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Hal finished cleaning Allistair's body then moved to washing his hair, "I overheard two of the guards talking about a spot Esabel created down at the lake at the back of the cave. It's supposed to be a nice place, from what they said about it," he suggested softly as he used a cup to rinse Allistair's hair then reached for a special oil that would condition his hair and skin.

He poured a bit of the oil into his hands then gently worked it into his hair and down over his shoulders. They would have to get out of the bath for him to use the oil over the rest of his master's skin. In the meantime, he ducked under the water to give his own hair a good rinse then got himself out of the tub to give himself a quick dry-off so he could focus on Allistair.

He started the tub draining and held a towel up as he waited for him to get out of the tub as well, "After you're dry and dressed, I'll go get dressed so we can go. Should I put together a basket of food or get a blanket or anything?" he asked, finding himself feeling a bit shy about going outside of where the pleasure slaves were kept.

In the last three years, he'd only been out of the harem tent when the camp had been moved, a total of six times. So he probably had a right to be feeling a bit shy...

As he watched Allistair get out of the tub, he knew he was going to have to tell him but did so as he dried him off and rubbed the oil into his skin, "I haven't been out of the harem tent much. Only each time the base was moved," he explained as he kept his eyes focused on his task, "I never really paid it much attention before. Mainly because each time the base was moved, I had my tasks to concentrate on and the others to keep calm..." he finally stopped when he realized he was probably talking too much and dried off his hands before turning to head to the room he'd chosen and now shared with Dev.

"I'd better go get ready while you get dressed," he said with a soft blush but stopped and turned back, "Do I need to get anything to take with us?" he frowned, "Wait, I already asked that. Okay, I'll go get dressed then," he added and left the bathing room to put on his leather outfit before he made a complete idiot of himself.

The other slaves found the fact that Hal had finally been claimed to be a very good thing and even pointed out a few of the things they'd added to the basket to be Hal's favorites; namely the cherry pie and rare roast beef. They even made sure that the wine was Hal's favorite as well, a dark but sweet red.

Hal finally came out wearing the pale tan leather outfit he'd traveled to the new base in; short shorts, mid-thigh boots that were secured with gold buckles, fingerless gloves, and a halter with a ring at the back where his leash would be attached. He'd also pulled his hair back into a ponytail again, managing to show off his facial features in the process.

He gave Dev a brief scratch and asked him to look in on Helene while he was gone then moved over to Allistair as he adjusted his gloves then ran his hands over his hips to make sure the leather was laying right, unable to help but be a bit nervous. He wanted to look his best, after all, but his clothing options were fairly limited to this outfit and several sets of what he usually wore. Dev even had more clothes than he did.

He gave Allistair a brief smile and collected the basket with the blanket over it, "I'm ready, Master," he said slightly breathlessly, saying nothing as one of the guards at the door attached the leash to his halter and offered Allistair the other end of it.

Hal gave him a nod, "Yes, Master. Just human. No abilities or anything special about me. Master Gin tested me when I first came to the Re and expressed his disappointment about that," he said and gave a small shrug, "Said I didn't have the right physical make-up for his experiments either. So there was no doubt that I'd wind up in the harem tent. I was sent there right after the tests," he added, reminding himself that he was glad he'd proven to be at least useful during the last three years with his massage skills.

Otherwise, he would have fallen into depression long ago. As it was, he'd found contentment in what he was able to do. But since there was nothing else special about him, he'd remained unclaimed until now.

"The collar simply alerts if I'm removed from the base by anyone other than the guards or my claimed master, you in this case, and shows that I'm a slave here. That's all," he finished with another shrug, not sure why Allistair was asking but having no problem explaining it to him.

Hal was shocked, and it showed on his face, as he reached up and felt the collar in silent wonder. He didn't know what to say. The new collar fit him more like a choker necklace than the other one had and felt slimmer and lighter. He simply couldn't find the words to describe how he felt so he impulsively moved in to hug him and give him a tender kiss, hoping he'd be able to thank him more appropriately later.

He'd never been given such a gift before. Well, it was actually his first gift since arriving as a slave for the Re and the first he'd been given since he was a boy.

