squalid feline. Why do you keep yourself like so?"
He feigned disinterest as he spoke, but truth be told, he was interested. There had to be a method to her mannerisms and she seemed as though she had been in one too many scraps, from the looks of her. If she continued on this way she may as well live out the rest of her life behind bars, which seemed a bit harsh even for a cat. Sure, they had to keep their shackles, but such a confined area certainly couldn't be good for their mental of physical well being, and what use were they to anyone if they couldn't function?
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crayons 4 the color blind
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 2:19 pm
And now he was talking again!! She stifled the low mrow that was a cats equivalent of a growl and snorted as he asked his question. She wasn't quiet sure what the word squalid was but she knew it wasn't a compliment.
She looked at him again and kept up her angry sullen demeanor, although she was thinking of an answer to his question. 'I don't want to be bought' was certainly not something you told a hound. Then they would just buy you out of spite. At least, that was what she had heard. She crossed her paws over one another and settled further back in her cage, not that she could get any further back, before regarding him with her golden stare and answering tersely. "I don't want to be some hounds brood cat." That's what her mother had been, and although Akila didn't really remember it, she knew that her mother hadn't put up a fight when her kittens were took and Akila would not stand for that, no not at all.
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 2:49 pm
"Ah, I see. Clever. I take it you are quite lovely beneath all that filth, then?"
He was musing more to himself than asking her an outright question, but he had grown silent, leaving an opportunity for response. He scratched at his chin and carefully sat back on his haunches, avoiding as much muck as possible. He would have to bathe almost the moment he left this place, and those he bought would need to do so as well. He could hardly stand the filth of the Black Market, but it was important that he pick his first two slaves and he knew he would eventually be back. As much as he needed trustworthy slaves, he doubted he could ever trust them to pick others for him in the future.
"I have no interest in breeding felines, though if one were to be heavy with kittens, I would probably keep them. Or most of them, anyways. No, I am looking for some muscle to assist me at my office. For moving things that are heavy and for generally protecting against any riffraff that might wish to cause me harm. As I said, no interest in "brood cats," as you so eloquently put it. I also need assistants for handling patients around the office. I am a doctor, you see."
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crayons 4 the color blind
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 3:24 pm
Akila's golden eyes narrowed and she ignored his comment. She surely wasn't going to tell this hound what she looked like under her layers of dirt!! She may not have been the brightest in the bunch but she was smarter than that!! " I'm not anything special under the dirt."His next comment piqued her interest though, and she tried not to show it but her ear's perked forwards a little from their laid back position. He wasn't interested in a cat for breeding?
He could have been lying, but then again why would a hound feel they even needed to lie to one of the enslaved cats? He needed... muscle? Her ears perked forwards a little more, they were almost in their natural position now and she looked at him warily as he sat down and inched forwards a little, though she was still down on her belly, at least she wasn't in the corner any more. "What kinda doctor needs protectin'?" she said, her eyes suddenly blazing with curiosity.
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 3:33 pm
Ah, good, she seemed to be interested. Not that he acknowledged it. He continued to pretend that he really could care less about the conversation, turning his gaze to his own claws. It bothered him how filthy they appeared, just from walking down this side of town. Yep, he would certainly have to wash up later. His ears twitched slightly as she spoke and he lifted his gaze to match her defiant one and a soft grin splayed across his maw.
"In this day and age? I'm afraid nearly everyone needs protection. If I have a particularly spiteful cat or an overzealous hound, well, I need someone to help me break it up, don't I? And I am afraid from my pedigree, I am not exactly one strong enough to do such a thing by myself. I am a healer, not a fighter." He was proud of his delicate features and his beauty in general, not that he flaunted it or even went so much as to point it out often. He preferred not to draw attention to himself, after all. But he spoke truly and any creature could tell from his petite, mousy frame that he was not one to do well in a fight with a tougher hound.
"I will do routine checkups, that is certain, but I also tend to those who have been injured in accidents or fights. There is no telling if a hot blooded fellow might pursue his target or not, and I do not want any disruptions in my clinic."
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crayons 4 the color blind
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 4:04 pm
His explanation made sense as well. Although, as mentioned before, she wouldn't know for herself. She looked him over and took in his frame more fully. She let a smirk raise her lip and she looked back up at him "You are a small 'un." she said, her tone wasn't as sullen as before and one might even describe it as joking and sat up suddenly, kneading her paws into the ground. "So you need someone to rough up people ifn' they cause trouble." she said and scratched her good ear in feigned disinterest.
