Chapter Ten: In Cold Blood

            Bailey looked past the stale bread roll clutched in his paws, catching Garrett's attention from the other side of the courtyard. The Akita didn't scowl as their eyes met, or even look away, he actually smiled. For the last week Garrett had been…strange, to say the least. After the arena Bailey had been in the dark, trapped in a pit of numbing despair that he couldn't seem to pull himself out of. He'd even been thinking of trying to run one day and letting the guards sort him out. And then Misha had been there. The dumb mutt had just come over and hugged him one night, and Bailey had finally slept without nightmares, wrapped tight in Misha's arms. He'd needed it. The two hadn't repeated the embrace, but Misha had always been close by his side, chatting away and distracting him. The week had been filled with wind, cold icy gales biting at the slave's ears as they again hauled huge barrels of spiced wine off old creaky ships, but Misha had always kept his mind occupied. In fact he almost had a not-bad week, which was as good as things got now. At least it hadn't rained.

The worst part was that Turin had noticed his mood picking up. Bailey had tried to make it look like he was slumping as he walked by the Slave Lord, but the occasional laugh with Garrett or Misha had betrayed him. The jackal seemed even more infuriated, and Bailey had copped three separate beatings this week for infractions that barely warranted it. Thankfully, they'd been relatively light, and he'd gotten off with only a few bruises and a bloody nose.

            The weirdest part was that the always-mad Akita had actually been speaking to him, and by choice no less. Something seemed to have changed in Garrett, and Bailey wished to the Allgod he knew what. He'd counted three smiles now in six days, the first genuine ones he'd seen on the dog's muzzle since they met. He'd walked near him, asked questions about things and Bailey could swear he'd caught Garrett staring at him more than once.

            “Does something seem…different, about him?" He'd asked Misha, when they were allowed a short break from unloading the ship and standing around a barrel filled with questionable water. The mutt pulled a handful of murky water to his mouth and quickly lapped it up, gasping. He looked to Garrett, where Bailey had gestured.

            “Different how?" He asked, an eyebrow going up. “Seems a'same old arsehole to me."

            “I don't know." The wolf replied, shaking his head. “It's weird. Just…nicer, maybe."

            “Sure." Misha replied, going back to the water.

            Now he saw the Akita on the other side of the slaves' courtyard, sitting in the shade and cradling his bread. The sun seemed determined to burn them today, and everyone was cowering in what little respite was offered. Unlike all the other times he'd been caught, today Garrett didn't look away as Bailey spied him, instead just staring back, eyes wide. Bailey felt his tail twitch slightly, and Garrett's mimicked the action. He climbed to his feet, making his way over.

            “Did you see the lizards yesterday?" Misha asked, snapping Bailey from his daze. Garrett was taking his time, and so he looked to the mutt.

            “Um, no, where?" He asked.

            “Watchin' us, right 'fore we finished. They even spoke to Turin forra bit." His friend replied, taking a bite of the tough bread and liberating a resistant piece with his teeth.

            “Oh."

            “Yeah. Real tall git…bastard scalers, they're like monsters." Misha shook his head, and Bailey stifled a laugh.

            “You mean the Akkedisians?" He asked, cocking his head.

            “I can never'emember the proper name. Horns n'all but, like fuckin' demons they are."

            “Have you ever met one?" Bailey asked, suddenly curious. Misha had grown up poor, then been sold relatively young. He may never have seen one up close.

            “Course not. Only time I have before the fight a-weeks back was when they c'mere for us. I'm usually too busy looking meek and pathetic to get a proper look though, y'know? S'probably why they were talking to Turin, gonna buy one of us. Hope it ain't you or me." Bailey nodded, and felt a little nervousness build in his chest. During the day at the arena, Sanrivagh had eventually told him there was an agreement…that he wouldn't be harmed too much, and he wouldn't be sold. He was safe…relatively. But Garrett, Misha, Resh…they had no such protection. The thought of losing any of them burned a hole in his gut.  Garrett had now been stopped about halfway across the courtyard by Resh. Bailey felt…annoyed at that? He wished the old bear would just get out of the way and let them talk already.

