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 Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 9:26 pm
 Sudi had been resting in a corner of his cage, all curled up in a furry ball as it was his habit. On a cloudy day he might even go unnoticed inside his tiny and filthy enclosure and more than once Hyde had forgotten to feed the cat or almost dumped another in the same cage. He didn't care really.
He could hear the sound of approaching hounds which only served to make him hide his muzzle under the bushy tail. He didn’t want to be here but he didn’t want to be bought either and suffer at the paws of those beastly hounds.
Sometimes he looked up with those “Please get me out of here but don’t hurt me”-eyes and a hound or two would stop by his cage door for a few moments before they continued looking for whatever kind of slave interested them. It certainly wasn’t a dirty thing like him, Sudi was sure. Well, this time he’d stay nice and quiet. No reason to get his hopes up when they would eventually be shattered anyway.
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:25 pm
 Prior to being bought by Chuma, Adham was a rather decent slave for the most part. Small and often remarked upon for his inherent "cuteness" factor, the abnormally small tail, the bright coloring unfamiliar to most, the dark eyes that seemed oddly creepy if a hound or cat looked into them for too long - luckily, Adham was a kind-hearted fellow, albeit one with a penchant for slipping out of cuffs when hounds forgot how small his paws were in comparison to most; hence four tight cuffs now, just to be sure.
As it was, the little felidae was chilling as much as one could "chill" in the heat, sitting in his cage by the bars and experimentally poking a forepaw through the spaces between. There, he would wiggle his toes and grin a little at the sight - that almost freedom, right in his grasp. Of course, when hounds passed by he would quickly pull his paw back in and, if they were close enough, would even begin waving, mumbling "Haai" with a warm smile on his face. He did this to a particular hound who was interested in the cage across from his, though it went unnoticed; Adham was left waving across the empty space to a rather forlorn-looking slave that occupied that very cage.
Awww, someone needed a smile! "Haaaaai~" he called. "Not see you 'fore!"
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 2:06 pm
Sudi raised his head slowly, first with the caution of one who isn’t sure he’s being addressed and then more confidently when he found the bright orange cat looking straight at him. Ah, so this was the one who’d been greeting the hounds so cheerfully… he was quite unique.
“Hello. I don’t know you either.” He said quietly. Surely, he’d remember those colors, dark eyes and short tail if he’d have seen them before.“I’m Sudi.”
For a moment, it crossed his mind that the other cat might not really care to know his name but the orange slave had something irresistible to him that drew the stripped to him almost instantly. but it was rather strange that such a small and friendly kitty had so many cuffs tightened around his legs.
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 2:33 pm
Yay, he said hi back! Always a good sign. Tail wagging, Adham grinned and picked a limb up, wiggling his toes in greeting as the chain links softly clinked. "Suuuudeeee. I'z Adham!" he replied, happy to get things right underway. He was a self-appointed mender-of-all-sad-cats here in the Black Market, even if the job title was childish; suited him, really. Nobody should have been smiling at this fate. "New here, yes yes?"
It was evident that the small slave did not know proper language. Really, who had the time to teach a slave that? They weren't required to speak, only to nod or shake their head and do what they were told. That was the life Adham had led: yes or no, this or that, do it or be whipped, do it or be forced to (wasn't that the same?), do it or your mother goes - that was the bad one, the one he didn't think they would have acted upon . . .
"Welcomes to da Market even if not~ Yousa looks healthy," he remarked, and then winked. "Betcha soons leaf. Loootsa stripies 'round today." Why only recently some shipment had come into Zanzibar with mostly striped felidae, which made him wonder if maybe they were together?
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 3:05 pm
“Adham…” Sudi repeated as tried to decode some of the orange kitty’s words. He looked down at the stripes that ran down his legs before continuing. “New, yes. You think?” His healthy look might be temporary as this was certainly not a very nice place to be but the yellow-eyed cat wasn’t sure he was ready for another master just yet.
“Thank you. You’re new too, right?” he asked, certain that the answer would be positive. He couldn’t be this cheerful he’s been here long and the tail wag did manage to pull the corners of Sudi's lips just a little bit. “Was your tail always that short?” Perhaps it had been a hound’s cruel idea of an improvement, after all, Sudi did expect the worst of the canine species. He sighed. It was very hard to talk to someone across the corridor but he was really trying to keep his voice loud enough for Adham to hear even if some words came out as quiet whispers.
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Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:18 am
"Short yes yes. Born wiff it," Adham explained cheerily. "Used to make me baaaaad bad bad at balance, but I'z gotten better yes yes! Some houndies likes it, thinks shorter is kewt." Which was the main point of his attraction, the "exoticness" of his appearance; certainly most of his other attributes weren't the eye-poppers. None of his masters ever learned he knew how to write, though, and that was a secret best kept even from other slaves right now; even if it might be a good thing to let others know!
