[UK/Sp/Pru] Training Games [Fantasy/Slave!AU]

Subject: [UK/Sp/Pru] Training Games [Fantasy/Slave!AU] Tue Apr 17, 2012 6:06 am

The Market was as noisy and energetic as always as Arthur strolled through it, his slave in tow behind him. The leather leash that bound the slave to him was only loosely looped around his wrist and he neither pulled nor hurried along the man that followed him. The wizard was in no particular hurry and the leash was mostly for public show anyway. He was confident that Antonio would not run off.

Normally when in the market, he stuck to two sections of it. The food vendors, where he would buy his necessities, and the magic vendors, where he would buy his magical tools and potion ingredients. But today he was heading to the far side, to the slave markets. His magic had grown to the point where it was becoming limited because Antonio and himself could only produce so much energy on their own. After much thought, Arthur had decided that an additional slave was in order. It was not unheard of for a wizard to possess multiple slaves. Arthur's own mentor had had three. But it was not a common thing. He tugged gently on Antonio's leash to pull him closer as they entered the slave market, wanting to make it clear that this one was already owned. There was a practicle reason for bringing the slave along. Arthur planned on shopping for slave that had not yet been trained, and when dealing with such, it never hurt to have another pair of hands around.

Antonio loved outings to the city, while the forest that surrounded his Master's cottage was beautiful and certainly kept him busy, he loved to watch the different people walking down the streets, and the vendors shouting and offering products of all colours and sizes. He had a silver coin in hand, something he had found on the road a few days ago, he had asked Master Arthur if he could buying something for Master Matthew who had been crying when they left, something about not having learnt one of his lessons, Antonio didn't know for sure. He followed Master Arthur easily through the narrow streets, a big smile on his face; his eyes were not fixed on the ground like the ones of almost every slave around him, but he was careful not to catch the eye of anyone. The only reason he kept his head up was the sun, against his face, against his skin, he loved it.

The scenery changed when they entered the slave market, he felt the slight tug on his leash and hurried his pace, until his back was pressed slightly against Master Arthur's back. Instead of fruit and herbs, the merchants had people, children, men, women, young and old, with collars around their necks and leashes; some of them had their hands tied and their feet. There were those that looked healthier than others. Antonio obliviously passed them by, in his mind there was nothing strange about this setting, nor did he feel sorry for any of them; that was the way things were.

Gilbert had always been aware of slaves, and how they were treated- his family had had slaves themselves, it wasn't an odd concept. But he'd never thought he'd end up on this end of it. Always the Master, and never the slave, he didn't know who he had to really curse for this turn of events, so he ended up just hating everyone who dared to so much as look at him. He wasn't about to be one of the simpering little pets his own family's slaves had been. He'd made sure they knew that the second they'd thrown the heavy iron collar around his throat and tried to drag him away from his brother. The beating he'd gotten for his insolence had left bruises that were still present on his ribs, arms, and legs. As if the raw skin around the collar, and cuffs weren't enough to ruin his already damaged appearance.

The man who'd caught him, had dragged him here to the city to be sold, had tried to break him on the way. Violent beatings, and cruel words that cut like ice, but Gilbert was a proud young man, and gave back as best he could.It wasn't until they'd stripped him and pushed him into line with others that he began to feel the panic of hopelessness grab him. He snarled any the few that paused to look at him, eyes narrowed, the bruises and a newly busted lip showing just as well as anything else that he wouldn't be an easily broken toy. It was enough to keep most away.

The market always held such facination for Antonio. The slave was almost childlike in his enjoyment of the sights and open air. One would hardly know what sort of slave he was just by looking at him, except for one that was treated better than most. Antonio was well fed, decently clothed, healthy and, most unusually of all, apprently happy. No one would think of the sort of things Arthur used him for late in the night.

He allowed Antonio to move away from him just a bit so that he could look around, but he kept a tight hold on the leash, ready to pull him close if anyone in the market got too curious. The brand of ownership was not prominently displayed - it was fairly small, dipicting a tree and located on the slave's outer thigh - so Arthur showed his claim by the grip on his leash.

