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Requiem crossed his arms and looked flatly at Cindy, who glared back, muzzle crinkled in a distasteful snarl as their eyes met. The giant had to admit, her resolve was impressive... and then he finally shook his head and snorted, rolling his eyes as he said in a disgusted voice: "Fine. But if I come back inside and you've broken out of those chains again, I'm not feeding you for the rest of the week. And you're going to eat what I bring you for dinner, no complaints."

At this, the female looked mollified and nodded, smiling serenely, and the Dragokkaren muttered under his breath at the look. He knew what she was thinking... that she had just won a battle against him. And worst of all, he thought she was right... but he couldn't put up with her yelling at him anymore and he didn't want to hit her... it wouldn't be proper for him to strike a young, defenseless female that was of his own blood, after all. I should point out she's being rude to her great uncle... but that might set her off again. That and she's probably already realized the fact we're related.

"Sure. Just get me a burger and a cola, and I can eat a lot so don't worry about having to order anything small. Whatever you're having, I'll have." Cindy said mildly, looking up at Requiem as he began to turn. The Dragokkaren paused, however, then he turned back and looked down at her flatly, tilting his head slowly, and she frowned. "What?"

"What makes you think I'm picking up hamburger?" A pause, then a snort as he recrossed his arms, looking at her mildly. "Furthermore, what makes you think I'm going to buy you what you want me to?"

The female looked ruffled at best, as she struggled lightly against the chains binding her against the wooden pillar, the Drakkaren tilting her head upwards and snorting. "Well, excuse me all to hell for thinking you were going to pick up some food from Burger Season or something, since that'd be the easiest place to get something..."

"I was actually going to go out to a grocery store and pick up some actual food." Requiem replied stiffly, eyes narrowing a bit. "Burger Season? Give me a break. That's not even real meat... do you know how bad that stuff is for you? I'm surprised Zerrex even allows the filth in his house."

Cindy looked strangely hurt at this, glaring back at Requiem and pushing forwards against the chains already digging into her scales: he could see a bit of blood roll down one arm from where a rough link had probably dug through her scales, but she didn't seem to care as she said defensively: "Daddy takes us out for dinner at least once every two weeks, and that's one of my favourite restaurants! We always get the Hungry Hungry Combo, which is number five on the drive-through menu..."

"Oh my Gods..." Requiem muttered under his breath, closing his eyes and reaching up a hand to press against his forehead, and this was immediately met by Cherry yelling some profanity at him and causing the chains binding her to rattle as she bounced and attempted to break free.

After a few moments of this, the Dragokkaren threw up his hands, sighing and nodding. "Fine. Tomorrow I'll buy groceries and the rest of the things we need-"

"Like a flush toilet?" Cindy interrupted, glaring at the behemoth reptile, but Requiem rolled smoothly over her, ignoring her quick comment.

"And then I'll pick up some groceries. But fine. Tonight I'll buy you your stupid 'Hungry Hungry Combo.'" He finished disgustedly, then turned and picked up both his wallet and keys from the wooden table, heading over to the door with a snort.

"And Frost Cola! Extra large!" Cindy shouted at his back, as he left through the security door before slamming it loudly. She muttered under her breath as she heard the sound of the door being locked, before taking in a slow breath and closing her eyes, flexing her muscles against the chains and losing the aggressiveness she had played on to finally drive Requiem out.

She knew the giant wouldn't hit her... she even thought she knew why. In a way, he was much like her father, which scared her... but it was also weirdly comforting. That aside, however, he had a sense of honor and dignity he obviously didn't want to profane at any cost... even if it meant making certain negotiations and sacrifices when he didn't have to make any at all, being in complete control as he was. But she also didn't doubt that he could be as ruthless as he looked, and that if she failed to escape this time, she would almost certainly go without food for the rest of the week... and that would weaken her body and her own resolve.

"But he won't hurt me unless I give him a reason to... probably by trying to force my way out of here or doing something dumb like confronting him directly." The female muttered under her breath, closing her eyes as she continued to flex and relax her muscles against the chains: every time she did so, she could hear the rusted chains moving a bit, giving slightly away from the continued strain she had been putting on them. She knew that she could burst a rope with her strength... but she had never been chained up like this, in what seemed like such a sloppy manner with the way the chains had been locked in probably extremely weak... but it clamped her so tightly to the post she couldn't build up the power or momentum to simply snap them aside.

However, if she could break one coil, she'd have no problem with the other... and preferably, she could snap the bottom chain first. Then she'd just have to throw her arms out to hopefully shatter the broken links at the back of the top coil and shrug it off.

The female frowned a bit, muttering as she rocked back and forth a bit, tensing her body and breathing slowly, preparing herself. She knew what she'd have to do, and what her only chance of getting out of her likely was... but thinking about it anymore and all the things that could go wrong would drive her crazy. She had high hopes that Requiem would be stuck in traffic trying to get into town... and even if he went inside to pick up the food, the place she'd requested would be swarmed and the meal would take at least twenty minutes to be ready. A faint smile came to her features as she thought about her father, who had inspired the whole ruse from start to finish... who had always taught her to remember every little detail. "I wanna run up to you just like a little kid... and tell you everything I've done once this is over... I want to see you smile and be proud, Daddy."

Thoughts of Zerrex strengthened her resolve, and the female grit her teeth before pushing her body firmly back into the pillar of wood behind her, letting herself relax entirely before her eyes snapped open and she threw herself forwards, snarling, muscles bulging and body thrusted forwards as far as she could managed as she threw her arms out as hard as she could, legs bracing against the ground and her feet sliding back to push against the pole under her rump, forcing forwards and feeling the links of metal straining, straining...

