Preserverence

[:RETCHED:]

A bead of sweat slid off the tensed brow of a dark haired dragon-born man, chained heavily along a dusty wall alongside others of his kind. He looked straight ahead however, as if to afford the other people bound here even one pair of eyes worth of pride. Looking sternly ahead, he hunched in place, the shackles around his ankles and wrists alone barring any escape, much less to pull on the equally heavy links of the chain.​

From his field of vision, he only cared to look at the dusty, well trampled ground. He knew there was cobblestone beneath it all, but primarily the blanket of dust tracked in by passerby was what was seen. And the various feet that kicked up so many clouds dominated the scene as well. Closely to his right, two pairs of feet shuffled and swayed, voices attached to them.

"It's name is Mathias, about 27 years? We named him, he's pretty tight lipped, but he'll do work. One hell of a fighter."

"I'll say. He's been back up for sale three times this month." This pair of feet's statement was accentuated by a quick tap.

"He's like any other one of the scaly bastards, you need to have a strong hand or they get wily." The selling feet approached and Mathias let out a feral hiss, the sound of scales moving together as he wrapped the great heft of his tail around himself defensively.

"See? He knows who's in charge" The feet assure.​

 

[Mz. Hyde]

Spoiler

Marisha had only came to this type of auction to find someone as a body guard or protector- some one who was extremely skilled at fighting. She was very wealthy woman, she had inherited all her father's money. Since she was an only child, plus a very very large estate. But the only reason she was looking for such a person was because her father had enemies and that is how he died in the first place. But his enemies wanted to make sure his family line ended. So she was paranoid that someone would try and kill her. She wasn't cruel and heartless like it seemed most of the people that were at this auction were. She looked at the men that were chained up and enslaved, she felt sorry for them and wished that she could do something for all of them. One of her family friends had suggested this type of auction to insure that she would get someone who was good a fighting. That was the only reason she was here, she hated places like these. She had overheard men talking about Mathias and how good of a fighter he was. She watched his reaction to the figures that were selling him and wondered how badly they had treated him. She walks up to one of the figures, "Excuse me...I over heard what you were saying about this one here...how much is he?" She asks, her tone of voice seemed kind and friendly. "I think he may be what I am looking for..." She adds.

 

[:RETCHED:]

The men standing in front of Mathias stopped their chatter, giving the woman a once over, then looked to each other, smirks tugging at their lips.

"I got others I can show you, sweetheart. This ones too much for you." The salesman explained, already starting away from the tightly coiled dragon-man. Mathias took this opportunity to expand his field of vision, turning bright green eyes to the woman, his slitted pupils darting here and there to quickly gather an image. He even let his tongue slip from his lips to flick at and taste the dusty air. At least if this unknowing young lady would purchase him, it wouldn't be extremely difficult to escape again.

 

[Mz. Hyde]

Marisha looks at the two men with a stern look, she felt insulted. She didn't move from her spot in front of Mathias. "Excuse me, I can a sure you I can afford him thank you very much." She says to them in a stern voice. Her father always said that she had a short temper. "And I don't care how much he is, I'm going to buy him if you like it or not. He is what I am looking for." She says. It was as if she was literally putting her foot down. She now had her arms crossed and looked very unhappy. "So how much is he?" She asks still in a stern voice. A stout little man waddles over to where Marisha is. He was balding on top and had thick round glasses. He was dressed in a suit and tie. He looks up at the men. "I assure you my client cam afford him. Just tell us your price." He says in a very nasally voice. It sounded like someone had their fingers over his nose, plugging it. "This man here is named Jackson, he will be making the deal with you. So you shall proceed on with it." She says in a very demanding voice,

 

[:RETCHED:]

The two men look at each other and begin laughing, first a throaty chuckle, cultivated into bellows of laughter.

"You've never been down here, have you sweetie? I'm not saying you can't afford him. Clearly you can. I'm saying you can't handle him." The salesman elaborates. "These things are beasts. Who knows what they might do to a nice girl like yourself? Kill you I'm sure, if he got the chance."

To this Mathias actually spoke, his tone gravelly and raw to match the ragged condition of the rest of him. "Stay focused, you started talking about yourself." he retorted, only to earn a sharp kick to the ribs for his wit.

