Slave Trade - Stalling Tactics
Slave Trade Stalling Tactics copyright 2012 comidacomida
Sidney awoke just as the first golden rays of the morning inched their way across his face. They shined down on him from a small hole in the wall just above head-height on the opposite side of the stables. Out of the many number of ways the fox had been awakened during his life, it was one of the more pleasant... until he moved.
Biting back a groan, Sidney rolled over onto his side as his muscles objected to any activity. The blast of Sardassi power that had been transferred through Tharis into him was bad enough, but the after effects of the lengthy clean-up session of the work shed was that much worse. He felt it all astutely as his muscles twitched and spasmed from the intervening hours of disuse, and it took him several seconds to shake his limbs back into obedience. Only then did the fox give himself a once-over.
"Ugh..." the Slave Master acknowledged with displeasure as he realized that, despite his cleaning of the work shed, he had not cleaned himself; straw stuck haphazardly to the dried fluids all over the front of his hips, "Oh, you stupid fox," he berated himself, "you NEVER go to bed without--" but he paused in his self-directed rant as he heard the sound of others in the stables stirring. Sidney glanced to where he'd deposited his loincloth and he didn't have to turn it over to predict that it was probably just as filthy as his groin.
"Maern." the fox called quietly.
"Sid-ney." he heard the stallion's powerful voice from the next stall; despite Maern speaking in a low tone the horse's voice carried quite well in the otherwise quiet stable. The sounds of morning activities stalled when the slaves realized that their Slave Master was awake, and Sidney took several seconds to collect himself and plan his next words.
He confirmed him plan to himself, and put it into motion, "Maern... get one of the spare barrels and collect some water from the irrigation pool."
The sound of Maern's large form rising was unmistakable "Yes, Sid-ney." The fox clearly heard the sound of the stallion heading out but, before the door opened, there was the tell-tale scrape of wood on dirt as Maern took the indicated barrel with him.
The Slave Master continued with his plan, "Dorias."
"Aye, Slave Master?" the yak acknowledged.
"Get a fire started, please." the fox requested, then added, "Uraou?"
The bear's pause before responding was only momentary, "Aye, Slave Maste'?"
"Find the cauldron and get it ready for water." Sidney directed.
"Aye." Uraou acknowledged, and, by then, there was enough activity within the stables that Sidney wasn't able to track everyone by the sounds they made any longer.
"Breakfast gruel with water from the irrigation pool... sounds... tasty." Choel's voice was unmistakable in its casual tone.
"It's for bathing." Sidney countered. He remembered just then after the sound of several chuckles, that he was the Slave Master and they were the slaves; the fox wasn't required to explain his orders to them. Sidney heard them murmur amongst one another, and the loud clunk of a metal caudron being put in place let the fox know his orders were being followed.
"We'll have breakfast after everyone is clean." Sidney explained, remaining low in his stall to avoiding any questions about his lack of hygiene. He tried reminding himself again that he owed them no explanations, but, having spent years as a sex slave, being poorly groomed was one of the few things that would actually embarrass him, "For now, we'll all be using THIS water for bathing."
"Good thing too, Choel..." Uraou's chiding tone was obvious, "Sour water'd only make your sour personality worse, mate."
"Uraou, help Maern bring the water." Sidney stated, "Choel, help Dorias with the fire," he added, cutting short what he figured would be another argument between the bear and the tiger; he didn't have a lot of experience being around posturing, which meant that he realized he'd be hard pressed to figure out when it was innocent and harmless or when it was going to turn into something less benign.
Less than two minutes later, the fox heard the unmistakable popping and crackling of a good sized fire going. He listened quietly as the yak explained fire making to the tiger. Sidney made mental notes of the hints Dorias gave, such as curbing the fire before bed so the ashes would still hold a few cinders in the morning, or the best kind of wood to use to start it from scratch. He was almost sad to hear the discussion come to an end once Maern and Uraou returned with the filled barrel.