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 4:21 pm
"Don't rub it in, one-ear." The tone in his voice matched her own joking one and he couldn't help but to smirk. She seemed to be responding well enough to small talk, her posture told him that much. She seemed more attentive and she was answering his questions, although her responses were short. Maybe she wasn't a complete loss after all? A little rough around the edges and a bit of training was needed, but perhaps he could mold her into a fine slave. Given her appearance and her little trick, he could only imagine how long she had been in this heap. He, himself, could hardly wait to get back to Giza.
"That is precisely what I need~ Of course, regular chores would be here and there, as I don't expect too many disruptions. But one can never be too careful, after all. I am afraid I don't see too many interesting felines around here who will do. It won't be as rough as, say, fighting in an arena or working out in the fields, but it will involve keeping the place tidy for patients. What do you think?" He wasn't normally in the habit of asking such things. Then again, he hadn't spoken with many felines since before his medical classes. He no longer conversed with his parents' slaves, after all, not since his little "lesson."
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crayons 4 the color blind
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 4:53 pm
Akila looked at him and snorted, twitching her good ear as if to say yeah yeah whatever. She listened to what the job would entail... A bodyguard for a hound? Would she do that? Wait! Why was she even considering this?!?! Why did she think she had a choice? She knew that no matter what she thought if the hound wanted her he would buy her...
However, it didn't seem like it would be so bad as what she was told. He certainly didn't seem all that bad, and if worse came to worse, she could always try to get away. He really wasn't all that strong looking for a hound.... She looked at him and kneaded her paws into the soil some more, pushing her claws out into the dirt and then looking down. "I'm thinkin' you'll need someone who is a good fighter, but who is good at other stuff too." She kept her gaze down, now that the prospect of her maybe being bought was being brought up she felt her familiar rebellious nature surfacing.
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:44 pm
"That is precisely what I am thinking."
He pushed himself up to his paws, trying in vain to ignore the dirt and refuse that littered the black market. His expression was fairly neutral, as was his stance, but his ears were tilted towards the feline held within the cage. He was still unsure of the young female, whether or not he could make use of her at all. If he couldn't, that would be the loss of many good stones. But if he could... If he could, he would have a nice, strong guard to protect his home and office, even himself if he ever needed it.
"So, have you always lived here? Are you good at anything in particular. Other than covering yourself in dirt, that is?" He cracked a small grin as he teasingly prodded her with his words. "You look strong, but can you fight? Can you follow directions if a hound were to give them to you?" He finished, pacing before her cage, back and forth, slowly. His tail whisked lightly behind him, neither high nor low.
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crayons 4 the color blind
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:11 pm
"Yes, except when I was very young I was held in an sale but when no one bought me I was put here." she was referring to when she and her siblings were taken from their mother and put up for sale, out of the kittens that weren't wanted by the breeder of course. Those who hadn't sold were bought by Hyde and she had been in this dump hole ever since.
"I can fight, that's what I'm good at..." she said then she shook her head and added "And I'm good at organizing things, I have a knack for it." well that was interesting information. Then again, if one took the time to notice (although it didn't stand out much) her cage was impeccably clean for the state it was in. There was no waste in it and even the dirt seemed to have been swept up neatly.
Ahhh, the last question. Could she take orders from a hound, she tilted her head up defiantly and stared the orange hound in the eyes "That depends on how they treat their slaves." was that a warning?!
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:10 pm
"So, almost your entire life? Behind bars? That can hardly be called living at all."
His tone was blunt and to the point in how he felt, but whether or not he completely sympathized could be up for debate. His mind was busy working up his angle for how he wold approach this situation. He had an idea of it so far and he hoped it appealed to the feline he was interested in. He could sense that she had some spunk and the task of training her to work for him would be a challenge.
But he did enjoy challenges.
"Good at fighting and organizing, that would be quite useful. I sense a bit of defiance in your tone, but I think you could possibly be a hard and faithful worker if you fond a rhythm you worked well in. It is a shame to let any creature wither away in this stinking hole, wouldn't you agree?" He chuckled lightly, but he didn't seem completely focused on her, instead his blue eyes darting towards the hyena down the walkway.
"How learned are you? Do you have any particular strengths? Do you know to read or to write? I take it none would take the time to teach a kitty in this dump, but I feel the need to ask."
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crayons 4 the color blind
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:42 pm
Akila's eyes narrowed, he was talking to her, but more so he was talking at her. She felt like a piece of meat being appraised, then again.. she supposed she was and she sure hoped he would treat his slaves better than he would his steak. He was glancing down the hallway and she frowned, standing up and walking forwards to press her face against the bars and see what he was looking.
She scowled.
It was that filthy Hyde.
And the hound was bombarding her with questions again!! She scowled, again, and sighed, "I know 'ow to talk, I can't read or write an' I already told you what I'm good at." she said and backed up from the front of the cage as the the hyena walked closer. She didn't want to have to smell him any more than she already did on a regular basis.
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