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 Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 5:43 pm
 Tihrak was feeling almost… giddy. He tried not show it, of course, as he'd heard far too many stories about hounds who got carried away at the Black Market but he was rather happy nonetheless.
After going through a brief period of denial after his parents (well, his mother) kicked him out of their house, Tihrak had quickly realized they were serious about him living on his own. Things weren’t too bad though. They had given him a good amount of stones for the young hound to start his life and his father had even helped him get settled on his new house in Babylon the day before. He was already back home in Giza, of course and Tihrak had been left alone to make his first important decision: he was to buy his first slave. Hence the giddiness.
He felt rather important, a young hound with a pouch full of stones ready to buy a personal slave or a house servant as he marched inside the Black Market. This was when his mood turned suddenly sour. The filth hurt his eyes and sensitive nose and the mood of the dreadful place hurt his soul just as much. Never had he seen a place where the feeling of sorrow and despair were quite so evident. He almost allowed the hyena to help him in order to save time but quickly realized that the dirty beast was cunning and kept trying to point him in the wrong direction, choosing slaves that were either too old or crippled or with grave temperament faults.
And no, a good beating would probably not fix that, Tihrak though as he finally dismissed Mr. Hyde and decided to browse the cages on his own. His mother would probably know what to look for but Tihrak was mostly just pretending to know what he was doing – and hopefully not doing a terrible job at it.
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Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 4:47 pm
Ife sat in her cage with one small paw stuck through the bars, batting hopelessly at the lock wishing it would just fall off. She was tired of being in this cage. The little brown female wanted to see anything but what lay just beyond the bars in front of her. The others in the cages on either side of her were surprisingly quiet today, no pacing or whining or whining to be heard. However, she was so intent on the lock that she didn't notice Tihrak until he passed very close to her cage.
Oh, hello!
Instantly Ife's paw shot back inside and she arranged herself properly, smoothing her fur and washing her face quickly with her paw. A hound meant a good chance to get out of this unpleasant place, if they liked you well enough.
Time to look cute...and well...useful.
Ife tapped a paw against the bars of her cage, hoping to catch the hound's attention.
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Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:33 pm
The slaves in this area seemed to be oddly subdued, broken. Some even flinched away as the hound passed their cages (one hissed!) and Tihrak was beginning to think finding a “normal slave” would be harder than he’d previously assumed. That is, until he saw her.
To be accurate, he first heard her and then saw her. The dark cat had the most striking eyes and Tihrak eyed her in silence for a good while. She looked clean enough (or as clean as any cat could be in these tiny, dirty cages) and looked lively and alert especially when compared with the cats around her. Her coat could be cleaned and would probably look quite nice once she had filled up a bit. Her chains needed a good polishing or he could buy some new ones. And those eyes, those teal eyes. His father would like her. It finally occurred to Tihrak that perhaps he should say something, test the cat’s wits and politeness.
“Do you have a name?” He realized as he spoke how much he wanted her. The young hound wasn’t keen on excusing any faults she might have but Tihrak definitely liked what he saw. Hopefully, the slave’s mind wouldn’t disappoint.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 8:14 am
"Ife." It meant 'love' in some tongue or another, or so her mother had told her. The feline let her paw slip from the bar of the cage and resettled herself neatly, tail coiling around herself. "My name is Ife."
She regarded the hound silently. He seemed young, perhaps he was just setting off on his own? This hound certainly seemed nicer than some she had seen pass through here previously; some wore cruelty and unpleasantness like accessories or simply did not seem to care what slave they chose.
"Can I ask your name, sir?"
Ife hoped she was not overstepping her bounds by asking something of him, she was merely curious.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 2:03 pm
“Ife…?” It was a good name, short and simple. Tihrak liked it. There was a hint of a smile in his otherwise neutral expression as she asked for his name in return and the hound’s ears pushed forward curiously as he focused all his attention on the cat. She seemed polite enough but Tihrak was a little afraid of giving too many liberties right from the start. His mother would mock him to death if he ever lost control of his slaves.
“I will give you my name when… if I decide to buy you, Ife. You can keep calling me "sir" for now.” He said somewhat sternly, though he did not appear to be angry. “Tell me, have you been here long? Have you had other masters? And do you have any skills?”
He honestly didn’t expect her to be particularly skilled but she looked quick on her toes and eager to please – or perhaps just eager to leave this place, something Tihrak could certainly understand. And he supposed that a small amount of autonomy was desirable - to a reasonable extent, of course - if he were to make a Personal Servant out of her. So far, so good.