Then the top set of links groaned and she felt them give away, several of the links snapping and flying in all directions from behind the post as the chain fell into her lap: the female Drakkaren half-tumbled forwards, letting out a short cry of surprise as she almost fell on her face - ironically, it was the chain around her waist that saved her, although it did give her a painful scrape along her wrists for her troubles. She halted, panting a bit and straightening quickly, then she snorted and wiggled a bit, the relief of the pressure around her upper body giving her a bit of a head rush.

Then she looked down at the other chain, moving a bit and finding that it felt looser, at least... and she pushed testingly forwards against it a bit, feeling it grinding up her waist and pressing into her firm abdominals as she glanced down and then snorted, muttering under her breath: "Gods. If I was Lone, then I'd just have to suck in my gut and I could probably slid right out of this chain here... but I bet Daddy would freak out on me if I dared to blasphemy about the six-pack it took so long for me to get." A pause, then she peered at the scuffs and cuts along her abs from the tight chain. "Not to say I'm not glad I have them right now. Never thought they were more than eye-candy until after Daddy put me on that training program..."

The female closed her eyes, relaxing her body back against the pillar again and rolling her shoulders slowly, bringing her arms in tight against her sides: then she paused for a moment before biting the end of her tongue lightly in concentration, slowly dragging her arms back against the pillar and pulling carefully upwards, causing the chain to jingle a bit as if in muttered protest before she had her hands safe and free. She winced at the scrapes and deep gouges from the chain roughly biting into her, then shook her head and reached down to grab the loose chain that was still tight enough around her waist to bind her loosely to the pole, grunting a bit as her muscles flexed before she felt the restraint finally give out, causing the female to jerk forwards a bit and her arms to pull up, either side of the now-broken ends of chain swinging back and forth before she tossed it aside, sighing and rubbing slowly at her arms as she slowly stood.

Cindy winced at the pins and needles playing through her legs, along with the general discomfort of standing after having been forced to sit on her ass against a hard floor for so long. She shook her head a bit, then moved her hands to lightly massage along her lower limbs for a few minutes, muttering quiet curses under her breath as she glanced around the once-sawmill. Despite her effort - and quasi-freedom - she still didn't feel much in the way of proud or rewarded yet. After all, she was still locked inside this picturesque prison with no obvious way out... and so now instead she turned towards the skeleton of wooden pillars and crossbars that supported the second floor... which looked like it was pretty much a balcony that led up to a third floor higher up. But right now she thought her only hope would be to get out onto the roof of the windmill and attempt to climb down somehow...

"But first I gotta make sure there's a way outside up there." She murmured to herself, then she gave her body a last stretch and shake before heading quickly over to where she thought a ladder or staircase must have once been - Requiem would have been amused at the fact she had come to the same conclusion as he once had. She paused, glancing over the way the supports linked and locked together before finally shrugging and reaching up to test one.

The wood was still firm and steady - whatever else, the sawmill had definitely been treated well and taken good care of. It would at least make her job getting up easier, and she felt her spirits lift a bit at this simple but pleasing fact, as she began to climb up to the second level: it was the work of a few moments for the tall female, and then she hefted herself up under the safety railing with a grunt, clawing for a moment at the dusty wood and failing to find purchase, but then throwing her weight forwards and managing to pull herself easily over the edge and onto the "second floor."

It wasn't quite a misnomer, but she thought it was damned close... most of this "floor" was just a walkway that went all the way around the interior of the sawmill, with one small platform at the back of the building: obviously, where the storage room was below. The open space had a few piles of debris and junk in it... but the only other thing of interest was a window that had a heavy steel shutter down the other side of it. Cindy paused for a moment as she studied this, however, then walked closer: then she simply sighed as she caught sight of the lever to open the window - it had been snapped off and jammed by some kind of weird, solidified substance. Her best guess was that it was either some kind of concrete or resin used to help keep some of the pieces of furniture together.

She shook her head a bit, then turned and headed towards the end of the walkway: here, at least, they hadn't bothered to remove what looked like a rickety set of stairs. Cindy winced slightly as she stepped on the first and felt it creak under her foot... but then, after testing it for a few moments, she decided it was safe and made her way quickly up the staircase. The stairs held her weight, but she was still glad to make it to the short walkway that connected to a wider, more open area.

Cindy glanced around as she walked down the short catwalk and stepped onto the solid hardwood flooring of the upper level: glancing up, she could see there was still a good distance to the roof... and her heart leapt as she noticed a ladder connecting to what looked almost like a metal hatch. She smiled slightly, but then decided to take her time, glancing back at the mostly-empty area in front of her. After all... she reasoned, it would really suck to miss the lever that opened that thing or a key or something.

The female made a slight face as she walked slowly along the firm flooring, glancing around the platform she stood on: three sides connected to the walls, and then on the side that was open to the area below, a safety railing had been put up - this, however, was rotting and old by now. She frowned a bit at this, then turned away and instead studied the floor and wall: why anyone would leave something like that open and floorless, she had no idea... it just seemed so damn unsafe to her.

This area, however, was like the one below... it had two large windows that spanned most of the entire wall, but these were both shuttered and barred from the inside, and Cindy couldn't even see how they opened even after carefully searching the walls. Then she sighed before heading to the ladder, taking a hold on it and testing the rusting metal.

