Seven: The Slave Market

The day was busy and market day was one of the biggest reasons for this, in town there was hardly anywhere to move and it meant many of the rich had themselves carried about on a litter to avoid the dirt upon the street and the crowds. Certainly there were many flies buzzing near the food and cart beasts had left their dung on the streets to catch unfortunate sandals or the occasional bare feet. It was loud and the smells were chaotic but fascinating and yet, the lions from the gladiator school were not being carried in but marching in on a mission!

The gladiators following with them, only the best with the best reputations that were celebrities in the region, were quickly being flirted with or admired by the locals. It was not unusual, they were the big stars that brought in the money and market day was one of the few chances for them to be permitted to ask and buy luxuries with the minimum amount they were granted by the school. It was the decision of the school to always be careful with what they gave them, not keeping them as total slaves when they did well but slowly turning them into proper Roman citizens as they would eventually be free just as the leopard technically was. But there was an odd feel in the air as they headed to the main square where a slave market would be in place.

"Captives from the empire do you think? I heard they've got a lot of Germans in... they're good spear users and great for the really rough stuff... if there's a Gaul too they're good, excellent for fighting with tooth and claw more than weapons." The leopard questioned as they padded on towards the busy square, listening to the hollers as the younger and the female slaves were always on sale first. Generally it was not something the gladiators tended to worry about, female slaves could be useful but on the whole they were interested only in getting new fighters!

"Maybe we should hurry, you never know if there's a good looking girl you might find yourself wanting to pamper you, master." Ferox joked towards Domitius as he gave a soft scoff of disbelief at the way the leopard didn't even seem to consider what could also be ahead. In fact it was obvious that Domitius was not thinking about any of this and instead just considering what he was supposed to be fetching today. It was all on him and he knew later he would be going to get that strange ewe from the brothel for his companion as he'd promised. But there was something today that was just making his fur tingle and Ferox gave a chuckle. "Something on your mind boss?"

"Something on my fur... making it crawl like... like someone I know is watching or hunting me... its discomforting." Domitius growled in frustration, shaking his thick mane and then stroking his fur back. He pulled his ears back, his lips curling in frustration and then looked towards his companions that were just looking at him as if dumbfounded. Sometimes he wondered why it was only ever these three he tended to spend his days with and not with other young cats of the same sort of heritage. "Come on..."

They chuckled softly and scoffed at the reaction, curious to know what had crawled under their master's fur so much to get him so riled up. Normally he walked to these meets like it was nothing that could ever get on his nerves but simple business, he was professional and yet something about today was just making them all a little curious. Just what could it be when this lion was so polite and precise about everything? It was not long before they were at the front of the queue, watching the females being pulled up and shown off, most of them not even work a second glance because they were worn down and needing feeding up before they could ever interest the ardour of the gladiators, but further down the line seemed to be the cause of Domitius' upset.

They could recognise the striped fiery hide of a Caspian tiger anywhere and more importantly; they could recognise the second felid standing near it as the very tiger that made Domitius' heart begin to tremble and his body twitching in terror. His whiskers were pinning back like his ears and his lips were wrinkling as Domitius wanted to get over there with a dagger and stab him to death! He hated that tiger so much and the gladiators beside him were also furious to see him and willing to get in there and attack him if needed.

But though Domitius was staring at the figures, his gladiators began to realise that he was not focusing on his enemy, whom the leopard still regretted not killing. Instead, he was looking towards the figure in the line up that was grasping at the tiger's paws and looking as if they were about to burst into tears. Slaves generally cried, especially if they were being sold after being born into slavery and were leaving their parents for the first time, but more importantly it was a surprise to see that the tiger was female as she was pushed towards the platform and it was obvious that her father was crying for her... it must be her father.

"That's his daughter is it?" Ferox snorted thoughtfully, one eyebrow curling as he looked towards Domitius and knew damn well what was going on in his master's head. If he wanted to take this girl on so he would have some kind of revenge and actually find a way to enjoy himself more often, they would fully support the situation. They all started to realise that this just might be what their master was thinking and they were quick to shoulder their way closer to the front, to pull their master closer as Rabidus grunted.

"Master... you need her." The leopard stated firmly, his eyes flicking along the line with fascination before then turning back towards the position of the tigress. He looked back to Domitius who was eying her up carefully, his eyes narrowing with fury. He gave a slight sneer of frustration, not quite sure if his master understood how important this was, but then the lion turned to them with a soft groan.