"Got it, Slave Maste'." Uraou called, followed by the sound of the stable door closing.
"Good." Sidney spoke from his stall, standing on the tips of his toes and poking his head up above the divide so he could see the slaves. Dorias and Choel were by the fire; the former was loading a few stones into the cauldron to balance it while the latter was seated at an odd angle so he could prop himself up without the use of either arm. Uraou and Maern were by the doorway, holding the large barrel between them. Water sloshed out of it as they set it down.
"Th' cauldron won't hold all o' that." Dorias stated to Uraou, "We'll have t' fill it a few times." Sidney remained quiet as the yak gave directions to Maern in Vensian before turning to regard the bear, "We'll guide the barrel an' Maern's doin' all the liftin'."
"Sounds like a plan, mate." the bear confirmed and, between the three of them, they filled the cauldron most of the way to the top. Once the barrel was set back down, Maern left the two of them by the fire and trotted back towards Sidney.
The fox remained pressed against the stall divide and motioned back to the stallion, "Wait there, Maern." and he pointed, "Wait there..." The horse came to a stop and cocked his head to the side, ears up. "Go get the ceramic jugs..." Sidney directed, pantomiming the shape of the container he wanted, "Go..." he pointed toward the storage boxes, "ceramic jugs." and he outlined the shape in midair with his paws again.
"Maern." Dorias spoke up from the fire and waited until the horse's attention was on him "Fehhis uh kaf." and he motioned with his head to the storage boxes.
The stallion glanced to Sidney, who looked at Dorias, then back to Maern, "Feh-hiz uh cough." he attempted to repeat the yak's comment.
"Iya-- yes." Maern noted, repeating his use of Vensian and replacing it with the correct word. The stallion obediently went to the boxes and drew out two large ceramic jugs and brought them immediately to Dorias.
The yak accepted them and carefully dipped them into the steaming water one at a time. The two exchanged a few words and Dorias sent Maern down the run of the stables towards Sidney. Before arriving at the fox, the horse turned back and spoke what sounded like a question. Dorias responded simply, "Wah-tur."
"Sidney." Maern announced, approaching the fox's stall; Sidney quickly moved to meet him so he could keep his filthy groin out of view, "Wah-tur."
"Thank you for the water, Maern." the fox acknowledged, accepting the first jug with both paws and setting it down before accepting the other.
"Well-come." the stallion responded and made his way back to the fire where Uraou was already adding more water to the cauldron. Sidney left the slaves to their own devices as he quickly corrected his mistake from the prior night and cleaned his fur. He paid for the delay as it was easily twice as much work, but, after using both containers of water (an entire one for his crotch and the remaining one for the rest of his body), he finally felt a little less ill at ease and was able to compose himself.
"Well that's great for all of you, but I can't lift my paws above my shoulders." Choel's objection brought the fox's attention back to the fire and the four slaves gathered around it.
Sidney let out a sigh, wringing out his still-wet loin cloth before setting it on the stall divider so it could dry, "Choel?"
"Well, ya betta' think of somethin', Choel... Slave Masta's ordas." Uraou noted with a smirk, collecting his two jugs of hot water.
The tiger turned slowly, "Yes... Sir?"
"Can you carry the water jugs?" the fox asked.
"Yea." Choel confirmed, "No problem."
Sidney wrestled with his decision; he was a Slave Master so it was his responsibility to look after his slaves... but would his decision be seen as subservient and beneath a Slave Master? He decided not to second-guess himself, "Bring them here and I'll wash you." his voice cracked on the last two words, making him clear his throat and clarify, "I don't want anyone to say you four aren't presentable." he added, attempting to mimic the gruff tone Lord Bulhue used whenever he ordered Sidney around.
The slaves glanced at one another but, one by one, they shrugged, except for Choel, who already had the jugs in his paws and was padding his way down the length of the stables toward Sidney. "Yes, Slave Master." the tiger acknowledged, stopping at the entrance to the fox's stables.