He began eyeing the slaves for sale. One could recognized the trained one's at a glance. There was no fight in them. No misery or self pity. They were blank slates, waiting to be given a purpose in life. They were too broken to serve Arthur's needs. Not enough life in them for the power he required. He set his sight on the newly arrived slaves. There were several in varying degrees of sad states. Some hung their heads, miserable and hopeless. Some held looks of defiance, though they were weak. Save for one exotic looking specimen that Arthur's eyes landed on. Pale as moonlight. At least in the places not covered by blood and bruises. He'd given the slave traders a rough time, that was evident, and even now he was shooting Arthur dirty looks. He was firey and not easily subdued. And probably cheap, given the trouble he likely was. The wizard thought it over for a moment, then gestured towards the slave trader, who promptly made his way over. "How much for the white one?"

Even if Antonio didn't harbour many feelings for the slaves gathered around, he wasn't stupid, he always stayed within reach of Master Arthur as he let his eyes wander around. He watched small kids with tiny collars around their necks, playing with each other, some smiling even though their faces were dirty and they had a few bruises here and there. Antonio smiled at them, and made a few funny faces, and was rewarded by a laugh from them. At somepoint they stopped, right in front of a line of adult slaves all standing in position to be examined... well almost all of them. Antonio watched as Master Arthur's eyes took on the many men and women there, and he saw the familiar flicker of his eyebrow as something... or rather someone picked his interest. He followed the man's line of sight and found himself looking at a rather thin man. His skin was the palest Antonio had seen, and that was saying much, for a moment he thought the hair was blond silver, but that was only the light, it was actually white. He caught the eyes and held them with his own, red... like blood; they made him shiver slightly, but he smiled nonetheless, bright and wide. Would this be his new companion? The thought rather excited him, even though he had Master Arthur and sometimes Master Matthew, Antonio felt he could always use more company, someone to talk to without having to look at the ground... si, that was a nice thought.

After all his nasty glares towards most anyone who would so much as glance as at him, Gilbert found their interest straying, and so his own did as well. He had almost missed the blond man who seemed interested. Gilbert's eyes narrowed, and his mouth twisted into a sneer, the man scored no points by having the nerve to ask for a price. He didn't want to be bought, and he sure as hell would not go any easier for this man than he had the ones that had taken him before.

The man keeping an eye on them, selling this poor collection of slaves Gilbert found himself admid, looked almost surprised, and a little annoyed at being asked about Gilbert. He'd placed a bet with someone else, before the slaves had all been pulled up to be shown off, that Gilbert wouldn't be sold here, that he'd be sent off to be trained, or used as sport. For this reason, he hadn't given much punishment for Gilbert's foul behavior with possible buyers, aside from the busted lip he'd given the albino, he'd paid him no mind. "That one?"

Glancing in Gilbert's general direction, he shrugged and offered the price he'd been told. It was lower then one would expect for a new slave. In the condition the albino was in, and as poorly behaved, no one would have paid much for him here, the one trying to sell him just wanted to be rid of him at this point.

Gilbert's gaze had locked with the man being pulled by the blond, though only for a moment, before snorted, and rolled his eyes. This pair looked rather laughable to him, he didn't want to be bought at all, but he figured he could get away from these two people easily. Not even a challange.

The way Antonio smiled at the pale slave was almost comical. He was apprently oblivious to the hate and anger coming off of the other slave in waves. But Antonio was never very good at sensing these things, and really it ws a raher endearing obliviousness. It usually didn't matter, since Antonio was mostly kept home, and when he was out, he was close by Arthur. It made it harder for that obliviousness to get him in trouble.