Some flecks of grit came off, but otherwise the ladder seemed stable enough: Cindy nodded to herself, then she began to climb, wincing at the fact it had been placed somewhat close to the edge of the platform and not liking the almost slimy feel of flakes of metal coming off in her hands, either. It didn't take her long to reach the top, however, and the Drakkaren quickly reached up, settling a hand on the valve that opened the metal hatch. She attempted to turn it, then cursed at the fact it was locked.

The female was about to start down, feeling strangely bitter, then she stopped and frowned, instead leaning forwards a bit to examine the hatch closer: a moment later she let out a sigh of relief, reaching behind the valve and wiping cobwebs from a rusting lever that had been camouflaged against the aged metal, and there was a loud squeak and click as whatever locking system held the valve closed gave away. Cindy let out a murmur of triumph, then once more put her hand on the valve and turned, gritting her teeth at the strength it took and the bits of rust and metal that pattered down onto her features.

After several turns of the heavy wheel, however, the hatch popped up with a gasp of air, and Cindy pushed firmly against the valve as she leaned a bit higher up the ladder, grunting quietly and throwing the hatch open. Rusted hinges groaned, dust and flakes of metal pattered down from the hatch, and then it swung heavily upwards and Cindy lifted herself up through hole, blinking in the lowering light.

Of course it had been darker inside... the only light came from the small windows that dotted the walls of the windmill, and as she'd climbed higher it had gotten duskier, with the larger ones shuttered... but she hadn't realized how late it was until she had actually escaped the interior of the sawmill. Now she pulled herself up onto what was almost a small balcony, walking quietly over to a metal handrail that went around the small square lookout and gazing at the horizon with a soft sigh. The sun setting behind distant hills, the colors of the sky, the flickering wisps of cloud... it all looked so beautiful. The view of the valley and city in the distance almost made it worthwhile, as she turned her gaze around the lookout, smiling faintly to herself, until she finally faced towards the sloping wall that had once had a steel door in it but now instead was sealed by concrete, which likely led into the windmill's more complex mechanics and inner workings. She thought it was amazing it had continued to work all these years without anyone taking care of it... and then she glanced quietly up as one of the gigantic, rectangular arms passed slowly by, awed a bit by the fact that the wind itself could be turning something so huge with so little effort.

Then she paused and turned around, to face the back of the building, frowning slightly and leaning forwards a bit over the edge. She winced at the fall, then paused a moment and tilted her head as she carefully leaned a bit further forwards: she hadn't noticed on the inside, but the building's walls were slightly sloped instead of going straight up and down, and they had what was almost a strangely-layered look: like one board had been piled atop another. The result was that there was an outcrop that encircled the windmill every now and then, and Cindy was fairly sure that in a worst case scenario, she could simply slide down the windmill, grabbing hold of the pushed-out sections every so often to keep herself from falling free and stopping herself from sliding too fast.

"And once I'm at around twenty feet... I shouldn't have to worry about hurting myself too badly from falling." she murmured, but winced and rubbed the back of her head slowly. Zerrex had trained her and taught her one of the most important things to recognize was the idea of "belief over reality," and that the laws of physics and nature scientists and so many people always prattled on about were not as omnipotent and unchanging as they liked to preach. After all, if they were... most of civilization would be dead by now from a combination of poisons, weather, starvation, and warfare.

Of course, with her father, it was never enough to simply state a point: next, it had to be demonstrated or proven. And so one day Zerrex had taken her to the Mayor's Estate, and brought her up to the roof: he had led her to one of the lower overhangs near the back - still more than three floors up - and pointed at the ground: solid concrete and marble surrounding a gleaming, massively-oversized pool. She remembered that a servant had been sweeping around the pool area while Lone had been sunbathing, naked but for a pair of tight shorts, a pair of sunglasses jammed over his head, some book in his hands, and seated in a lawn chair that looked like it was suffering a slow torture from the heavy lupine's body as he rested beneath the shade of a beach umbrella. Zerrex had pointed down to the ground, then said softly: "What do you think would happen if someone jumped from here and hit the concrete?"

"They'd go splat?" Cindy tilted her head, rubbing slowly at her shoulder, arms crossed: that day, she had been dressed in a bikini, because Lone had invited them over to go swimming: Zerrex had just decided to take the time to wander up to the roof before meeting the wolf poolside. He'd been sour most of the time, not really wanting to spend more time than he had to with Lone... but at Cindy's comment, he smiled slightly, and she couldn't help her own smile in return.

"Yeah. Pretty much." Zerrex said idly, then he turned towards the edge, and - to Cindy's horror - had simply jumped off: for a moment, time seemed to freeze, the powerfully-built reptile suspended in the air, and then he was falling. The next thing she knew, her father hit the concrete, landing in a crouch near the wolf and causing Lone to shriek, throwing his book into the air and trying to push himself away, sunglasses askew on his muzzle as the chair gave a whine of protest before finally snapping under the wolf's weight and clamping shut on him, making the wolf look like some mutant pearl inside a half-assed clam as he flailed and yelled.

The tall male Drakkaren, meanwhile, merely stood and brushed his chest off lightly, stepping backwards and glancing down at the cracks he'd left in the concrete before crossing his arms and looking up at his daughter: she thought even from her position high above that she could see the grin on his features, but it may just have been a trick of her racing heart.

For a few moments, they merely looked at each other, as the servant who had been brushing around the pool ran over to try and dislodge the wolf from his 'prison,' and then Cindy had finally yelled down at the reptile in a voice that was tinged with frustration, exasperation, and a bit of concern: "Why the hell would you do something like that!"