"Set them down there." Sidney directed, opening the stall door with one paw while motioning to the corner with the other. The tiger moved to the appointed spot and lowered himself down to one knee, making it easier to set the jugs where indicated. By then the rest of the slaves had gone back to talking amongst themselves
"Gods, I can't wait until my shoulders stop hurting." Choel announced, tugging lightly at the knot of his loincloth, and wincing audibly as it obviously upset his injuries, "I feel so useless."
Sidney moved to the tiger's side and brushed the large feline's paws away from the loincloth rope, "The old healer that I used to see said to let the healing happen and stop trying to hurt yourself further." and he began to deftly undo the knot himself; he could have done it in the dark with only his muzzle, but he pushed the thought out of his mind-- those days were behind him.
"That horse of yours is not a nice guy." Choel noted simply.
"He's fine." the fox announced, surprising himself at the speed with which he came to Maern's defense. He cleared his throat and released the tiger's loin cloth, "It wasn't like he wanted to fight."
"Yea," Choel confirmed, paying no attention to the deep breath that Sidney took with his nose only a matter of inches from his groin, "He might not have bothered starting it but he did just fine ending it." The fox had no comment in response, slightly woozy at the powerful male scent invading his nose. "Everything okay?" the tiger's voice snapped him out of his musings.
"Just fine." Sidney acknowledged, "Just... thinking." and he turned away to hide the sliver of pink poking out of his own sheath, choosing to attend to the water jugs until his partial erection subsided, "The water's a little warm still." he announced, poking one finger after the other into either container.
"Doesn't warmth help wounds?" Choel asked him. The tiger shifted his stance beside the fox, "I don't know how I'll be able to compete on the Equinox Festival..."
"The Equinox Festival?" Sidney questioned, ears going up immediately as he stood. The action knocked over one of the jugs, "Lash it all!" he cursed.
"Relax." Choel noted, reaching out with a leg, righting the container, "Sir." the tiger added after a moment, "It's only water."
"Why would you want to fight on the Equinox Festival?" Sidney questioned of the tiger, quickly covering up his outburst by taking a clean piece of cloth and dunking it repeatedly into the half-empty jug.
"Wragol said the whole reason Lord Hector had to get gladiators is because it was commanded by Lord Levid." Choel explained, "Apparently he expects our Master to field at least one at the festival."
"But... that's..." the fox's words ground to a halt, "Barely a fortnight!"
"Sixteen days, actually." Dorias spoke up from the other side of the stables. The comment brought an immediate warmth to Sidney's ears when he realized how loud he had become at the unexpected and very unpleasant information.
"Thank you, Dorias." Sidney announced, feeling his stomach slowly turn to knots as he began running the soaked cloth across the back of Choel's head, starting at the base of his ears and working slowly toward the tip of either.
"You're welcome, Sir." the yak acknowledged, and returned to his quiet discussion with Uraou, whose responses came accented with splashes of water, sounded like he was already starting his own cleaning.
"I wanted to be at the exhibition matches." Choel announced once Sidney's attention returned to him, "I'm tired of field work-- I want to fight."
"Why?" the fox asked, dabbing the cloth back into the jug before wringing it out atop the tiger's head and working slowly down his back.
Choel's paws clenched and released at his sides, black claws unsheathing and resheathing with the motion, "Lord Hector promised a hundred coin purse toward our freedom whenever we win a match."
The comment caused Sidney to drop the cloth. He'd heard of Lord Hector's generosity of gifting slaves value toward buying themselves free of slavery, but he'd never heard of such an unbelievably large amount changing paws. "One...one hundred?" he leaned down to pick up the washing cloth, "That's... a LOT!" Sidney poured water out onto the cloth and rose back up to continue his work.
The tiger nodded, shifting his stance in impatience as the fox continued his work, "Twenty one wins and I'll be free." the statement came out like a declaration of victory.
"You owe two thousand one hundred coins?" the fox asked, tracing the tiger's spine with the warm wash cloth. When he got within a paw's-breath of Choel's tail the slave arched his back slightly, a pleased rumble emerging from him, but it was cut short at Sidney's words.