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 1:17 pm
"Very well, Sir." Part of Ife had expected him to be angry at her being so bold and she was relieved when he was not. This endeared him to her a bit, maybe he would be different from those other masters she had heard stories about from other cats in the cages?
The teal eyed cat shook her head. "Formally no, I helped my Momma and Papa with their work sometimes before I was old enough to be sent to school." In her opinion she had learned more useful things with her parents then at that school but the schools lessons had their place too.
Ife paused, pondering how to answer his next question. What were her best skills really? What had her teachers commented on?
Aha!
"Organizing and cleaning. Other things too, just not as well." She smiled shyly.
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 4:06 pm
“Well Ife, I just got a new house and I have no slaves. I hope you can understand how troublesome that is. I’ve come to Zanzibar to buy a few cats and then I’ll go back to Babylon where I live… now.” He eyed the cat intently, trying to read her reaction to his words. “You’re pretty, Ife. I like your eyes and your dark coat, dirty as it is at the moment. And you seem clever, too, so I hope you’ll understand me when I say this: I don’t tolerate indiscipline. Not inside my house and especially not when I’m the company of other hounds.”
He was making his interest clear now and laying down the rules as best as he could. He had never seen his mother buy a slave but he hoped he wasn’t doing a bad job at it. Ife looked compliant enough which boosted his confidence to a certain degree but he was used to being around slaves he trusted and wasn’t exactly sure how that trust was created in the first place.
“You seem to be a polite cat but I need to make sure we understand each other. If I were to make you my – let’s say, Personal Servant – I would need you to know your place. I would trust you completely and not waste a single moment of my time doubting your actions or your words. And if you were to betray me, Ife, there would be consequences. I don’t like to punish my slaves so I don’t want a cat who only behaves inside a cage and sees me as nothing more than a ticked to get out of these disgusting place.” He was staring at the cat fiercely now, his nose almost touching the bars of the dirty cage.
“So Ife. Do you think you can handle being a Personal Servant?”
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 11:17 pm
Ife's eyes widened at the mention of Babylon. Home! He would be taking me home! "Yes, Sir, I understand...and I was born in Babylon so I could definitely be of help to you." The feline knew some of the merchants there, from tagging along with her mother; she hadn't been allowed to talk to them, but they would remember her or at the very least who her mother was.
She fought the reflex to draw back when he leaned in close and nodded firmly. "I believe I can, if you'll have me."
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 11:05 am
Oh, she was perfect! She hadn’t edged way or reacted defensively and answered politely even when he’d tried to sound a bit meaner. And she was from Babylon, too. Perhaps she could be even more useful than he had previously imagined. Yes, he could trust this one.
“Very well! I believe we understand each other, Ife. I’m Tihrak. You can call me “sir” or “master” whichever you prefer. Mr. Hyde!” The young hound said lightly, a small smile instantly forming on his maw as he turned to face the smelly hyena in the distance. He tried to ignore the feeling that he was doing rushing his first acquisition and exchanged a few brief words with the cackling beast in a casual tone. Tihrak took a few steps back to watch as his first slave was taken from her filthy cage rather roughly which immediately caused a nasty frown to drop over his bright blue eyes. “200 stones? Yes yes, of course. Do be careful, Mr. Hyde.”
“It would be nice if you could get a bath before we get home. But the water in those buckets would probably only make it worse and it’s a bit cold to get wet… I wouldn’t want you to get sick right after I bought you.” He turned to meet the cat’s gaze abruptly as if he’d suddenly remembered he’d forgotten something important. “You’re not sick, are you?”
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 1:20 pm
Tihrak, hn, good to know. "As you wish, Master." As delighted as Ife was to get out of that filthy cage she did not appreciate being roughly handled by the hyena but did her best not to fidget in protest. Once she was free she shook a little, hoping to remove some of the dust and grime from her dark coat.
A bath would be lovely, but she agreed with Tihrak those buckets were probably too disgusting to be washed in. She wrinkled her nose at the thought of being dunked in what could possibly be rancid water.
"I don't feel ill, Master. Just restless and dirty from being in there."
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 4:29 pm
“Good, good. I don’t know any doctors in this city.” The hound said absent-mindedly shaking the dirt of his paws with a somewhat displeased expression. The idea of spending stones on a slave he had just bought wasn't exactly appealing either. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll find some alternative at the motel.”