            What am I doing? He thought. I thought you gave up on trying to be friends with him. He shook his head, turning his attention back to Misha.

            “Well, they're pretty normal up close. A little abrupt, different customs you know, and their language is weird…but not so bad." He explained. Misha's eyes went wide.

            “You've met one?" He asked around the last mouthful of bread. “Back when you were important I guess?" Bailey nodded.

            “Yeah. Plenty of them."        

            “They don't talk like us?"      

            “Most can. The royalty here can understand a bit of their tongue too, but it's a difficult language to learn, so anything important is typically in Tevarian." The mutt sat back, no more bread in his paws, staring out at the courtyard, apparently amazed by this. It was easy to forget how little about the world the lower class understood sometimes. Bailey hadn't even considered that most of the poorer citizens wouldn't even know the Akkedisians had their own language. He felt a slight surge of want to do something about it, but quickly crushed the sensation. That wasn't his world anymore, he had more immediate needs to worry about.

            “Hey." A rough voice interrupted. He looked up to see a shirtless Garrett standing over him, looming in the sun. The light caught the edges of his fur, and plunged his front into shadow.

            “Hi." Bailey replied, a little stagnantly. He didn't know what to say, simultaneously having a dozen thoughts he could voice, but not sure which of them he should.

            The most normal was to ask how he was. But why would he do that? Slaves don't care about that kind of polite small talk, and Garrett especially didn't. It would probably just annoy him.

            The second was to ask what he wanted, but that seemed far too combative, and might scare the Akita off. Bailey did want to talk, despite himself.

            The worst idea was to suddenly just blurt out everything he'd been worrying about; if he'd ever get free of this life, or if Turin would kill him first. He worried about Misha, Resh, or Garrett being sold, or killed, or transferred, or hurt. How it terrified him that he didn't seem to miss any of the people he used to know in the court, they were just names and faces now, and the faces were fading anyway.

            The weirdest idea was to confess what he'd been doing at night for the last few days. It had started a few nights ago when he couldn't sleep, ears searching the darkness on instinct to pick out any kind of noise or threat, ordinarily picking up the birds and wind outside, the rustle of trees, accentuating mundane sounds. Instead that night he'd heard soft grunting and shallow breathing, and had slowly sat up to look who it belonged to. He wouldn't normally, after all…in a slave hall filled with dozens of sleeping males, there was bound to be noises from people getting off before they slept. Hell, Bailey had done it before himself, albeit not often (and he kept it incredibly quiet). But something about the location and pitch of that soft moan had caught his ear. Moving inch by inch he'd looked up, and seen Garrett over by his window, knees up and lower body shrouded in a sheet, a tell-tale bump of a paw rising and falling just below his hips. Bailey's skin had instantly burned, and he'd pressed himself as hard into the ground as he could, somehow feeling as if the Akita knew he'd seen. Of course Garrett had been distracted, and so Bailey listened until the end. The next day he'd felt terrible, like he'd somehow done something very wrong, even though he hadn't been listening on purpose. And yet despite that, the next night, he sat up late, listening again for any sound from the Akita. It started up only once the majority of furs were asleep, but it was there again. And so he listened.

            He still didn't understand why he did it. It made him feel…weird. Like there was a strange twisting in his stomach, and dryness in his throat. But nonetheless he'd kept doing it, every night, utterly fascinated.

            He quickly put that thought as far away from his conscious thinking as he possibly could, instead looking up at Garrett and just staring blankly.

            “How are you doing?" The Akita asked, sitting down slowly. Bailey saw Misha giving him a bewildered look, but he just shrugged.

            “I'm okay. Tired, my back hurts." Garrett gave him a sympathetic look, and Bailey bit his lip, looking at the dirt. He felt nervous, like he used to when he had a test he'd been studying for, or had to practice his swordsmanship in front of an audience.

