The Half Fanged Slave (Open)

[Wolfie]

Sven nodded in agreement with the elder and followed him and the rest of the group as they moved out.

[Silas]

As they took a jog back, their captors yelling and cursing at them, Heso tried to think through his tired mind. A busy day, more so than usual, since it seemed that the fortress was well on its way to being built by next summer. That was, of course if they worked all through the winter. And survived for that matter. The otter hated such creatures that would take advantage of others to the point of cold ruthless brutality, but with that simple narrow-mindedness would come a weakness. They would underestimate them. Him, too. And when he was sure that these vermin had, they would vanish. The only question was how.

[Wolfie]

The youth jogged alongside his new friend silently, his thoughts occupied by the strange fox who had visited them earlier. He wondered what she'd wanted with them and why she'd bothered talking to them. She seemed to have some sort of plan up her sleeve, but what that plan might be, Sven couldn't even begin to guess.

[Silas]

Heso had more of an idea as to what the vixen might be planning, but even so he wasn't going to stick around and find out if his suspicions were true. As soon as he was captured, the otter discovered very quickly that being the heroic struggling fighter often killed quicker than a complacent and obedient slave. This was he, but in his heart the old sea otter howled with rage, still stinging after a whole season of captivity.

The party arrived at the stone quarry some time later, where several more boulders have been set aside for them. Heso set about tying the rocks with rope, working as fast as a skilled seabeast with a gigantic chubby rat bellowing down into his ear. An expedient kick at the otter's stout tail served to accomplish nothing, and the slaver was forced to direct his own tirade of curses and kicks elsewhere. Pulling the knot tight with a heave, Heso panted as he glanced over at the younger otter.

"She looks fine and shipshape now, matey..." He declared with all the humor he could muster at the moment, working hard and keeping his head down. But this mentality was the otter's own choice, not some coercion from the slavers. And soon, he would change his mind. Of course, the irony did escape the otter: Of how a hero's struggle meant so much, yet did so little, to preserve life and the hope of freedom under the vermin's footpaw.

[Wolfie]

The younger otter nodded in reply to his elder companion's words and tugged the rope with all his might, tensing muscling screaming in protest as he dug in and pulled.

[Silas]

"C'mon! Move it yew lot!" The chubby rat yelled out as the rock began sliding across the sandy ground, easily at first, but increasingly difficult as they were met with the resistance of the hard forest floor, not to mention all its roots. Heso tripped and fell flat on his face, spitting dirt out of his mouth and hurried to stand again, lest the rat notice. He glanced around with his one eye, then mysteriously winked at the younger silently as they made their way slowly back towards the construction site.

[Wolfie]

Sven paused and helped Heso up when he tripped, making sure to position himself between his new friend and the rat so that he could protect him from any potential strikes. His ears twitched as he contemplated what the wink the elder had sent him might indicate.

[Silas]

Heso wordlessly pressed on, leaning his weight and muscle into the activity until the day became dusk, too dark to press on. They were herded into an enclosure situated in the midst of the vermin encampment, where they were kept penned in during the night hours. It was in the warm summer night that Heso finally sat down, nursing stiff paws as he glanced around to see where the other otter had gone to. A familiar voice, however, broke the exhausted silence of the pen.

"Shove these down yer gormless faces, maggots!" The chubby rat belted out, clearly enjoying himself as he slung crusts of bread over the wall at the slaves gathering near the gates for water, presented by more grumbling vermin who in turn dissuaded the mass of beasts from moving too close too fast with their long spears.

[Wolfie]

The youngster, who had sat to rest, reluctantly hauled himself to his feet and wandered over to grab himself some food. Being as sore and tired from the day's labor as he was, the otter wasn't in much of a mood to eat, but he forced himself to anyways. He knew he'd need it to keep his strength up for tomorrow. He grabbed a bit of food and then shuffled off, sitting by himself to eat, though keeping an eye on his new friend. It wasn't long before he sensed that he was being watched and bit back a growl as he noticed a cat observing him in an almost curious fashion.

[Silas]

The otter managed to snag a piece of bread away from the less desperate slaves, tearing into it with his teeth while he still had the mental capacity and lower jaw strength to do so. The stale crust crunched noisily, leaving hard granules on his tongue. He ate it down nonetheless, knowing he would be hard-pressed to find a more suitable meal. After most of the crust had been dealt with, he spotted the younger otter looking off at something else, growling to himself. Heso paced over and peered with his only eye, following his line of sight. "Wot is it, mate?" He murmured, also quite curious.

[Wolfie]

The young otter lowered his head and kept his eyes on the ground as he muttered in between bites of the hard bread. There's a cat standing over there starin' at me. It makes me uneasy... The cat's ears flicked as the otter spoke, but he gave no reaction to indicate whether he'd actually heard the youngster's words or not.

[Silas]

"If he ain't tryin' to harm ye, don't pay him any mind. 'E's just as evil as the rest of these vermin." Heso replied in a huff, the tone of an otter run ragged hanging almost tangibly in the words he spoke. With his one good eye he threw a last glance at the feline before turning away, not one to lose sleep over the coming and going of the beasts that kept them imprisoned. Surveying the other slaves, the otter gritted his teeth quietly. His headcount came up short.

"You should find some sleep." He suggested to the younger otter, turning his head back towards him, scratching at scruffy untrimmed whiskers, stretching tired arms and sore paws in the hope of alleviating the stiff feeling usually accompanying his joints after being pushed all day.

[Wolfie]

The younger otter nodded and yawned widely, his ears folding back agaist his head and his lips pulling back to expose his teeth as he did so. He stood gingerly and stretched to loosen his stiffening and soon-to-be-sore muscles, casting a final curious glance at the cat who had been watching him before going off to curl up and sleep in the most comfortable and quiet spot he could find. The cat left silently after the young otter went to find a sleeping space and decided to continue his watch tomorrow.

[Silas]

Heso found a spot nearby where the grass had not yet been fully trampled by the slaves' footpaws, and sat himself down. The otter rolled his shoulders to attempt to fight off the last vestiges of sure muscles, and curled up on the ground as a comparatively cool summer night drew close around his fur. Closing his eye, he wondered what had become of the scheming vixen who talked to them last night. Perhaps whatever her plan was had been discovered, so the added danger to them might not be present anymore. Yet one could never be sure.

Heso sighed and tried to get comfortable, hunkering down after being inspected by various flying insects near his snout. He wrinkled his nose at them and settled down for the night, thoughts turning to the open sea. His abiding memory was of wooden planks of a sailing boat beneath his paws and the sea air brushing past his whiskers, devoid of hardship, pain and insects. He quietly wondered if the younger otter had ever seen the sea, but before he had time to wonder any further, the old otter had sunk into a dreamless sleep born of fatigue.