"You know your numbers?" the tiger asked incredulously.
Sidney nodded, not that Choel could see it, "Yes." he added verbally, "My last master wanted me to be able to count... don't you?"
"Nah." Choel answered with a snort, "You don't have to count when you're a field slave... I only know I have twenty one wins to go because Lord Hector told Wragol to tell me when I was elected to be a gladiator." and the pleased rumble continued as the fox renewed his cleaning.
"Do..." Sidney paused his words, but not his work, "Do you think you can win?"
Choel snorted and laughed at the same time, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I could..." he glanced over his shoulder before turning around to address the fox, "And, since you're the Slave Master, you're supposed to help me do just that... right?"
"I..." Sidney was taken aback at the tiger's blatant statement... not to mention the claw-length sliver of dark red crowning Choel's sheath, "... uh... y-yes?"
"Choel!" Dorias called from the other side of the stables, "Stop toying with the Slave Master." his tone was serious, though the simplicity and directness of the comment almost made Sidney want to laugh; he never expected to hear a slave state anything close to that and yet it was incredibly appreciated at that moment.
The tiger locked gazes with the fox a moment, his expression neutral but his eyes saying much, "You're very good with your paws." and Choel finally turned away, presenting his back again for Sidney, "...sir." It was all Sidney could do to finish cleaning the tiger.
* * * * * *
It was still early when everyone had finished with their self-cleaning and Dorias had already begun their porridge using barrel water rather than pond water-- a fact not left unmentioned by Choel. The remark earned him a cuff to his shoulder by Uraou, and the resulting grimace indicated that tiger was ready to quiet down and behave.
Dorias provided Sidney his serving first, then, much to the fox's surprise, the yak calmly began dropping good-sized chunks of meat into the cauldron. With ears straight up and eyes wide, Sidney watched as Dorias stirred them in. When the yak saw the fox staring he spoke up calmly, "Maern said ye don' do so well with meat... was 'e wrong, Sir?"
The Slave Master glanced at the porridge then to the yak then back to the cauldron, repeating the action twice more before his voice caught up, "N-no... no... that's fine... I'm fine... this is fine." he stumbled over his words, "I mean... I'm fine with this... you four need the meat more than I do."
Sidney's sensitive ears did not miss the "I'm not so sure about that." Choel spoke under his breath, but it apparently went unnoticed by everyone else.
"Aye, sir." Dorias acknowledged, and continued stirring the cauldron. A few minutes later he began ladling up bowls for everyone, including several hunks of meat for each of the slaves. By the time he had scraped the bottom of the cauldron there was just enough left for himself-- meat included. Sidney sat in rapt attention as he saw the gray-furred yak bite cleanly into a hunk of flesh; the strange irony of a fox passing up meat while other, less meat-inclined individuals eagerly ate their fill.
Once again, Uraou and Choel drew straws, but this time Maern reached in to grab one from Dorias' hand as well. Maern cocked his head to the side, a quizzical expression crossing his face as Uraou started laughing and Choel's expression grew grave, "Not again! Lash it all!" the tiger grumbled, "You didn't rig it, did you, Dorias?" he demanded.
The yak smiled pleasantly, "I cannae choose which piece o' straw ye choose, Choel." and, with nothing more to be said, the tiger dragged the cauldron out of the stable to clean it. After that, Dorias turned to regard Sidney, "An; our tasks for t'day, Sir?"
At the realization that the slaves were still under his direction, Sidney quickly thought up the first thing he remembered from that morning, "I'd like to finish getting the stables presentable."
"Pardon, Slave Maste'," Uraou interjected, "We need to star work on fightin' practice at some point, don't we?"
Sidney paused at the bear's comment; it wasn't rude by any means but it was obviously questioning his orders. At a loss for how to respond to the disobedience but realizing that he had to say something, the fox was relieved when Dorias did it for him.
