Slave Trade - Gladiators?
Slave Trade
Gladiators?
copyright 2012 comidacomida
Sidney surprised himself by awakening refreshed. Despite the stress that was placed on him by his new position and suddenly being responsible for five slaves, he had somehow managed to sleep the whole night through undisturbed; in the end, he credited being exhausted from so many nights dotted sporadically with such poor sleep. Pushing the thoughts from his mind, he sat up, let out a final yawn, and rubbed his eyes with his palms.
The fox's stall was easily twice the size of the others', but it was not otherwise that different. The majority of the rotted wood beams had been replaced but the paneling was still warped, gray, and had the earthy scent of old timber. Small wooden pegs jutted out from thewalls at regular intervals; their uses were unknown to Sidney, but the one closest to the pile ofhay he used as a bed worked well for storing his loincloth, which he retrieved, securing it around his hips as he stood.
As Slave Master of the stables, the job of controlling the slaves fell upon him, but he continued to ponder on how he'd manage. He recalled emulating Lord Bulhue worked that previous night but Sidney had no doubts that he wouldn't be able to channel his prior Master long without greatly disturbing himself. Lord Hector had said that he valued Sidney's ability to do things his own way, but the fox had no idea how to direct slaves 'his own way'. Dorias had told him that he would have to develop one. Though the prospect seemed daunting, Sidney realized that the yak had a point.
Making his way through the stables, Sidney paused by the single empty stall. The prior night there had been two vacant spots, but, just as quickly, the fox was suddenly down to one, and the newest addition to the stables intimidated him like little else. Feeling the fur on his back begin to rise, Sidney slowly turned around and looked across the way to Tharis' stall; the bull was seated on the ground with his back against the wall, staring right at him.
"Uh..." Sidney cleared his throat, addressing the bull. Tharis didn't respond; his ears didn't even bother swiveling toward the fox. For all the Slave Master could ascertain, the older slave didn't even seem to register his existence. "You can... uh..." the fox paused, breaking their linked gazes as he looked away, "just... uh... stay there for.... a little longer." and he made his way down the aisle between stalls and quickly exited the stables.
Letting out a deep breath, Sidney leaned his back against the outer wall of the building, lowering his head. "Yea... my own way..." he let out a sigh, "This is going well..."
"Sid-ney." the simple speaking of his name in a deep baritone caught the fox off-guard. He managed to avoid an embarrassing yip as he turned to regard Maern. The stallion was standing several feet away from the stables in the same stance he had used in the ring. "Hell-oh." the horse finished the greeting, and then slowly shifted his weight, oozing forward along the ground with surprising agility as he slid one hoof out ahead of himself to change his stance. As he did so, Maern pulled his arms closer to his body and balled his fists.
"Good morning." the fox noted neutrally, attention immediately caught up in the strangely hypnotizing movements of the horse going through the odd morning exercises.
"Good mor-nning, Sid-ney." Maern repeated, eyes on the Slave Master even as he rotated one leg, using the action to change direction even as he shot out one arm to the side of his body, launching a powerful punch at mid-air before pivoting further, planting the moved hoof close to the planted one, and suddenly thrust the previously immobile leg out in a hooking swing;
Sidney was convinced that, had someone been standing in the arc of the kick they would likely have lost their head.
"Ah..." the fox heard Dorias' unmistakable discerning tone from behind him at the doorway of the stables, "Mornin' practice... ah think ye have th'right idea, Sidney."
"I..." Sidney started, then took his eyes away from Maern long enough to glance back at the yak.
Dorias' fur had the tell-tale signs of the newly awakened, including a few small sticks of hay emerging here-and-there from it. The fox quickly finished his thought, "It's a good way to start the day?" he managed to keep the question close to a comment and hoped it sounded convincing.
The knowing-smile on Dorias' smile suggested that he wasn't completely successful, "If ye'd like t'get a practice ring set up I ken get everyone roused an' ready, Sir."