"To remind you that the rules don't always apply to us that do to everyone else." Zerrex had called back, then he'd smiled slightly and slowly opened his arms, and Cindy had blinked and reared back a bit as her father had asked in a soft but carrying voice: "Do you trust me?"

Cindy's answer had been simple: she'd grit her teeth, then, before she could hesitate, she'd leapt forwards over the edge and closed her eyes tightly, arms crossing over her body and legs curling up a bit. A sensation of vertigo, of being grabbed and yanked hard down by gravity, swam through her as she felt her body twisting a bit in midair, and then she'd grunted as a pair of strong arms caught her, dropping with her for a few moments as her body shook with the impact before she felt herself dragged up and cradled tight against a muscular, powerful body.

In the present, the female Drakkaren smiled at the sky at this memory, closing her eyes and breathing out a soft sigh. Her hands settled on the safety railing and squeezed the metal bars tightly before she lowered her head, eyes slowly reopening to gaze down at the ground below... and this time, it was without fear. "The result of training and experience... is the ability to distort reality to our own needs, in Daddy's words... I know I can't do all the things he can yet... but I know I can escape from here." She stopped, then laughed a bit and touched her own stomach, glancing down before nodding firmly and heading back to the open hatch and to the ladder. But I also know not to put too much faith in the intangible... and instead help myself out as much as I can. And I bet there's still some chains or rope long and durable enough to get me a good way down the side of the windmill before I have to chance a slide or jump.

She nodded at this, then headed quickly back to the ladder and winced slightly as she realized the sun was going down faster now... and that the interior of the windmill was even darker than before. As she climbed quickly back down to the third floor, she realized she'd have to be more careful... but also that the darkness could give her a slight advantage with Requiem. Thankfully, her eyes were already adjusting, at least... yet there was still a definite feeling of impatience as she worked her way back towards the ground floor, finally deciding to simply jackknife the railing around the second floor catwalk.

Luck, however, turned against her for the moment: as she pushed down on the safety rail and tried to kick over it, the rotted wood gave out and a good portion of railing collapsed: Cindy let out a half-shriek as she tumbled forwards instead of neatly hopping over the wooden guard as expected, and then she landed on her back with a grunt of pain, stars exploding in front of her eyes as chunks of wood pattered off the ground around her. After a few moments of simply laying prone, she finally sat up, reaching up a hand to rub slowly at her head and closing her eyes tightly as pain seared her body. She rubbed her back slowly, and then brought her hand in front of her face as she felt something sticky and wet on it: she was unsurprised to find it was covered in blood, and she let out a quiet curse before standing shakily. Part of her wanted to do what the old Cindy would do... which was sit here and cry and wish that Zerrex was here to bandage her up and make her all better.

Her muzzle twitched a bit, eyes watering slightly as she looked down, then she swallowed the lump in her throat and shook her head violently, muttering angrily to herself: "No, don't you dare. Don't you dare."

"Don't you dare what?" asked a droll voice, and Cindy gasped before looking up, startled and horrified as she realized the security door was open, and finally spotting Requiem, who was standing just inside and looking at her with mild distaste... but was that also some strange species of compassion on his face. For a few moments, they only looked at each other, then the huge Dragokkaren held up the two large paper bags he had in one hand and the tray of cola in the other - even the extra large-size cups looked ridiculously small compared to him, however. "Would you like to eat your last meal at the table before I have to chain you back up?"

"Uh..." Cindy merely looked at the crimson-scaled giant for a few moments, but a glance at his ice-blue eyes confirmed that he was serious. He also looked calm... and although she hadn't exactly expected him to go into a fit of rage at finding her possibly gone or like she was now, humiliated and in the middle of an escape attempt... she also hadn't expected that he'd take things... well... so peacefully and in stride. "I uh... guess so." A pause, then she realized she might as well try her luck as she rubbed the back of her head slowly, coughing and flushing as she glanced down quietly. "Can you uh. Take a look at my back later, too?"

Requiem looked at her mildly, glanced up at the broken railing, then he returned his gaze to her as he walked over to one of the wooden tables, setting the food down on it before he turned to one of his suitcases and nodded. "I will. There's no reason to make you suffer needlessly... can you go and get chairs for us to sit in? I expect there's more than the one you broke over my head earlier."

This made the female blush a bit, then she nodded and turned towards the storage room. She couldn't resist a frown and glance over her shoulder at the Dragokkaren, however, once more finding herself a bit puzzled by his actions and odd sense of politeness, before finally shrugging slowly. She couldn't deny the fact that he was interesting, sure... but she still thought that it wouldn't be tears of sorrow she'd be shedding once her father did finally kick the giant Dragokkaren's ass.

She muttered a bit to herself as she entered the storeroom, then pushed her way through the chains to pick up a pair of chairs, purposefully grabbing one of the unfinished, warped-looking ones for her captor and taking the nicer for herself, then she headed back out into the main room and towards the table, feeling faint entertainment at the fact that the Dragokkaren had produced an oil lamp from inside his luggage and had already lit it. Now he was adjusting the small valve on the side, and it made her think of the open hatch above... but she decided to keep her mouth closed on that as she dropped one chair and hefted the other easily to toss it over the table at the Dragokkaren. "Catch!"