The slave was priced lowly to begin. Predictibly so. But Arthur could tell by the somewhat surprised tone of the trader's voice that he wasn't planning of the slave selling at all. Which meant the price could go lower. The wizard shrugged, staring down the slave from top to bottom. "He's been damaged in the transport here. And he's underfed. It'll take me probably a week or more to get him in proper working order, to say nothing of the fact that he's untrained. With the medicine and food I'll have to invest to get him ready for training, his price should be twenty percent less than that." It was a load. Arthur's magic could speed up the slave's healing so that it only took a matter of hours, and as for the food, well, that wouldn't be difficult either, since the woods around his cottage were plentiful and Matthew was very good at gathering. But the slave trader wasn't local and wouldn't know Arthur, who he was, or where he lived. And the wizard planned to press that advantage.

Antonio remained oblivious to the tension around him, he did notice the anger and the frustration from the slave, but he saw it in many others so he wasn't particularly concerned about it. He understood very little of numbers and value, so the price of the slave meant nothing to him, but he could recognize when his Master was playing with others, and he looked to the ground to avoid being seen and smirked, it was an odd sensation, almost akeen to pride what he felt. It was almost sure his Master would purchase this one, Antonio made a mental note of a few questions he had for the other, he needed to remember them for later, he also made a note to show him around the house and the nearby forest as soon as Master would allow it. It would be nice, to tell someone other than himself or the creatures of the forest, about what he had learnt of the fruits and vegetables of the area, that's what he liked the most... and cooking with them, because Master was many good things, but Antonio had to acknowledge he was not a very good cook.. and that was okay, he could do that. He wondered if the new companion would like his food.

He couldn't help bristling a little as the other eyed him. Gilbert was not a modest or bashful person by any means, but he didn't like being on display like he was now, the blond's gaze made it harder for him to ignore it. He refused to squirm, or blush, opting to glare again, hands curling into fists, and muscles tensing. But he wasn't the only one that was getting aggravated, he could tell. The trader looked rather tense himself.

"Look, I don't price them. I just sell them." He shot a nasty glare at Gilbert, who snickered in response, "You want him, you'll have to take him at the price he's up for. You'd be better off spending your money elsewhere, but if you really wanna waste it on that, go right ahead. But I ain't lowering the price."

Gilbert shifted his weight, and tugged at his chained, not for the first time since they'd been placed on him. The man selling him gave a wary glance, before looking at the one looking to buy, to give him his full attention again.

Psh.... this peasant salesman wasn't even going to work with him. The wizard sneered in obvious annoyance. He had half a mine to either walk away or cast some nasty spell on the man, but he really was in need of a slave and there wasn't exactly any other slave markets he could easily go to. "Fine..." He muttered. "But you're throwing in the shackles and iron collar. I doubt you want to be the one to take them off anyway."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his sack of gold coins, paying the man the stated price. But even that wasn't quite enough to satisfy the greedy slob, whom Arthur caught eyeing Antonio even as he counted out the coins. A healthy and obedient slave like him would be worth a fortune, but the wizard did not give him a chance to inquire about him, pulling Antonio closer to himself and narrowing his eyes, sending the clear message for the trader to get on with it. Grumbling, the man armed himself and unlocked the paddock like area where the slaves were huddled. Arthur snorted in annoyance and dislike of the trader, but there wasn't much to be done at the moment. He slipped an arm around Antonio's waist, seeking distraction from his irritation at the touch.

Well the master hadn't managed to lower the price of the slave like he wanted but he was buying him anyway, and that made Antonio happy enough. He didn't notice the looks he was getting from the slave trader or from anyone else, he was happily blissful in his own little world; but he did feel the pull of the leash again, and for a moment Antonio didn't understand why, but stood content by his Master's side anyway.

He saw the door of the area the slaves were kept in open, and he peered inside curiously. There were many of them, and they all looked sad, he wondered if there was anything he could do to make that any better. But the thought quickly fled from his mind as he finally discovered the sudden possessiveness his Master displayed, he was surprised about the arm curling around his waist, Master normally did not touch him in public, but hey he was not about to complain. He could tell though, that he did not like the trader and that made Antonio not like him either, good thing this was supposed to last only a few more minutes and then they could go, he didn't want Master Arthur's mood to turn sour.