"Yea..." Sidney nodded vigorously, "Uh... Yes." he corrected himself, "Please do that." The fox didn't miss the smirk from the yak the moment the word 'please' escaped him, but Sidney managed to avoid turning red in the ears as he looked back to the field that made up the ground in front of the stables. Though the Slave Master was not trained in landscaping he knew enough to identify where a fence had once stood. Using that as a guideline, an idea began to formulate in his head.
The fox moved over to what might have once been an herb garden planter to the right of the stable door. Nothing but weeds grew there anymore, poking out of piles discarded cobblestones. Sidney began collecting as many fist-sized rocks as he could hold; he didn't realize that his actions had attracted Maern's attention until the stallion's shadow darkened the ground around the planter.
Looking up, the fox's plans continued to take shape, "Here." Sidney stated, giving his full arms a shake. Maern got the idea and took the rocks from the fox's grasp, easily able to accomodate all of them, with room to spare. The Slave Master took the opportunity to load up even more into the stallion's arms until Maern held more than twice the number Sidney had originally collected.
"Follow me." he directed, and motioned for the slave to follow.
"Yes." the stallion acknowledged, and strolled after him.
The fox began walking in a circle, stopping every pace to take two stones from the stallion and set them side-by-side on the ground. There were still a few rocks left in Maern's grasp by the time the circuit was complete, leaving the area in front of the stables with a circle not-quite ten strides in diameter. To Sidney's untrained eye it looked to be a close replica of the ring where Lord Hector had tested his gladiators-to-be; as far as a practice ring, the fox was confident it would work well enough.
"There..." Sidney dusted his paws off against one another, "That should work."
"What's all this then?" questioned Uraou. As the first in a line of slaves emerging from the stables he had the first look at the circle.
"We're going to go through some practice drills today." Sidney answered, motioning to the cleared section of field.
"Who's running em?" asked Choel, emerging after the bear. He was gaze was intense, and focused on Sidney.
Before the fox could come up with any semi-balance of an answer, Dorias emerged after the tiger, carrying a body-sized leather bag slug over his back, "That's for th' Slave Master t'decide, a course, Choel."
"That's why I asked him." the tiger shot back with a scowl.
"Doesn't matter anyway, mate...." Uraou gave Choel a firm slap on the back, eliciting a grunt from the tiger, "...after all, it's not like you'll be joinin' us, right, Slave Masta'?" the large bear glanced to the fox.
Sidney said the first thing that came to his mind, "Everyone's going to be joining in today." he cleared his throat, "Except me... I'm not a gladia--"
"Ye no be a Gladiator-in-trainin'." Dorias spoke up, "Aye." Sidney was not going to add the 'in-training' at the end, but he was very glad that the yak interrupted him; it didn't take much for him to see his error-- none of the slaves in his care were gladiators YET, and he appreciated Dorias' tact at reminding him.
"Right." Sidney confirmed, "I'll just..." he paused as his mind came up with a suitable job, "...keep an eye on everyone and make sure everyone has a chance to practice." he nudged a set of stones slightly to the left with his foot to better position them within the circle he had created.
"So who's running the practice then?" Choel repeated his earlier question, eyes focused entirely on the fox.
Without thinking, Sidney's finger went straight to his left, "Maern." he motioned to the stallion, and THEN all of the thoughts flooded his mind. The horse didn't really speak Prossian; Sidney had no idea if Maern even realized that they were going to be practicing as a group; it was possible that horse wouldn't even be willing to--
"Told ye he'd have a good idea lined up." Dorias acknowledged simply and cuffed Uraou on the shoulder.
"Well," the bear shrugged, "The damned horse beat everyone put up against him, so it only makes sense, Slave Masta'."
"So long as he doesn't pull my arms off." Choel agreed with a frown, eyes finally leaving the fox, and the three of them stepped into the circle and turned to Maern.
"Maern..." Sidney regarded the stallion.
"Sid-ney." Maern acknowledged, then courteously added, "Sir." with the slightest incline of his head; to the fox, the gesture seemed almost regal.
"You," he motioned to the horse, "Will be training everyone." he motioned to the other three.
"Doss covo an sen?" the stallions' ears went up as he glanced to the other slaves.