"Uraou, Sidney's th' Slave Master... if he says we're repairin' then we're repairin'." the bull noted simply.
Maern glanced from Dorias to Uraou, then to Sidney before looking back to the yak, and asked a question in Vensian. The older slave explained in the foreign language, motioning to Sidney as he spoke; when Dorias had spoken his piece the stallion nodded and immediately went to a stack of lumber and picked it up, going about the appointed duty without another word.
"Sounds like we have ordas t' follow, Uraou." Dorias stated simply, and wen to help the horse.
With no further arguments Uraou went to join the others and, when Choel returned with the clean cauldron he found several projects he could do to help that wouldn't put any great amount of strain on his shoulders. Everything continued smoothly at that point and Sidney finally gained enough confidence to let a smile appear. That smile remained in place right up until an unexpected visit by Lord Hector.
Sidney was directing the slaves on replacing several missing stall doors when the stable's main double-door opened. Finneas entered the building, holding the portal open for the silver-furred stag, who swept into the stables like a divine entity. Lord Hector's fur somehow seemed to carry with it the golden glow from the sun outside; though Sidney realized it was probably only his imagination, he could have sworn the inside of the stables grew brighter for his presence.
The hart spent a moment taking in the view of the interior before speaking. "The stables look much improved, Sidney."
"Thank you, Master." the fox bowed, but managed to avoid his first inclination to drop to his knees like the rest of the slaves. Much to Sidney's chagrin, however, he noticed that Maern continued to stand.
"Excellent work--" the stag spoke straight to him, and then raised his voice as he glanced around the assembly, "--all of you."
"Thank you, Master." they all spoke in unison.
"Tell me, Sidney," Lord Hector's attention returned to the fox exclusively, "Do you find these accomodations to your liking?"
"They are far greater than anything I would normally expect, Master." Sidney bowed his head again in humility, "You are generous beyond measure."
The stag was silent for a moment before speaking again, "And yet you feel it necessary to improve upon them?" his tone changed almost too slightly to register... but Sidney did not miss it-- the resulting shiver that ran up his spine was pure fear.
"I--" the fox fidgeted.
"You are using your slaves for labor rather than training them to fight?" Lord Hector inquired further.
Sidney began to shake in terror. Had he insulted the stag? "Master, I--"
"Explain yourself, Sidney." the hart ordered calmly.
With so direct a command, Sidney had no chance to come up with an excuse or try to create any eloquent response, so he was direct in kind, "I don't know anything about fighting Master, but I do know that the belongings of a Lord must always be respected."
Lord Hector nodded thoughtfully, "Go on." he directed.
Sidney continued as ordered, "The slaves in my care are working on the stables because they are in disrepair. If our lives are yours then it is our duty to do everything we can to give you only the best."
"Even if it does not include teaching your gladiators to fight?" Lord Hector questioned.
"Master... they are working hard, and that is good for strength and endurance..." the fox lowered his head and his ears as his tail tucked, "I am sorry, Master... I do not know how to fight so I am doing what I can for them." Sidney had no idea how he managed to keep a whimper out of his voice.
The Slave Master heard the sound of Lord Hector approach, and jumped in surprise when he felt two fingers beneath his chin. He did not resist as the stag raised the fox's muzzle until they looked eye-to-eye and he somehow managed to avoid piddling himself. "You are doing well with what you have at your disposal, Sidney... well done." and he released the fox's chin and patted him on the head.
"Thank you, Master." The gesture immediately filled Sidney with a giddy joy, but it left him a split second later when Lord Hector asked his next question.
"Dorias... are you pleased with Sidney as your Slave Master?"
The yak turned to regard Sidney when he spoke, "Aye, Lord 'ector."
"Uraou?" the stag questioned the bear, "What do you think of Sidney?"
"He'll do, M'Lord." Uraou announced, his gaze still on the ground, but the corner of his muzzle turned up in a smirk.
"What about you, Choel?" Lord Hector asked the tiger.
Choel responded without a moment's thought, "The best I've had, Master."