He watched with interest as the man pulled out a bag of coins. Gilbert's gaze locked on the gold, as the greedy trader counted out his share. A smug grin slid onto his face as the man buying him pointed out the trader's disinterest in unshackling the albino. Gilbert gave the trader a sly grin, and tilted his head just so as the man came towards him.

The trader, wary of Gilbert's teeth. The man had taken a few good bites out of the others, and the trader wasn't about to get that close if he didn't need too. He was quick as he fumbled to get Gilbert unchained from the rest.

There was no point in struggling where they were. There were too many people around, he was too obvious a slave to get away and any attempt at escape right this second would cause a ruckus, draw attention. So for the moment, he bit at the inside of his cheek, and let himself be pushed down to where the man buying him was.

The shackles at his ankles made him stumble a little, and he tugged at the ones on his wrists, despite the pain that came with the iron cuffs rubbing against bruised and raw skin. His gaze locked on the two, Master and slave, their positioning was a little too intimate for his taste.

The trader pushed at Gilbert from behind, keeping his hand in a place that Gilbert could not easily reach with his teeth, and ready to dart away from the slave, "I'd advise staying out of biting range."

Arthur watched as the trader fetched the slave from among the others. He was aware of why such harsh treatment was necessary at times, though as a magician, he had other options available to him besides beatings and starvation. It seemed counter productive, though, to harm your merchandise so. But of course, once trained, slaves were made to be more presentable. Trained slaves were where the real money was in this business.

The pale slave was a bit surprisingly bold as he examined Arthur and Antonio. He did not keep his eyes lowered and did not look fearful in the slightest. Unusual, but not a problem. Arthur could use his energy and spirit. Once it was properly reeled in, that was.

He tutted as he got a closer look at the slave's condition. He was skinny and bruised and he could see the beginnings of torn and irritated skin along the shackles. He'd seen slaves in worse condition. But rarely did they look so defiant despite their injuries.

He raised his brows at the warning and then laughed a bit. "Shouldn't you be throwing a muzzle or a bit into the deal if that is the case? Don't care much about repeat patronage, do you?" Rather than wait for a response, Arthur just shook his head dismissively and took the chain from the trader. In clear view of both the seller and the slave, serving as a warning to both, Arthur slipped the chain around his wrist, and pressed the loose end against another link, sealing them together seamlessly with a small spark of light so that the chain was locked around his own wrist. The slave would not be slipping away. "If he makes any attempt at violence, I shall deal with it accordingly."

Antonio moved to the side a little to make way for the Master to maneuver the new slave and almost moved to help him when he was about to fall. The mention of the biting make him draw back though. He decided to instead watch from a distance as Master Arthur conjured some kind of spell to bind the new slave to his wrist, probably to keep him from running away, although Antonio didn't fully understand why would the slave want to run away. This was certainly a better life than what he had right now, or wasn't it? Besides, Master needed him, and for Antonio that was enough.
He was already thinking what to give the man so he would regain weight, if Master was buying him for his magic work, it wouldn't do any good if he was that skinny.

He bit his lip to avoid asking if they were going home now, knowing he didn't have that much freedom of speech when they were outside.

The trader grunted, "If he doesn't kill you in your sleep, you'll be lucky."

His words were gruff, and threatening. Gilbert had yet to make a successful attempt to kill someone, though he'd tried to kill the man that had caught him twice. Both trader and slave alike locked their eyes on the bblond as he sealed the chain. The trader with a bit of fear because of his rude behavior, but a great deal of pleasure in thinking the albino would likely be used for some perverse spell. A blood sacrifice, perhaps.

Gilbert felt only fear, though he was careful to keep it from showing. He knew better then to show any weakness to the one who could so easily snuff out his life. His instincts told him to reel back and try and get away. But again, he knew now was not the right time to do so. He wouldn't get far.

But he had to get away before they left the city. A magic user was often most dangerous in their natural element- that was rarely the city. If he could get away while in the city, he was sure he'd have a chance. Running from someone with magic was never safe, he would do it in the forests as well if he must,b ut if he could avoid that...