 

[Mz. Hyde]

She got very offended by what he had said to her. "Excuse me! I'm not as fragile as I look." She says practically snapping at the man. She then hears what the dragon man was saying and watched how the man that was selling him treated him. She didn't like it, she wanted to hit the man back- but figured that it wouldn't be a very good idea. "So I suggest we make the transaction...or I can go some where else." She says as she crosses her arms. She was still angry by what he had said to her. But she knew the words 'I can go some where else' usually made people like him- people just out to make money off of others would instantly change their minds. She by now was losing her patients and began to tap her foot quickly on the ground. She was trying not to let her temper get the best of her. "Well?" She asks in a very demanding voice. But she wasn't really sure why she had settled on Mathias. For she had hundreds of others to choose from, but there was something about him that made her curious.

 

[:RETCHED:]

The salesman sighed, looking down the line of other slaves. He could have offered the woman any other slave, something more manageable. He was sure however that she'd only get worked up. Instead, he sought to strike a deal.

"Alright, alright, you can have Matty here, for a discount even! But you can't bring him back to the market. I'll write it in your terms of agreement. He stays, or you kill the creature. He's not our problem anymore if you take him." the salesman explains, laying down the parameters of the deal. The selling feet made their way over to Mathias, who already seemed uneased by the stipulations.

"That means if you run, and anybody but her finds you, we can kill you on the spot. I'll love it to. I'll invite all your old masters and make a party of it. Better thank the nice lady and behave." he instructed, earning an aggressive glare from the dragon-born. Mathias then turned his steely gaze to the woman, expectantly.

 

[Mz. Hyde]

Marisha sighs, "Fine..." is all she could say. She was just happy that he was finally making a sale with her. She signs the papers and then walks over to Mathias. "Mathias...is it? Well... I'm Marisha." She says. Now she felt rather uncomfortable in the situation. She could tell that he didn't trust people, but she didn't blame him. At this point she didn't know what to do. Then she watched as two men go over and unchain him from the wall and then hand her the chains the restrained him. She then turns and looks at him and sighs and then starts walking away, not really wanted into pull on the chains as she did so. But she had a feeling that he was going to be rather stubborn and wouldn't do what she wanted and not listen to him. But she got what she paid for. She continues walking away with her head held high as she pulled on the chains gently.

 

[:RETCHED:]

Mathias stared quietly at her, piercing green eyes seeming to bore into his new master. He didnt respect her, didnt care much about her and her haughty need to prove herself, but he also didnt care to give her too much trouble. Not yet at least. After the first tug, he slowly unfurled his tail from around his body, the tip starting to flick and thump against the dusty ground. When he stood to his full height the dragon-born had a lean, athletic build, like well worn muscle laid atop bone. Casting a loathing glance to the slavers as they watched him go, Mathias followed Marisha begrudgingly, only satisfied in the moment that he was able to stand up straight, his sore spine singing it's praises.

 

[Mz. Hyde]

(If I need to edit this, please let me known)

She continued to lead him. Eventually she would show Mathias that she wasn't like any of the others who had owned him. She wanted to show him that she was kind and wouldn't treat him so badly. But she hoped that he wouldn't be to harsh toward or totally ignore her. And she hoped that he didn't try to escape, even though she had a feeling in he gut that he may decide to, once they we're either outside. And lead him straight out of the exit with her head still held high. Once they were out of the auction, she lets out a sigh of relief. She was glad that she had gotten out of there and gotten done with "business." Now she just had to figure out how she was going to get things moving again. Not too far away from where she was, she had, had the driver of her limo drop her off. She looks around. Well I guess...hmm... She thinks. She looked utterly and totally lost. She had no idea where she was and she was starting to get worried because her ride wasn't where she told it to be. "Well I guess I can walk." She mumbles and turns and starts to walk to the left. Thank God no one is around. She thinks as she starts walking. But she wasn't pulling on the chains, she was just leading the way. And the only reason she was lost was because she wasn't from these parts. Well...here goes nothing...she thinks looking rather nervous as she turns another corner with Mathias behind her.