"She'll be expensive... but I'm sure everyone will understand." He stated, though he knew damn well it was likely to get him in trouble when they got back because no doubt she was going to cost everything he had on hand. He looked to the others, waiting to see that they would agree with him on this matter and immediately they nodded their heads in acceptance. Then they watched their master step to the front of the queue alongside other known gladiator trainers that looked interested in the males that would be brought forward rather than having any interesting in the females and young present.

They waited patiently, watching carefully as the various animals were brought up and bid upon. Most were not of any real interest even if they were looking at females, they were weak specimens with nothing that made them stand out or made any of them attractive. It did not bode well for the tigress coming up, in fact it made it more obvious how expensive she was going to be and Domitius grit his teeth in frustration over it all. Then, as it came to her turn, the lion took in a deep breath and found himself gazing at her form with a mixture of pity, excitement and also a little lust at the thought of being able to own a part of his enemy!

"This tigress is the daughter of one of our grand gladiators, however potential buyers should understand that she is unfortunately mute... this may not bother you but it was something she was born with and her strength has never been at a comparable level to other tigers in captivity. However, as a rare beauty, the bidding starts at a high point..." The large monitor lizard squatting on his stool scoffed towards them all. He obviously thought that none of those problems should matter in the price that this tigress would have, but it did make many of the crowds mutter before Domitius immediately lifted his paw to take the first price and then the bidding war slowly began.

It was slower than expected, but just as they had assumed, the price hike was immense and at one point, Domitius was even unsure he wanted to pay so much just for revenge. But finally, no one else would raise their paw against him and he'd found himself being glared at by his old tiger enemy. It was obvious to him that he certainly would be having revenge just by owning this girl and when it was finally decided that he could not be outbid, Domitius stepped over to give his money and collect his winning.

Of course, the tigress was trembling as she was taken over to the small unit set up beside the stall and swiftly given a wash down with a rather pungent smelling liquid to clear away any fleas or parasites she might be carrying. Her fur of course was pristine, but everyone liked to be cautious when buying slaves and it just made Domitius smirk to hear her give a yelp of shock and watch her father's ears strain as if she were being wounded. In fact, Domitius could not help but stroll over towards the father with a cruel look upon his face as the figure looked to him almost with an air of desperation.

"I called her Bestia... don't change her name and don't... don't be too cruel with her." To hear that deep voice shudder and break with the fear he seemed to hold made the lion's body ripple in pleasure. He almost wanted to step over to her and whip her bloody just to see the look upon her father's face. But he somehow found himself just nodding his head steadily to the tiger, oddly compelled to just enjoy the fact he owned her much more than to torture her right now. He padded over to the others as they gathered around where she was shivering and soggy, her fur plastered down about her to show off a frame that was a little skinnier than the fur had let on and concerned both Domitius and the gladiators.

"Looks like she was barely worth keeping let alone the amount denar you paid for..." Ferox snorted through his great nostrils and for a while Domitius was almost of the same thought. This... Bestia... was practically just skin and bone with barely any muscle on her at all but the thick fur of the Caspian types meant that her horrid state had been hidden to them. It was such a typical trick when they had animals up on the stands like that where you couldn't check their muscle mass or teeth, such a sneaky way to get the most out of something worthless. But she was worth it for the tiger's reaction and now Domitius had a different idea of how he was going to deal with this.

"Well... wouldn't that infuriate her father more to know that she is in the best of health and care within our service than within her own father's care?" Domitius queried and the others gave him that sort of sideways glance to say they understood he was just too soft to really be mean to her. But the lion strolled over to the bonds around her wrists and gently grasped them, beckoning the seemingly mute though still able to yelp and moan in pain being towards their group. She gave a few searching looks in the crowd for her father, but he seemed to have stepped out of sight as if he knew she would search for him and he could not accept seeing her be treated any worse. Domitius understood her concern and patted her gently. "I'm your master now, my name is Domitius, you shouldn't worry, no one is going to force anything from you, I just need the companionship and someone who can at least do basic carrying and fetching when I'm working. Can you do that?"

He did not know why he asked, if she was mute than he should not expect any sort of response and yet she turned to him and looked him sharply in the eye. Her ears moved forward, showing how intently she listened and her eyes had read the motions of his lips before she nodded her head firmly. Then she opened her mouth to say yes, though it was just a strange rasp of air and in that moment, Domitius seemed to understand just how she'd come to be mute as he'd looked to her throat and then to her mouth.