Requiem rose one large hand and easily snagged the chair out of the air, without bothering to look up from the receipt he was examining in the light of the oil lamp. Cindy blinked, slightly put-off by the reflexes of the giant - and disappointed he hadn't so much as twitched - and then he put the piece of paper down and muttered under his breath: "Idiots shortchanged me."

"You should go back and complain." Cindy responded immediately, sitting primly in her chair and crossing her arms and legs, then she reached out and snagged one of the paper bags, pulling out the paper-wrapped hamburgers and box of fries that were inside before glancing up at the Dragokkaren mildly, as he frowned at her. "What?"

"I'm not an idiot." he replied mildly, then picked up his own bag of food and emptied it as well: Cindy was amused to note he'd apparently gotten the same, and what looked like some sort of salad with a packet of dressing taped to the top. The Dragokkaren pulled this off of the clear-plastic lid of the container first, looking at the glob of white sauce inside the packet, then his muzzle contorted in disgust. "Besides. All this 'food' is just a waste of money, anyway. No reason to make a big deal out of a few lost quarters."

Cindy rolled her eyes at this as she began to unwrap one of her burgers, leaning back in the chair as Requiem sat down, his immense bulk balanced precariously on the small chair. "You know, I work as a waitress down at a local bar, Elliot's. And it didn't take me long to learn that if everyone tipped me a quarter, I'd have a better pay by the end of the week than if I got the regular ten-fifteen percent from some, twenty from the big tippers, and nothing from everyone else. Little things add up." A pause, and then she snorted as Requiem poked at one of the burgers with one large digit. "Or is the giant scared?"

"Money doesn't matter." The Dragokkaren responded mildly, then glanced up at Cindy's snort, giving her a flat look. "And no. I'm not just saying that because I obviously have plenty of it. Ironically, my will states that all my money goes to the closest living relative... that means either Zerrex, or, if I kill him, you."

Cindy blinked, starting a bit at that and glancing up at the Dragokkaren with a frown and a look of obvious confusion, one of the large hamburgers lifted halfway to her mouth and dripping ketchup on the wooden table. "What the hell? That's... retarded."

The word came out quiet, though, as Cindy struggled for a moment with both the quiet gaze of the behemoth and another example of the same strange honor as her father held. Then she quickly shook her head, hating how easy it was to compare this polite but brutal giant to Zerrex, before another thought struck her and she frowned quietly. "But wait... that means there's no one else in the entire Narrius family?"

Requiem nodded, putting aside the packet of dressing he had been playing with and opening his salad, then picking up the plastic fork that had been provided for him in the bottom of the paper bag. "My brother and I were raised in a land to the far south of here... back then it was called Hez'Ranna. Ifret... Narrius, as he preferred to be called, since only the family mattered to him and he himself was the vanguard of our noble name-"

Cindy snorted in disgust at this, then took a deep bite of her burger and chewed as she glared at Requiem, who paused in his speech to glance at her and tilt his head slowly, waiting for her to speak. But she shook her head a bit and only continued to eat, jerking her head: she decided it would be wiser to listen to whatever story the Dragokkaren had to say instead of attacking him right away. After all, she knew nothing of her own bloodline and past, except that she had been born through a rape that had cut short her mother's travels of the world... and that she had nonetheless come to love her father more than anything or anyone else, despite the fact she had studied his brutal past in the Goth Legion and knew all the terrible things he had done. Strangely, though, there was security in the knowledge of the terrors and atrocities he had committed... but at the same time, he had never spoken of his past, and there was no diary or log-book that existed that she could read to find out about his birthplace or parents.

Requiem was her best chance for information... so she'd have to swallow the disgust she felt and the anger at how the huge male spoke of her father's father. From the few times Zerrex had mentioned him, she'd gotten the idea that Narrius himself had never been a father figure or good person in any light... and her father never, ever spoke of his past for very long, only mentioning it in passing or forcing out a few words or almost clipped summary when he was trying to talk about something with Cherry.

The Dragokkaren eyed her watchfully for a few moments longer, then he shrugged slowly and continued to speak in his calm, pleasant voice: it was almost terrifying how easy he was to listen to. "My brother was ten years older than I was... he was born in the jungle, and grew up more a child of the local tribes than my parents. He learned strength there... I, on the other hand, was born in the city." He glanced down, as if ashamed for whatever strange reason, and then Cindy felt a faint stirring of sympathy at his next words, despite whatever resentments she harboured. "My parents didn't want me, so they gave me away. An unofficial adoption, I suppose you could say... I grew up with them, but still was able to spend most of my days growing up with my big brother.

"Living in the city was no different than the jungle... that's what brother often said. You just called rival tribes 'gangs' or 'communities,' and instead of feral beasts you just had to avoid far-stupider police officers and do-gooders. Just like the jungle, you pray to vicious gods who give as they will and take away on the same whim... and you always fought for your life." Requiem nodded again, then he tried to lean back in the chair before wincing a bit as the back of it dug into him, once more leaning forwards against the table and pausing only a moment to eat a bit of his salad.