He smirked in satisfaction at the success of his subtle threat display. The seller definitely looked regretful about his earlier behavior and the slave, well.... he looked like he would think twice about making any attempts to bite anyone. He gave a nod to the seller to signify that business was complete and tugged on the chain as he turned to leave this area of the market, the new slave's chain wrapped around the wrist of one hand while the other loosely gripped Antonio's leash. The latter needed no tug to let him know it was time to go. Arthur merely put a hand on his back and steered him towards the market proper. Arthur still had a few things he wanted to pick up on the way home.

They were out of earshot of the trader but not yet among the crowds when Arthur looked over his shoulder at the new slave. "What's your name?" he asked. This slave was obvious captured and not bred, so he logically must have a name already, which would save Arthur the trouble of giving him one. He put a hand lightly on Antonio's waist to signal him to slow down and massaged his hip lightly with his fingertips as reward for obeying.

As soon as Master Arthur had a hand on his back, Antonio started walking, passing through the same vendors again and looking around.

He leaned against the touch to his hip and came to a stop, far from the rest of the people and slaves, and quite enough to be able to speak. He cleared his throat as they passed by the toys for children and lowered his head for the first time, looking at his feet as he walked, but still being careful not to bump into anyone.

"Master... I found this coin earlier. I was wondering If I could please maybe buy something for Master Matthew?" He raised the coin so that Master Arthur could see it and then lower his head even more. "He was not used to asking for things, it was not something a slave did. "He just looked a bit sad earlier..."

Grinding his teeth to keep from making a noise as the tug caused the collar to rub at his throat. Iit served a good reminder that jerking back like he wanted was likely not a good idea. Instead, he walked with them to keep from having it pulled again. His mind already going over what he knew of the city's layout, trying to think of how and when would be the best time to make an escape.

The question for his name did nothing but feed the aggravation he felt. No one had asked his name since he'd been first captured, he'd not gone out of his way to give it out. He wasn't stupid like most, he knew that unless he was royal blood name alone could not save him, and given the state his home had been in when he'd last seen it, even being royal wouldn't have saved him. He wasn't much interested in giving it up to this man. "Does it matter?"

His voice came out gruff and weaker then he would have liked. His throat was sore from all the yelling he'd done. Cursing, and insulting his captures at every turn when he couldn't physically attack. The fact that his tongue had remained intact was a lucky thing indeed. But despite the worn sound of his voice, his accent was still thick, and the sneer, the hatred evident in it.

He snorted as the other slave simpered, Gilbert arched a brow, and didn't bother to hide his disgust about it. If the man that had bought him thought that he would ever behave like that, he was sorely mistaken. Gilbert wouldn't be easily broken, and he sure as hell would never bend so quickly to another's will.

He raised an eyebrow at the new slave's defiant answer and then dismissed it, turning his attention towards the loyal and humble Antonio and for a moment ignoring the new slave altogether. "Matthew's training has not been going well lately and it's gotten him a bit down, yes." Antonio's fondness for his ward was a bit of an unusual thing. It made Arthur think that maybe Antonio would have been better suited as a family house slave where he could serve as nanny, since he was obviously good with children. But he was very good at the things Arthur had him do as well. "You don't have to spend your only coin on him. He would be just as cheered up if you made him his favorite dish for dinner tonight. But spend the coin if you wish. Just nothing that will distract him from his studies." Antonio also could not go beyond the range of the leash, but that was already well known by the slave. They were still in public after all.

They took a few steps towards the merchant card so that Antonio could have a look, and with the one slave busy, Arthur turned and acknowledged the other again. "If you refuse to give me your name, I'll be forced to give you a new one. And it will be something along the lines of Snowball or Buttercup. Or perhaps Fluffy. I had a rabbit by that name once, and you somewhat remind me of him. He was a bit of a biter, too, you see." He smirked and his voice took on a slightly amused tone. "And it might serve you to know that the names of my slaves get incorporated into their brand... You may very well end up with one of those fine names seared into your flesh. Perhaps across your forehead, hm?"