“I still need a few more slaves but that will have to wait until tomorrow. I can’t stay in this place much longer. Let’s go.” The young hound said slowly, paying the hyena-man distractedly and heading for the exit.
“As my Personal Servant, Ife, I’ll be placing a great deal of trust in you. I will be teaching you how to read and write. Don’t make me regret that decision.” He was obviously not paying quite as much attention to the cat now, walking at a quick pace and expecting her to follow him. He took one long breath as he finally reached the clean air outside before tilting his head jovially at the smaller creature he had just bought. “Do you have any questions, Ife?”
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Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 9:14 am
Ife padded after her new master, increasingly grateful to be out of the cage and back out in the sunshine. She smiled, well as much as a feline could, rather pleased that her life was finally taking off. A home, a master, what else could a feline ask for these days?
Her ears perked at the mention of reading and writing. Now that sounded interesting! Being literate was something very rare and special among slaves; one's master placed a lot of trust in a slave in teaching such a skill. "Thank you, for trusting me with such an immense gift." She felt humbled that Tihrak was willing to trust her already. "You won't regret it."
The dark feline quieted, searching her mind for any loose ends that he could answer. Finding none she opted for asking something useful. "Is there anything I can look after for you once we get to the motel?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 3:06 pm
While Tihrak was pleased his dark slave understood how important it was for her new master to take the time and effort required to teach her – as well as placing such an enormous sign of trust on a slave he barely knew –, the young Hound was somewhat surprised at how quickly she was willing to start working. He assumed it was a slave thing but in all honesty, Tihrak had completed the task he had set for himself and now he needed to take a break. Perhaps he would nap at the motel while Ife got herself cleaned and later take a tour of the city. It wasn’t particularly promising but he liked the idea of showing off his new slave even if it was amongst strangers in this mess of a city.
“No, no, no.” he said quickly without even looking at the cat whose coat contrasted so nicely with his own. “You start working tomorrow. Today we’re just getting to know each other. I’m going to rest in my room for a while and you should get yourself presentable. And then you’ll stick close to me and you’ll slowly understand – hopefully not too slowly – what I like and what I don’t like. I’ll correct you when necessary which, hopefully, won’t be too often.”
He led the dark cat through the streets of Zanzibar asking for directions here and there when he forgot which way he’d followed to the market. At last, master and slave were in front of the white walls of the motel where Tihrak had reserved a room.
“So, we’re understood…?” he inquired lightly, admiring the building. “I’ll show you where my room is and then I expect you’ll be able to find a place to get yourself cleaned up. There should be something on the back that you can use, perhaps I’ll ask at the reception. Well, let’s go then.” And, glancing down at Ife, his first slave, the white hound stepped forward and entered the motel.
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Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 3:10 pm
"Very well, Master." That gave her plenty of time to make herself presentable and acquaint herself with her new master. Ife would be a fool to think she could perform flawlessly, but hopefully she wouldn't make too many mistakes.
The dark coated feline kept up with her master's pace as they went along to the motel, stopping a few paces behind him when he paused at the door. "Yes, I understand." She nodded and followed him inside, keeping her gaze lowered respectfully in case any other hounds were about. When there appeared to be none in the immediate area she glanced about quickly, trying to become familiar with her surroundings.
The entrance was very neat and tidy with a few small couches, fragrant flowers and of course the reception desk. She stopped just short of running into Tihrak when he paused again at the reception desk. Ife took a half step back to put a bit more space between herself and her master, silently chiding herself for not paying attention.
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Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 5:02 pm
Tihrak was clearly not paying enough attention to the slave trailing behind as he didn’t even realize she almost bumped into him. The hound traded a few words when the older slave at the reception before looking back down at Ife.
“It seems this is where we part ways. I’ll be going upstairs and you’ll join me later. This girl tells me there’s water in the back. I trust you can find your way. I’ll meet you in my room.” Tihrak was already moving towards the stairs but he stopped midway and turned to eye his slave seriously. He had a stony expression this time.
“I don’t need to tell you what would happen if you tried to run away, do I… Ife? There are very few things that will simply not tolerate my slaves to do. Running away is right there at the top and I’m telling you right now that the consequences will not be pleasant.” Honestly, the last thing he wanted was for the authorities to bring him a runaway slave. But he liked Ife and didn’t want to leave on a bad note as he started walking up the stairs. “I hope you keep in mind the trust I’m showing a cat I barely know, Ife. Don’t let me down.”
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