The stag looked to Maern next, and asked him what was probably a similar question in Vensian, and Maern answered in kind with three words, simple and direct. Whatever the stallion said was enough to get Dorias to look at Sidney. The fox felt his ears redden slightly at the glance but he remained at attention as their Master's gaze returned to him.
"I am pleased, Sidney." Lord Hector announced, "For the most part."
"Thank you, Master." the fox's smile returned, but it faltered when the second part of the stag's comment registered. Sidney waited on baited breath for elaboration.
"I want you to start putting your slaves through drills." his Master noted, "Of course, working on the stables is a valuable activity, but we do not have a lot of time to get them ready for an exhibition match." Lord Hector slowly began to meander back to toward the open stable door where Finneas remained silently at attention. "You DO know that these slaves will have to prove their worth as gladiators at the Equinox Festival, don't you, Sidney?"
"Yes, Master." the fox acknowledged, feeling the knots in his stomach tighten when the stag reminded him of the deadline.
"I understand you do not have any fighting experience, Sidney, and that will be fine because I am not asking you to fight." Lord Hector stopped beside Finneas and turned back to regard the fox, "You will direct Maern to run your slaves through their drills, but you will remain in charge. Ultimately their success or failure will be yours." the comment was direct and to the point without coming across as a threat... but Sidney couldn't help but feel a little intimidated at it. "Is that understood, Sidney?"
"Of course, Master." the fox confirmed, feeling the fur on the back of his neck start to prickle at the sudden influx of pressure.
"Good." the stag nodded, then glanced to the mouse at his side, "Finneas."
"Aye, Lord 'ector?" the slave inquired.
The stag clasped Finneas on the shoulder, "Go get Sidney the other slave we discussed."
"Yes, Master." he confirmed, and then was gone.
Lord Hector looked back to Sidney, "I'm pleased to see you're doing so well with the stables, Sidney. You've proven yourself enough that I've decided to put another slave into your care."
The fox was taken aback, but not so much that he couldn't respond with the prerequisite "Thank you, Master."
"I will check in with you again soon, Sidney." Lord Hector exited the stables adding, "And I expect to see them training for the pit." before closing the doors.
"That sounded like it went well." Choel noted casually, glancing at Sidney.
"Ye 'ave 'is favor, Sir." Dorias announced, "Tis always a good thing fer a slave t'please 'is Master."
The yak's choice of words brought up bad memories of Lord Bulhue's method of being pleased, but the thought was thrown out of his mind the moment Uraou spoke up, "Hopefully you'll remembe' that we gave you good reviews, Slave Maste'." with more than a faint hint to his tone.
Sidney wasn't exactly sure how to respond to the odd sense of solidarity from the various slaves in the stables, but the firm clasp of Maern's hand on his good shoulder followed by a deep "Sidney good." from the stallion went a long way to comforting the fox... until he remembered the short exchange between Maern and Lord Hector.
"Dorias?" Sidney called to the yak.
"Aye, Sir?"
The fox focused his attention on the older slave, "What did Lord Hector have to say to Maern?"
The pause before Dorias' answer caused Sidney to wonder at it, despite the simple, "Mostly th' same question 'e asked all'a'us, Sir."
"Mostly?" Sidney pressed, but the discussion was cut short as Finneas returned.
The mouse pushed open the doors to stable without so much as an announcement. Despite his disbelief at seeing the golden lead in Finneas' paw, Sidney couldn't deny the truth once the enormous bull at the other end ducked his head as he walked through the door.
"Tharis?" Choel breathed in admiration.
"Tharis?" Uraou questioned in surprise.
"Tharis?" Dorias gaped in disbelief.
"Tharis." confirmed Finneas, and dutifully deposited the end of the bull's lead in Sidney's stunned paw. The mouse about-faced and marched off, closing the doors with finality as he left.
"Tharis..." Sidney whimpered even as the enormous slave gazed down at him; the fox's earlier success at not piddling himself failed to repeat.