"Koss koss koss koss..." Dorias quickly shook his head, holding a hand up in front of himself, "Sidney di ARMANAS, koss covonas."
The exchange was completely lost to Sidney, who sat with his head cocked to the side slightly, staring at Dorias. The yak got the picture quickly and explained, "Maern thought ye wanted 'im t'fight all three a us."
"No, Maern." Sidney spoke to the horse, then looked back to Dorias, "Tell him I want him to train you."
The stallion looked between the fox and the yak. Dorias calmly noted, "Sidny di armanas, koss covonas."
"You already said that..." Sidney noted, recalling having just heard him speak those words.
"Aye, Sir... but ye said t'tell 'im again."
"Oh..." the fox felt his ears redden, "Right... thank you, Dorias."
The yak nodded graciously, "Aye, Sir... as ye command."
Despite the rough start, once Maern understood what Sidney wanted, the stallion did a fine job of introducing the other slaves to various exercises. The fox was surprised that the majority of the morning was little more than maneuvers similar to what he had seen some of the lords and ladies of Pross do in the morning to stay fit. The actions involved in the exercises were smooth and controlled enough that even Choel seemed able to keep up, despite his wounded arms.
In any normal circumstance, when Sidney thought about gladiators he usually included swords or spears in his mental image, which left him at a loss as to why Maern had they going through maneuvers without weapons. Truth be told, he was perfectly content to ignore weaponry altogether, but he couldn't fool himself into thinking that it would never be an issue... especially with the upcoming festival numbering the days until Lord Hectors' gladiators had to be ready to fight. The thought sent a shiver up the Slave Master's spine.
It was nearly noon when Sidney called everyone out of the circle for a break. As everyone took turns getting water, Dorias approached the fox, "Maern put us through what 'e called 'Embracin' th'Earth'."
The fox looked at the yak blankly, "What's that mean?"
"Best I can figure, Sir, it means he wanted t'go over how to stand when you're fightin'." Dorias wiped at the strands of long, graying fur at the end of his muzzle that gave the yak a bearded- look, "From what I know 'bout real fightin', most soldiers, mercenaries, an' the like say it's all 'bout balance, an' I think that's what Maern covered."
"Did it help?" Sidney asked.
Dorias chuckled in response, and Uraou, who had come over from the water bucket, entire head dripping wet, answered casually "Hard ta say, Slave Masta'... we haven't gotten into any fights since then and now."
"Sounds like Uraou's looking for some sparring." Choel announced, trotting over to join the rest of them, vest crumpled up in one paw, the majority of his body soaked. The tiger glanced sidelong at Sidney, and tossed the vest off to the side and onto the nearby shrubs.
"Lash it all, Choel," the bear grunted, "that water's for drinking, not swimming."
"Stuff it, Big-Gut," the tiger countered, "I just splashed myself to cool off... besides, from here it looks like you finally took my advice and went and dunked your head." and Choel followed up his own comment with laughter. Uraou snorted and took a step toward the tiger, raising his paws.
"Alright!" Sidney quickly interjected, "Okay!" he moved to step between the two, but they had already finished their banter, which was much to the relief of the Slave Master, who was convinced that Uraou was easily twice his weight, and Choel, who was the smallest of his slaves, was easily half again the fox's size. Truth be told, he had no interest in interposing himself between them.
"Well... if two of us need to spar..." the bear shot the tiger a glance.
"No." Sidney stated decisively, "I don't want Choel getting any more hurt than he already is." he glanced at both slaves, who nodded in understanding.
"Maern and I, Sir?" Dorias suggested.
The fox paused, glancing between the two of them, "Alright." he nodded, then quickly added, "But tell Maern that it's just a friendly fight... go slow, and... um..." he paused, unable to come up with a way to say what he wanted to express. Instead, he settled on something much less descriptive: "...stuff."
"Aye, Sir." the yak acknowledged, and spoke with the stallion.
The two entered into the ring, where Maern said several more words and bowed. Dorias bowed likewise and spoke three simple syllables, "Min sarul."