Then he put his fork down again, and continued to speak, Cindy's own eating slowing as she listened intently. "At the age of four, my 'parents' kicked me out. I lived on the streets, and my brother taught me that, as in the jungle... you had to fight to survive. That it was nothing major..." And now, Cindy thought she caught the barest flicker of resentment in his eyes, and a hint of bitterness in his voice. "So I learned to fight... to survive on my own without the help of others. When I was seven, I found out that my birth parents had died in an accident, and Narrius was living on his own in their home and off the wealth they had made. He took me in... and I was able to enjoy the comfort of my real birthplace as I ran jobs for Narrius for the next few years. I was still a child, after all... so the police wouldn't stop and search me, but gangs and others wouldn't touch me either. Even at eight, I was already as strong as your average adult male and I also had the protection of my brother. Narrius truly put fear into everyone's hearts..." He laughed dryly. "Myself included. Which is why I made sure never to fail in my delivery missions, be it drugs, firearms, or other weapons-"

"Wait, at eight? Your brother was using you to mule shit like that at that young an age, and you still look up to him?" Cindy said incredulously, dropping her hamburger and staring at Requiem, who looked back with slight surprise. The female felt herself shaking with anger, not at the giant before her but instead at the long-dead older brother. To her, it was terrible... that this one male had caused both her father and the behemoth before her so much pain, although the latter had obviously been ensnared by shackles of admiration and even brotherly love.

But the giant shook his head a bit and laughed quietly, tilting his head. "The city was hell. I wanted to earn my keep... and Narrius was kind enough to give me a job and let me live with him in our parents' home, despite the fact he had no obligation to and I had been little more than a street urchin he visited as time would allow." A pause, and then Cindy softened as Requiem looked down at the table, his hands clenching into the wood.

She knew he wasn't stupid... despite how ridiculous he sounded when he spoke as he did. So she thought that he was still fighting some inner conflict between the love and need to honor a brother who was scum... and simply accepting and recognizing that Narrius had been nothing less than vile. She hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something... and then Requiem cleared his throat and looked up and continued the story, cutting her off smoothly before she could say anything. "In any case, I did jobs as I could for Narrius. I continued to exercise and train my body, this time with my brother's guidance... and as I grew older, I was able to take on more difficult jobs and earn my keep and money in different ways. We still had the family wealth that had been accumulated over the years... but Narrius insisted that we not be lazy and instead keep ourselves going on our own feet, as much as we could.

"That, and it was a good way to gain power in the region... to intimidate, and prove ourselves the dominant in our chosen craft. I began to join Narrius in the dogfighting pits around the city, crushing enemy competition... and using the fear of our raw power we put into people to take control of different gangs and areas. Narrius was only interested in power, after all... but Hez'Ranna was too small a place for his tastes. So instead we moved across the sea, away from the jungle after more than thirty years of work... and took up residence in the city of Valise.

"We lived there for quite a while... my brother bought a mansion and once more we began to spread our influence... or rather, Narrius's influence. After all, the plans were always his... the work always what he wanted to do." Requiem laughed dryly at this, and again Cindy thought she heard the flicker of bitterness there. "I was happy with the fighting opportunities that presented themselves... more than pleased with the tournaments I found I could enter and the variety of martial arts circles the city offered. But while I indulged and trained, big brother took over the police force... first becoming an officer, then quickly ascending to the rank of Commander through blackmail, bribery, fear and talent.

"Of course, even Narrius had his weaknesses... one day, he met a beautiful and very sweet Drakkaren named Celestial." Requiem paused, then he suddenly stopped and looked down silently for a few moments. Cindy frowned slightly at the sudden change in demeanor, then tilted her head as Requiem's voice became almost dry and mechanical, going suddenly from telling a story with ease to merely summarizing facts. "They were married, and had a child... your father. Zerrex spent much of his life growing up in a much smaller town a few hours away, where Celestial lived. Narrius lived on and off at the Estate and with his wife at her home... and one day Celestial died as a result of a car accident. Zerrex never forgave his father, and continued to live at his 'home' in Ridgemark under the supervision of a few caretakers and trainers that Narrius hired. He spent the summer and winter holidays with his father, at the mansion, and occasionally took short hiatuses from school when Narrius wished to see him. When I was away at a fighting tournament, Zerrex managed to somehow ambush his father in the night and slit his throat."

Requiem looked down again at the table, then he pushed his uneaten meal away and instead grabbed a cola from the tray, taking a sip from it, and Cindy frowned slightly. She had the distinct impression that something had happened with Zerrex's mother that he didn't want to talk about... and her father had never, ever mentioned Celestial except on rare occasion, and he always looked strangely haunted afterwards. But she let it go as the Dragokkaren put down his cola and once more began to speak in calmer tones: "Celestial had no brothers or sisters, either... so both the DePriese and Narrius bloodlines live on only in two people, and that's yourself and Zerrex. Therefore, the only family I can leave my assets to are yourself and my nephew, and I'm well aware that Zerrex will split his fortunes equally with yourself and your mother if he is the one to receive it."

Cindy smiled a bit at the Dragokkaren, once more recognizing he wasn't omnipotent after all as she nodded, then paused a moment before deciding to go ahead with it; he had been honest enough with her about his family, after all. "You do realize Cherry isn't actually my mother, right?"

Requiem blinked, looking somewhat surprised as he tilted his head and frowned slightly. "But I found the marriage certificate... it was one of the ways I managed to trace them this far. And you were listed as the child of the marriage..."

"Adopted. I guess you missed the fine print... or maybe they just didn't wanna mess around with Daddy long enough to write down that I was his but not Cherry's blood." The female glanced down and laughed softly, then she looked back up as she finished off her first burger, chewing reflectively for a few moments as Requiem continued to look at her mildly. Then she swallowed and finally stated in her best just-the-facts voice: "I was born from Daddy raping my blood mother, who was killed in this town quite a number of years ago now."