"But I'z not that new," Adham went on to explain. "Comes in and out sorta. Cuffs too big for small paws!" Oh, the memories of his attempted escapes . . . He giggled.  The sound made another slave stir in a cage nearby. She was miserable in the heat, her coat thick and with extra hair about her cheeks to boot. This one, Anima, longed for the waters of Cairo where she had been found wandering aimlessly, neither owned nor of a family of renegade felidae who had escaped the slave market. She had been a sadly easy capture and had since been stuck in the cage, whimpering and mostly keeping to herself.
Hence the sound of laughter making her perk, if not half-heartedly. She peeked through the cages and spotted an oddly small slave chatting with another striped one. Perhaps a joke she had missed?What else could he possibly be laughing at in the dismal black market of Zanzibar?
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Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 6:30 pm
Ah, born with it. Good, it was a relief to know.
“Have you ever escaped? From a hound?” Now Sudi really was paying attention, waiting for the orange cat’s answer with wide eyes full of amazement. Even his voice grew a little louder.
So focused was Sudi on Adham that he almost jumped when he sensed another cat stirring nearby. Oddly enough it was not her long fangs and striking coat that Sudi first noticed. His eyes were immediately drawn to the cuffs and chains that bound the beautiful slave, admiring how shiny and pretty they were. Of course, it wasn’t long until he started noticing her other attributes.
Sudi paused for a moment, tilting his head as he finally took a good look around. Now that he wasn’t feeling quite so detached and took the time to take in his environment, he had to wonder. Surrounded by cats so beautiful, so exotic, perhaps this was an area reserved for breeding slaves. He didn’t find himself a particularly interesting specimen and he was certainly not exotic. True, he was from breeding lines but technically a failure as far as his former master was concerned. He looked down on his cot with a frown. Perhaps he could judge it better if it wasn’t buried under so many layers of dirt and filth.
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Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 9:20 am
Again Adham bobbed his head with a smile. "Yup yup! Runs away I does, always wants me wiff girls them houndies do. Says I makes good breed stock, but no no no!" His short tail twitched with each defiant no. "I sneaks out and den gets caughted later." This clearly was a proud accomplishment, for the small slave was positively beaming at himself. Eventually he did notice that "Soodhee" was looking at something off to the side and poked his head at the bars to follow that gaze.
"Waz we see heer? Ooo ooo, 'nother sadface!" Now that wouldn't do. "Ohai der~!"
The attention only made Anima all the more skittish, and she retreated to the back of her cage once she felt the first pair of eyes upon her. It was an instinctual thing, though she winced at how embarrassing it was. They were probably oggling her still, probably going to mutter about how trollish she looked with those horrible fangs . . .
Adham blinked. That wasn't the usual reaction when he said hi to anyone. "Ooookies . . . We no hert, promise?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 3:45 pm
“Caught.” Sudi corrected before he could stop himself and his ears dropped a little. It came out instinctively and he really didn’t intend to correct Adham. He found it quite rude actually, especially since the small cat had been so friendly, open and blissfully proud of his huh... accomplishments. “Sorry.”
“Hey.” He said softly to the female after Adham tried to reassure her. “I’m Sudi, he’s Adham.” He wanted to say more but she looked so anxious that the words never came out. We won’t hurt you, it’s okay, we’re just talking, are you alright… none of it felt right and as such he remained quiet after the introduction.
Wait, did Adham call them “sadface”? So that’s what he was, a “sadface”. First, Sudi frowned as if trying to consider the implications of the label. Then he chuckled, finding the ridiculous name just too amusingly accurate. And then the slave froze looking downright surprised. Did he just laugh there? His eyes immediately turned to Adham, the cause of the brief moment of happiness as far as Sudi was concerned. What an odd cat.
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 4:03 pm
"I heard . . ." Ever since the first time "Adham" had piped up in with his oddly squeaky voice, she had been trying to identify whether he was truly a male or not, even with a masculine name. The female seemed surprised to have talked at all, and she made a soft sound as if to be apologetic.
"Gewd gewd!" Adham mewled happily, finding this a good sign, not getting the correction Sudi gave earlier. "So wassa yo name? An' cans you come clozer so we sees?"
The slave hesitated at the request, then slowly shuffled herself forward until the jagged light between the bars lit her form up. She sat with her tail curled tightly about her legs, green eyes lowered. "I-It's Anima," she replied after a bit, mouth barely moving as if that wouldn't bring attention to her enlarged canines.
"Hawwo, Anima~ Where's you from?"
Her ears tilted back slightly. "I-I dunno . . ." Like she didn't know many things. Where she came from, if her name was really Anima, if she had family around these parts or not, if she had always been a slave or captured from the wastelands, nothing . . .
Adham blinked. "Dun . . . know . . . ?" He looked to Sudi, wondering if he knew what that meant.
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:14 pm
Just as he thought before, she was quite pretty. Anima. Sudi took in the name with mild interest, mind slowly becoming foggy as he left the spotlight. The slave let his head drop slowly until it almost touched the ground and then finally decided to lie down again. His eyes blinked languidly a few times before he noticed Adham looking straight at him.
“You don’t know the name of the city you were caught?” he asked quietly, making an effort to participate in the conversation. Even though he would very much like to rest, Sudi realized he actually liked the orange spirited cat and he didn’t want Adham to think badly of him.
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