The bastards that owned her, had not only damaged the vocal chords to stop her roaring, but they'd partially cut out her tongue too! Clearly she'd been a fighter and not obedient at all and certainly was not worth the amount he'd paid for her, but that did not matter. Domitius had no intention of throwing her back or selling her on, he was not even sure he wanted to treat her the way he had intended to when she was already so battered. No, as they'd made their way back, he'd already made the decision that they were going to just raise her up and let her live as his personal slave in contentment and safety... knowing he could give her comfort should be more than enough.

When they reached the gladiator school, the poor tigress was barely able to stand and Rabidus had calmly hoisted her onto his back so she could be carried in. As they strolled into the view of the busy school where the local kids were currently peering through the courtyard towards where there were a few basic drills for the younger gladiators going on, Tacitus strolled out with a firm expression of concern upon his face. He identified the tigress upon Rabidus straight away and he was very concerned about what had happened to bring back her!

"I thought father had said now about getting a gladiatrix? He said its difficult to school them together without risks..." Tacitus came bouncing down the steps from the house to reach them and block them going to the fountain. But Rabidus gave him a soft grunt and passed him to the fountain, sitting the girl down gently and then beckoning her to drink in the water. The tigress gave a groan of relief and then seemed to stuff her head right down into the pool to chug down whatever he could whilst everyone was just watched carefully though Tacitus gave a grunt of confusion. "...she that bastard's daughter then?"

"You catch on quick... she is, but she's been terribly beaten and muted... so I'm going to keep her as my personal servant... however it was incredibly expensive so please don't tell father." Domitius stated, patting his younger brother's shoulder before Tacitus gave a soft grunt of dismay and rolled his head in disbelief. But he stepped over to the kitchen where the other slaves were working and he beckoned to have some food handed over, of course he was obeyed. Calmly, he brought the food over to the tigress as she pulled herself up out of the water and then looked to the food. She looked to the lion in confusion and yet Tacitus passed the food over.

"It's just a little bit for now but it should help you out. Don't worry, you won't be thrown straight to work." Tacitus stated, watching her cautiously grasp the bowl of cheese and bread and some grapes and start to bring them to her mouth. She did it so slowly, just waiting for Tacitus to rip them out of her mouth, her hackles raised, tail wagging and her ears back as if ready to hiss. She looked practically feral and it was more than a surprise for Tacitus to see and understand the kind of abuse she'd gone through. Of course, he had to remind himself that this was the norm, she was property just like any pet and well, different owners had different ways of looking after animals. It saddened him as he took in a deep breath and then looked at his big brother with a scowl. "I've got such a bad feeling about all this."

"A bad feeling? What for?" The lynx scoffed in disbelief, rolling his eyes and clearly of the opinion that Tacitus was probably right as she shrugged his shoulders and strolled off. He gave a few grunts about how they should have just gone looking at some of the Germans that had been brought in and stuck around for it, but no... he'd had to buy a tiger for revenge! The lynx continued to stroll off as he continued and Ferox gave a soft and heavy snort too before then turning around to look at Tacitus whose eyes were wide in excitement.

"Germans? Aren't they supposed to be great spear throwers, hence the name?" Tacitus was patting his paws together looking very eager at the thought of it. He was very keen to have one of them on hand, there were not many out there in the arenas near the capital, most were further north with many of them not even slaves but recruited mercenaries. The thought there might have been some form some of those northern tribes in the auction saddened him greatly. "And... you couldn't even stay to look at them?"

"Tacitus, your fascination with spear throwers is ridiculous... there's not enough of the type of fights around here that even suit them. We're more for the proper sword users and even the tridents more than the beast fighters." Ferox bellowed softly, frustrated at the statements of the young lion although he remained sitting beside the tigress and soothing her. She was eating calmly and steadily, knowing not to go too fast and knowing too that Tacitus meant it when he said he would not hurt her. But Tacitus was ignoring him, just rolling his eyes and then giving a soft grunt.

"They're amazing to watch... we could always train one to do other things, they're highly trainable!" Tacitus chuckled in amusement, but then he was stretching out to stroke at the tigress. She lifted her head to him, looking a little cautious but for Tacitus stroking her cheek and patting her shoulder. He was looking to her with a gentle smile and then spoke very gently. "I'll take you to my sister Severina... she'll take you to get washed and have a room found and make sure your safe before you start working. Is that alright? You can say no if you'd rather be around my brother!"

Domitius watched with a slight grimace upon his face, not wanting to let his prize disappear from him just yet and yet utterly overwhelmed by compassion for her. He did not want to force anything from her and yet, there was that part of him that still burnt for revenge. He was not sure what to do, but she was nodding to Tacitus and he had not choice but to leave his brother to take her away as he sat there rubbing his forehead with a low growl.

Could he trust he wasn't going to hurt her?