Maern smiled at that, and repeated the words back to the yak. Sidney wasn't exactly sure what to expect-- a clashing impact of titanic proportions; an earth-sundering slamming of two enormous bodies locked in combat; the crack of flesh colliding with flesh; a replay of the two giants having at one another like the prior day in sight of Lord Hector's discerning gaze... none of them were the case.
Dorias and Maern began to move about the ring, going through a series of steps and mock blows. Now and again one or the other would launch a lazy punch or a half-hearted kick at the other, who had plenty of time to bat the attack out of the way. Although the lack of brutality in the exchange was of great relief to Sidney, he was a little apprehensive about the value of the exercise. Apparently he wasn't the only one.
"I thought I heard Lord Hector was training gladiators..." Ulric stood off to the side, arms folded across his chest, smug expression on his muzzle, "...not dancers."
Sidney's first instinct was to back away and lower his head, but he quickly recalled the standing orders of Lord Hector and he quickly recovered, turning to face the lion... though he still couldn't meet Ulric gaze, "We're going through warm ups, Slave Master Ulric." and he cleared his throat in an attempt to loosen the tightness in his chest, "You're welcome to watch, if you like."
Something about the words he chose had an unforeseen affect on the lion. Ulric's fur bristled and the hint of a snarl appeared at the slave master's lips. Confused, Sidney opened his muzzle to speak, but the lion announced, "No thank you, Slave Master Sidney," in a curt voice, "I have my own activities that need to be dealt with."
While the exchage was far from civil, Sidney was surprised that their discussion went so well. For as long as he could remember, Ulric seemed to have nothing but contempt for the fox. Whether it was the fact that Sidney was a Slave Master and of equal rank, or whether it had something to do with the Sardassi incident, he didn't know. He didn't have time to consider it either, as the lion made a final observation. "Looks like one of your slaves is being lazy, Sidney." Ulric chuckled.
The fox glanced toward the stables, where he saw Tharis leaning against the wall next to the door, "That's Tharis." Sidney offered.
"I don't care what is name is." the lion snorted, "If he's new around here you may want to think about how you plan on punishing him so he'll be more motivated in the future." Ulric smirked smugly.
"He's... uh... not a Gladiator." Sidney announced, pausing when he realized that the lion hadn't noticed all of the tell-tale signs Lord Hector taught to him, "Can't you tell?"
The withering look provided by Ulric was enough for the fox to realize that the lion's good-will was not in abundance, and his comment must have been sorely misinterpreted. Sidney let the other Slave Master depart without any further comment. Hoping to shake the bad feeling left on him by Ulric, the fox looked back to his slaves, only to see all four sets of eyes on him.
"What a prick." grumbled Choel, who got a cuff on the shoulder from Uraou.
"Shut it, you striped simpleton... he's a Slave Masta'." the bear scowled.
"Everythin' be well, Sir?" Dorias asked, casually slapping away a slow punch from Maern.
"Yea... fine." Sidney acknowledged, glancing toward the stables where Tharis remained. The stallion and yak ended their exercise, and all of them followed the fox's gaze to where the bull lounged. "I'm thinking maybe we should give Tharis a chance to join in."
"Tharis?" Choel and Uraou asked in unison.
"Well... he has some experience as a gladiator." Sidney shrugged, "I guess it'd make sense that he could help everyone learn a little." and, before anyone else could speak up, Sidney raised his voice, "Tharis! Come here, please!"
The bull moved purposefully, though without any great rush. Quiet murmurs from the other slaves filled the space between the fox's call and Tharis' arrival. The large slave gave an indecipherable grunt and stood there impassively as if awaiting further instruction. The disinterested gaze that locked on Sidney left the fox feeling more than a little unsure of himself, but he decided that he would not relent.
"Tharis... I would like you to do like Maern and Dorias did, but with Uraou." Sidney motioned to the bear. The bull remained staring at Sidney, but made no motion to comply. "Tharis... enter the circle, please." the fox rephrased the request. Tharis did as he was told.