Antonio beamed with happiness and gave a small bow to his Master's orders before walking to the nearest vendor. He sold wooden toys, there were tiny birds and bears, horses beautifully carved; but Antonio got the impression none of them would appeal Matthew enough. He shook his head and instead walked over to the opposite side, stopping just as he felt the leash tug lightly at his neck, he couldn't go pass that but it was only three steps from the vendor so it was alright. This one sold animals, they were made of fur and cotton and stitched together with tiny black threads; he examined them all and without meaning to caught the eye of the woman selling them. She gave him a hard look and Antonio instantly dropped his eyes back to the floor hoping she wouldn't call him out on it.

On the floor, right in front of the vendor's booth he caught sight of bears, they were all small, enough for a child of four years or younger to hold. Matthew was six... maybe. He kneel down to get a closer look and smiled, there were black bears, brown bears, grey bears all furry and with tiny pink noses; but one of them caught Antonio's eye, it was white, the only one among them, it stood out among the darker colours of the rest. He couldn't reach it without letting the leash tug more at his neck, so he took a deep breath and stretched, feeling the collar tightened around his throat in a way it hadn't in years. His hand closed around the bear and he immediately pulled back to avoid forcing the leash even more.

The vendor looked at him with venom in her eyes, but he only smiled and tossed her the golden coin. Antonio was sure the coin was worth a lot more than the bear, but he was slave, he wouldn't get any change for it. He bowed his head slightly as the woman caught the coin and then walked back to Arthur's side, hoping he hadn't caused too much disruption.

Last edited by Prussia on Thu May 10, 2012 12:12 am; edited 1 time in total

Gilbert had come to know and understand hatred recently. He knew the hot scorchhing pain of it, that burned and throbbed worse then any injury he had sustained since he'd been caught. Normally, it had no true focus, the traders were bastards, but they were just doing their jobs, he could despise them and give them hell, but it wasn't hatred. Right now, now it was hatred, and it had a focus in the bastard that had bought him, and the knowledge that this man could very easily just decide to just kill him.

He didn't bother to watch the slave move around and look at things to buy from some two bit brat. Instead he glared at the blond, wondering if it would be worth it to use the shackles on his wrists to strangle him. It would certainly make him feel better- but magic made it a dangerous gamble. It could cause more pain then any physical attack could do. It could make him unable to get away. Better to wait it would.

So, he bit the inside of his cheek, and forced himself not to be stupid. He needed to get away, so he needed the others guard down- which his poor behaviour was going to make hard. Behaving like a trained pet now would be foolish.

"Gilbert Beilschmidt." Slaves didn't have surnames, but Gilbert would not forget his. It meant too much for to let it slip away. He'd sooner carve it into his skin then let it be forgotten. For a moment he wondered if that would hurt more than a brand.

He kept his attention mostly on Antonio as the slave shopped, giving the shopkeeper a look to keep her in line. Antonio might be a slave, but he had money and was under his master's watchful eye. There was no reason to refuse him service. Though Arthur really did think it a bit frivolous for the slave to be buying Matthew gifts, that soft spot that Antonio had for children was hard to deny. And the wizard did want his slave and his ward getting along. Matthew was still so young and Arthur was developing his own powers, so having a slave who was good with taking care of children was a plus, and he liked to keep it that way.

He turned and glanced idly at the new slave, who seemed to be struggling with himself before finally giving his name. Arthur smiled and nodded. Good. That was a step in the right direction. "Gilbert it is then," he said as Antonio returned to their side. "Antonio, when we return home, prepare a space in your quarters for Gilbert here to join you. I'll trust you to keep an eye on him. Make sure that stays out of trouble during the night." He gave a smirk, and began to lead them both back through the heart of the market. "We'll prepare something hearty to help put some meat back on his bones as well. What do you like to eat, Gilbert?"

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