But with the different collar on, it showed everyone who saw it that he'd been claimed by Allistair, that he belonged to someone now. He pulled back from the hug with tears in his eyes, he was so overwhelmed with the gift.

He cleared his throat and tried to say something, "Thank you, Master... I... I don't know what to say..." he told him softly, at least being honest about it.

Admittedly, he'd have to be careful around the Were's in the tent since the collar was made of silver, but he could handle that.

But Allistair simply smiled at him and took the end of the leash that was already attached to Hal's harness and lead him out of the Pillow Room, Hal carrying the basket as he followed his master...

((Exit))

Hal returned to the pillow room alone and immediately unpacked the picnic basket so the dishes could be cleaned then put the blanket in the basket for laundry and stored the basket away before heading into the bathing area to wash off the sand from the swimming area.

Dev frowned when he saw Hal come back alone and silent instead of 'glowing' from spending special time with their master. That didn't seem right. He considered following Hal to find out what had happened but wasn't too sure how to approach the subject.

Hal finished his bath and put his leather outfit with the others' traveling outfits to be cleaned up then went into the room he and Dev shared to put on his usual outfit. After that, he found himself sitting on the edge of the bed as he thought over the picnic and his revelation to Allistair, hoping he hadn't made a mistake by falling in love with his master.

After a few moments, he got up and put himself to work, needing the distraction. That meant finishing the unpacking and decorating, giving several massages to various slaves and a few guards, cleaning the dishes as well as the bathing area and a few other rooms, and working out schedules for a few other slaves.

Dev watched the whole thing and wondered what had gone wrong with the special treatment. Hal seemed to be acting as if he were working himself into exhaustion to keep from thinking, or something. It totally confused him.

Of course, he did find himself a bit jealous about the new collar the human was sporting that marked him as someone's special slave very openly.

Everyone continued to either watch Hal as he worked or ignored him as they usually did. So very few noticed it when the human finally went into his room to finally go to sleep while Dev decided to stay in the main room curled up on one of the large cushions.

Hal got out of his clothes and slid between the silk sheets then found himself asleep before his head hit the pillow, finally beginning to dream. Well, nightmare, really. All about finding out that falling in love with one's master was usually a mistake. Especially for a human.

The moment they arrived, Dev ran for the room Hal was in, leading Allistair to it then waited outside for someone with authority to handle the situation.

By the time they got there, the guard had Hal face down on the bed and was finally getting what he'd come for. Hal's hair hid his face and collar from view, and the fact that he was silently crying over the whole situation as well as the pain he was experiencing.

The pain wasn't just from what the guard was doing. His face was already showing the beginnings of the bruising he'd wind up with and he was still slightly dazed from the hit he'd been given.

Hal winced as he was turned over into Allistair's arms and gave a nod as he tried to give a small smile, "I'm alright, Master," he said softly, not wanting him to worry, "Thank you," he added as he raised a hand to wipe at his face, not wanting him to see that he'd been crying. The bruising over his face was starting to come up, proving that it was going to be impressive when it finished 'blooming', and he had a few other marks on his body from the guard holding him down and ripping his shorts off.

Dev finally walked in and moved over to kneel beside them with a worried look on his face that he raised to Allistair, "I'll take him to clean up if you want to handle the guard," he offered, hoping he wasn't overstepping himself. But he knew Hal would be able to handle things easier if he didn't see whatever was going to happen to the guard.

Besides, it would enable Allistair to have Ren make an official decision about the guard and call a healer to look over Hal. Sometimes the healers took a bit to arrive if the slaves sent for them. And the tiger had a feeling that he wouldn't want to cry over the attack in front of Allistair.

Dev nodded and helped Hal to his feet after Allistair left then got him soaking in a warm bath before he told a guard Allistair's words and went back to Hal. The tiger helped him clean up and got him out of the tub before he broke down. Thankfully, he cried silently against Dev's shoulder and was finished when the healer showed up.

Dev stayed with Hal as he was treated, his more serious injuries seen to. There was little they could do about the bruising, though they did ensure that his eye and lip wouldn't swell. After that, he helped Hal into bed and stayed with him while he slept, though it was more like resting since he kept waking from time to time.

Meanwhile, the healer waited to tell Allistair and Ren about the extent of Hal's injuries, including what he'd been able to heal.