"I don't like this, Slave Masta'..." Uraou admitted, "Tharis's a champion gladiata'. If he wanted he--"
"It's just a sparring match, Uraou..." Choel interjected, "don't be such a cub."
Sidney spoke over the two, "Are you ready, Uraou?"
"I... guess so, Slave Masta'." the bear took a firm stance similar to one they had been practicing that morning.
"And are you ready, Tharis?" Sidney questioned.
"No." the bull responded, still standing in a relaxed manner in the circle, "...Slave Master."
The answer caught Sidney off guard, "Then... um..." he paused, feeling his ears redden when he realized he must have forgotten something obvious, "What's wrong?"
"I don't fight..." Tharis noted flatly, "...Slave Master."
"But..." Sidney paused, completely taken aback by the comment, "...you used to, right?"
"Yes." the bull stated curtly, his grip tightening around the end of the golden lead wrapped around his right arm. The leather loop at the end creaked in his grasp.
"Bollucks." Uraou grunted, "If he's a Breeding Slave he's not supposed to fight, Slave Masta'." the bear turned to regard Sidney, "I forgot... golden chain means he's a Lord's property and needs to be handled with care."
"You two weren't REALLY going to be fighting--" Sidney reminded him.
"Uraou's right, Sir." Dorias added, "Laws say 'e shouldn't be in th'ring."
"Oh..." Sidney acknowledged, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, "Then... um... alright..." he cleared his throat, "I guess..." the fox paused, making up his mind, "that's enough training for today." he motioned to the stables, "We're going to get back to fixing up the building."
The slaves all confirmed agreement, except for Maern and Tharis; the former needed the orders repeated to him and the latter simply headed back toward the building. Once they were all inside, Uraou and Maern went to gather some of the heavier lumber while Choel organized the tools and Dorias began prepping the work area. Tharis headed off toward his stall.
"Hey!" Sidney called, and Tharis came to a stop. The bull turned to regard him and grunted in a neutral tone. "We're fixing the stables." the fox motioned to the work area. Tharis grunted in ascent, and about-faced, taking another step toward the back of the building until Sidney added, "Aren't you helping?"
"No." the bull announced.
"You aren't following your Slave Master's orders?" Sidney tried for as harsh a tone as he could manage, but he succeeded in doing little more than somehow managing to keep a timid squeak from his voice; he had no doubts that he would be physically unable to do anything to make Tharis comply with his directions.
"You didn't give any." the slave countered, and stepped into his stall.
The comment confused Sidney, who went back through their short discussion. He collected his thoughts and tried again, "Tharis. Come here."
The bull emerged from his stall and approached in a purposeful but lackadasical manner, "Yes, Slave Master." he confirmed in a bored tone.
"I want you to he--" Sidney paused after he realized that his announcement was not an order. He saw the knowing glint in Tharis' eyes that identified that the bull realized that the fox caught his own mistake. "Help Maern and Uraou with the lumber."
"Yes, Slave Master." Tharis acknowledged, and walked right past Sidney to do just that. The fox might have been mistaken, but he was almost sure that he saw the hint of a smile spread its way across the bull's muzzle for a split second before disappearing.
Sidney watched as the slaves in his care worked. Despite Tharis' apparent initial evasion at the work project the bull surprised him by jumping into things with a fervor. Regardless of the older slave's age, he took to the physical activity as if he were made for manual labor. Toward the end of the day, when almost everyone else stopped to focus on Dorias and his preparation of dinner, Maern and Tharis were the only two still working.
As the yak was putting the finishing touches on the stew, Sidney joined Uraou and Choel, who were putting away the tools for the night. "He's a damn good worker once he finally starts." the tiger noted, glancing back over his shoulder at Tharis, who was holding up a wooden beam by himself while Maern secured it in place, "Lords-and-Ladies! That thing probably weighs more than I do!" He glanced back to Sidney, his tail sliding across the fox's forearm as he did so.
Uraou grinned, "Little wonder he was such a good gladiator, eh, mate?"