This time she wasn't disappointed, and found another faint stirring of quiet amusement and strange sympathy for the goliath as he reacted in the same way as everyone else did: he blinked, looked hesitant, glanced down, then merely sat there uncomfortably for a few moments before finally clearing his throat and reaching for his salad, beginning to eat - mostly as an excuse to avoid fumbling with any words. Cindy smiled faintly at this: she had long ago gotten over how she'd been born, and the inner conflict that had twisted her up so long at the deep love she'd always held in her very soul for her father... despite how he'd managed to become her father. "It's okay... it's... Dad is a wonderful person. Despite what he says, or anything he's done... I believe in him, and that he's good inside." She stopped, then glanced down as she began to unwrap her other burger. "I don't think you're a bad guy yourself, Requiem. I'm... I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot."

Once more, Requiem looked at her with surprise, his blue eyes curious... then he nodded a bit and put his fork down, once more pushing away the salad but now picking up one of the hamburgers. "I am myself, and I'd also like to apologize for whatever I have to do in the future." A pause, then a bit of a shrug and quiet laugh. "Both of us are bound by our loyalties to someone the other might see as... someone less than likeable." Another pause, then a bit of a smile. "Although I've never truly disliked my nephew, to be honest."

"Nah... he's hard to hate if you really get to know him." Cindy replied softly, then the two ate in silence for a short time, finishing their meal: Requiem left a burger and about half his fries unfinished, putting them into a thermal bag he kept in his luggage to store meals while he travelled to save for later, then he dug through his suitcases and produced a small first aid kit, holding it up and looking at the female questioningly.

Cindy reached back and touched her back gently: it was no longer bleeding, but it still hurt like hell and she was admittedly worried a bit about infection... although it sometimes got her scoffed at by her parents, she did have a lot of concern over even the smallest of cuts if they came from something that could be carrying one of many different kinds of nasty bacteria... Not my fault I haven't been exposed to every biowarfare chemical on the planet... ugh. One of them's probably going to die of something stupid like stepping on a nail one day because they think they can just laugh it off... "Yeah... um... thanks."

Requiem nodded, then he walked around the table, moving the oil lamp to cast a clearer light on her back as Cindy turned around and shifted uncomfortably, gripping her knees and bending forwards a bit. She was painfully aware that the huge Dragokkaren was not only her captor, but that now he had her totally vulnerable and was currently examining her back to check for wounds... and then she winced a bit, stiffening up as his fingers moved over her: he was oddly gentle, but it was too easy to imagine all the things the huge male could do if he wanted...

The Dragokkaren, thankfully, seemed to recognize this, so instead of asking her to calm down or saying anything else stupid, he merely went about his work, opening the medical kit with his other hand and lightly starting to dab antiseptic on the wounds, making Cindy hiss through her teeth and mutter a variety of creative obscenities she had learned from Cherry. She tried her best not to fidget or pull away, however, even as she felt him probing a finger at one of her wounds and a series of small, quick pains she thought was him poking the cotton ball - or whatever the hell he was using to dab the accursed cleaning stuff on her - along a wound... before he stopped, and she heard the distinct sound of snapping thread as Requiem said mildly: "You should be good now. You had a deep gouge in your back. I just sewed it closed."

"You... what?" Cindy blinked, reaching a hand back... and she did indeed feel a series of neat, tight stitches as she stared incredulously at the Dragokkaren, who was putting away a needle and black thread back into the medical case. "The fuck!"

"Well, I said I'd take care of your wounds. And I doubt it hurt that much, did it?" Requiem asked absently, obviously already knowing the answer. Then he paused and shrugged, looking down at her evenly. "If I'd stopped to tell you I was stitching you up, I'm sure you would have freaked out and whined through the whole thing-"

"Hey, kiss my ass!" Cindy snarled immediately in return, reaching up and snaring the Dragokkaren's collar and jerking his head down a bit, causing the giant to look somewhat surprised - with him, even a feat as simple as that took strength, and it looked like the female Drakkaren hadn't even had to exert herself. "Daddy's stitched me up before, and I don't whine! I was just... surprised. That's all."

She snorted, then released the tall reptile's shirt and crossed her arms, looking back and forth moodily. Requiem straightened, then he brushed his shirt off lightly before pausing and reaching down to gently take one of her arms, pulling it easily loose and out to the side, making Cindy half-glare up at him... then his eyes moved over her body, and he asked plainly: "Do you want me to take care of the rest of these?"

The Drakkaren opened her mouth to say no... but the then thought of the rusty chains digging into her and passing on Gods-knew-what kind of toxins and poisons and bacteria and diseases made her shudder and wince, jerking her arm free and rubbing her head slowly. Much as she loved Elliot, he was a clean freak... and from all her work with him, she had picked up some of his somewhat-irrational fears. But then she went with her original idea, instead recrossing her arms and responding evenly: "I'm alright, thanks."

Requiem glanced down at her, then he merely shrugged and nodded, putting away the medical kit before getting up and - to her amazement - leaving the sawmill. She was left dumbfounded for a moment, but by the time she realized she could at least attempt to make a run for it through the open door, the Dragokkaren had returned and now closed the door behind him... and Cindy couldn't help but laugh faintly as she saw what he carried in one hand. "You expected me to escape, didn't you?"

"I would have been disappointed otherwise." Requiem's muzzle quirked with the faintest of smiles as he rose the wooden wheel he'd brought in: wrapped around and around it was a polished steel chain, made of small, close-fitting links. Cindy guessed there was over a hundred feet worth there... and she would have been unsurprised to find out Requiem had simply bought the whole three hundred feet available at the hardware store he'd stopped in and taken the storage wheel with it. His next statement, however, did startle her: "You're truly Zerrex's daughter."