The three of them cleared the work area of tools and scraps quickly enough and went to rejoin Dorias at the stew pot. The yak had a meatless bowl of stew set aside for Sidney, who accepted it graciously. The four of them ate quietly, all eyes on Tharis and Maern. The bull directed the work at that point, managing to communicate to Maern with gestures and non-verbal queues.
The two of them finished setting the beam before calling it quits. It was dark by that point. Tharis took his bowl of stew and trotted off into the shadows of his stall while Maern sat down next to the fox, completing the circle the slaves had created within the glow of the cooking fire.
"Hell-oh, Sid-ney." the stallion announced.
"Good evening, Maern." Sidney offered with a faint smile. Everyone ate in silence at that point, finishing up their meals before, one by one, drifting away from the fire as they prepared for bed. As they each said their general goodnights to the group, the slaves also took care to specifically seek Sidney's permission to be dismissed for the night; he granted them, first to Uraou, then Choel, and then Dorias until only he and Maern remained at the fire. The tiger lingered at the edge of the firelight for a few more moments before disappearing down the aisle between stalls.
"I wish it was easier to understand you." Sidney said quietly once they were alone.
"Un-er-stand." Maern parroted.
Sighing, the fox stood, and motioned to the fire, "Put that out before you go to bed, Maern."
Sidney smoothed out his fur and sighed again, "Good night, Maern."
"Good night, Sid-ney." the stallion acknowledged, and, having apparently understood the fox's direction, snuffed the fire with a good amount of sand from the dirt floor.
Ready to give nothing any further thought, Sidney made his way down the aisle between the stalls toward the back of the stable where his pile of hay awaited him. He almost made it before his otherwise peaceful retreat to slumber was interrupted, "Slave Master?" the deep, gravely voice was unmistakable.
"Tharis?" the fox timidly peeked around the corner into the bull's stall.
Despite the dark interior of the building, Sidney's eyesight was keen enough to see the slave. Tharis was seated on a pile of hay with his back against the stable wall. Sidney froze when he saw lines of light traced across Tharis' body. At first, the fox passed it off as a trick of moonlight sneaking in through the cracks between the stable's wall boards, but he realized that the light grew in intensity ever-so-slightly when the bull moved his arm; the line of light looked as though it traced his bicep from the crook of his elbow up to his shoulder.
The fox gasped, "What in the Master's name...?"
Tharis quickly folded his arms across his chest, covering up the luminescence, "Thank you... Slave Master."
"You're... welcome?" the fox answered politely, but was unable to avoid adding, "for what?" He wanted to address the strange glowinglines on Tharis' arms, but he had no doubt that the otherwise tight-lipped slave would have little to say.
"For the work." the bull answered. The comment could have meant any number of things, and could even be seen as sarcastic, but Sidney knew exactly what Tharis meant. Having had even the faintest glimpse into the bull's head gave the fox enough insight to realize that Tharis had spent years feeling useless... so long, in fact, that he had almost managed to convince himself that he was.
Sidney smiled at that, "I'm glad you're okay with it..." he shifted from foot to foot as he thought about the best way to treat the situation, and settled on the most pleasant-but-official one he could think of, "There's plenty more around here to do." Tharis' noncommittal grunt wasn't the answer Sidney was hoping for, but he also realized that it was unfair to expect too much too quickly, especially after all; the bull had been through.
Recalling their initial meeting and the 'hands-on' nature of their first interaction brought the redness immediately to the fox's ears. "Goodnight!" he added quickly before the uncomfortable infusion of his thoughts made things any more disconcerting. Sidney returned quickly to his stall, intent on passing out right then and there... but it was not to be.
"Hello, Slave Master." Choel's voice reverberated with a rumbling purr even though he was whispering. Sidney froze at the door, staring at the slitted, predatory eyes glimmering out of the darkness, "I was waiting for you." the tiger announced. The fox didn't have to look twice to see that Choel was naked.
"Um..." Sidney squeaked, "...why?" It wasn't a question that really needed to be answered thanks to the firm flesh standing at attention in the tiger's lap. Sidney saw several errant rays of moonlight highlight the sharp teeth of an eager grin.
Choel didn't bother answering with words.