She simply sat facing him for a moment, looking over the table at him quietly... then she quickly lowered her head, wiping at her eyes with a wrist and managing a broken: "Thank you..." at the swell of pride and sudden longing she felt. She trembled a bit... and Requiem gave her a moment to recover herself before he walked around the table and gently grasped her shoulder, pulling her lightly to her feet before guiding her over to the pillar.

Cindy sat down willingly, swallowing a bit as she sat in the same familiar position, once more with her back against the heavy wooden log... and then Requiem dropped to a kneel as he began to unwind the chain. He draped the first length over her lap, then began to circle the pillar again and again, the chain forming a layer over her that slowly built higher and higher, until he finally stopped and put the wheel down behind the log; grasping the other end of the chain, he pulled a single metal spike out of his pocket. Then he pulled both the end of the chain and the other side leading into the wheel tight, before sliding the spike through the link at either end and finally shoving the spike forwards and burying it into the thick wood of the pillar, effectively locking the chain in place.

The female winced and struggled a bit, then she glanced down at herself and laughed faintly: the Dragokkaren was no longer underestimating her, that much was certain. Over a third of the available chain formed a tight blanket that went from her waist to her shoulders, and held her fast against the log without being too tight... tight enough she couldn't shift very easily or slid free, but loose enough she'd have to throw herself forwards to push against the majority of the chain. And this time she'd heard Requiem pound something into the other end of the log, probably through the links to hold the chain in place... but even without that, there was the same concept as with the rope she'd earlier slipped free of. From the sheer amount wrapped around her, and the way it constricted her... it would still be a hell of a fight to get free even without whatever was holding it in place.

Requiem walked in front of her, looking down at her with his massive, muscular arms crossed... but Cindy looked back up at him bravely, with the faintest of smiles on her face and her eyes narrowed. You don't even know it... but you gave me exactly what I needed to hear to not give up hope... "I'm going to break out of this, too, you know. And if I do, you gotta promise me something."

The Dragokkaren tilted his head, once more finding himself impressed by the female's show of courage - it wasn't theatrical, nor was it forced... it was just there. He liked that... but he kept his face and eyes impassive as he tilted his head. "What's that?"

"No more tying me to this goddamn pillar. You can chain me up on a leash or put manacles on me or whatever, but this is starting to hurt my back and I'm sick of my legs falling asleep." Cindy answered, as she fidgeted a bit in the chains to test how far she could lean to either side. Requiem merely looked at her with what she thought was faint entertainment, and she couldn't help snorting and shrugging as she continued to meet his eyes evenly, before finally saying mildly: "And get me a bucket or something. I don't want to smell like pee when Daddy rescues me."

Requiem rolled his eyes, then he turned and shook his head, walking over to the wooden table they had eaten at earlier and glancing around for a book to read to pass the time while the female struggled against her new bindings... but nonetheless considering her requests.

Zerrex sat on the couch, Cherry's arms around his neck and her body pressed tight against him as he held her quietly to his body, the female laying along the length of the furnishing as she rested her head against the muscular chest of the reptile. They still hadn't gotten around to talking much... they'd come home, had a hard workout that left the reptile's entire body aching, and showered together - for once, though, they'd both been too exhausted to bother with anything more sexual than Cherry soaping up his member and rinsing it off for him while muttering about how it was like washing a boneless arm or leg on a normal person.

Then they'd had a sparse dinner of sandwiches and curled up together in the living room... and the male Drakkaren was starting to feel drowsy and strangely lonely despite the company of his wife. He wanted Cindy... he wanted to hold her, and feel her against his body... he missed her in a way he didn't want to admit. And, from Cherry's quiet behavior, he thought she did too... although she didn't want to admit how much she'd grown to love and care for the Drakkaren who'd become her daughter in more than just name.

Then the female opened one eye and looked up at Zerrex as he gazed back down at her softly, and she finally asked a question in a voice that expressed a tone the Drakkaren didn't know the female had: meekness. "Do you want to tell me that story you promised earlier?"

Zerrex thought for a moment about saying no... about all the ways he could change the subject, which ranged from hitting her to kissing her to grabbing her crotch... but then he finally nodded quietly instead, realizing that it would probably be better for them both if they could just learn to talk about their goddamn feelings like Cindy was always trying to do. And at the thought of her, their beautiful darling child, everything became a bit easier and Zerrex laughed faintly, tilting his head upwards as he hugged Cherry against his chest and she returned the tight embrace around his neck, sitting up a bit in his lap and curling closer to his scarred, masculine chest. "Yeah. I... I guess I should..."

He closed his eyes, sorting his thoughts for a few moments, letting the silence spiral out... and when he opened his mouth, he had no idea what he was going to say, but suddenly the words were simply coming to him, and all he needed to do was let his mind float and visualize the memories... the things he had tried so hard to repress and hide from, to bury in him and kill with violence and sate with bloodlust. It had never worked, though... but as he spoke, as he went back to those days in the past, as he began to open up and let himself flow not just along the story he meant to tell but all the other tangents of his past that went with it, it felt like finally he was starting to put the dead to rest.

"I... when I was a kid, I lived with my mother, Celestial, for most of the year... although during summers and... holidays and stuff... I usually went to my... my father's mansion, and lived with him... they weren't divorced or anything, it was... just the way they lived..."