            “Uh, I wasn't really hungry today, do you want the last of this?" He looked up again to see Garrett offering him a small chunk of bread. He stared at it. This was definitely not the sort of thing slaves did. If they weren't hungry, they ate anyway, because you never knew when the next meal might be. Slowly, the wolf reached out and took the piece, pulling it up to his mouth and eating it. Once he'd forced the chewy bread down, he smiled uncomfortably.

            “Thanks."

            “No problem." Bailey noticed out the corner of his eye, Misha had turned away and curled up for a nap. Since his friend had checked out for a bit, the wolf chose to shuffle slightly closer to the Akita. “You're so different, to everyone else here I mean." Garrett mused after a moment; eyes lingering on what Bailey guessed were his ears, or maybe his neck.

            “Um, I suppose. Not many of us started as the heirs to Lordships." He laughed, but it was forced. The Akita nodded.

            “No, I know…but this life is an equaliser. It makes all of us the same…and yet…you're still different." He shook his head, and Bailey blushed furiously beneath his fur. His tail flicked up into his lap and he began playing with it.

            “Um, different how? I mean, I think I'm pretty much the same as everyone here…Turin just hates me more than he does them." He asked gently.

            “You aren't as broken."

            “Not yet." He replied softly. Garrett shook his head.

            “Maybe, but anyone else would be gone by now. They'd be…like the rest of us. The thing that makes them unique filed down and blown away." He gestured out to the other slaves, all sitting alone, small forms slumped in the shade or sleeping. “Which is fine. I think most people have to give up on things to survive here. But not you, apparently."

            “I ah, don't really know what you mean." Why did Garrett make him feel scared? He'd always had that effect, since they first met. Not scared in the way that he thought the larger fur would hurt him, but scared in the way that Bailey worried he would slip up and say something to make him leave.

            “You're happier than most. On Fifth Day, I saw Turin slap you so hard you fell over." Bailey winced, remembering. The jackal had kicked him in the side too, just once, but it was hard enough that he was still sore now. He massaged his ribs, biting down on his tongue.

            “I remember." He replied sullenly.

            “But that night you laughed. It's a pretty rare sound, in this place."

            “Misha said something funny. I can't remember what." Garrett shook his head.

            “It's nice is all." He finally blurted, sounding a little exasperated. “That you don't let those bastards break you." At that, he reached over and squeezed Bailey's forearm, just above his wrist. The wolf instantly jerked his arm back, regretting the action almost immediately. Garrett's ears fell and he looked away.

            “Uh, sorry." Bailey tried, sounding pathetic.

            “No, no it's fine." The Akita said, glancing to the side and looking at Misha, who seemed to have successfully dozed off. The two sat there awkwardly for another moment, and Bailey wanted to reach out and touch him, just because it felt like he should…but he didn't know how. It felt too awkward, too weird. He hadn't put Garrett in the right place in his mind, and to think of touching him like someone would touch a…a what? A brother? The thought of Garrett as his brother made him recoil quickly, backpedalling in his mind. A close friend? Do friends touch like that? Misha had hugged him, that was true…but there were extenuating circumstances, and they'd only done it once.

            We're not even that close. I don't really know anything about him. He looked to the Akita, who was staring off into the middle of the courtyard, eyes slightly down, ears splayed back. He's helped me, a lot. Maybe that's what closeness is here.

            Before he could say anything a shrill whistling sound pierced the air. Both Bailey and Garrett's heads snapped up to see Turin walking into the courtyard, two fingers in his mouth.

            “But he said…" Bailey began, and Garrett shushed him. The jackal pointed to the middle of the courtyard, and slaves began lining up shoulder-to-shoulder for him.

            “C'mon." Garrett said, standing and pulling Bailey to his feet. They began marching over, but then Bailey remembered Misha. He turned and dashed back, shaking the mutt awake.

            “LORDLING! IN LINE!" Turin screamed at him, and the two quickly made tracks, Misha rubbing his face, confused. Garrett had become lost somewhere in the line-up, and Bailey felt anxiety bubble up in his stomach. “Those of you with shirts, off!" Turin cried out next. Bailey was topless, but next him Misha removed his filthy shirt and tossed it to the ground. Behind the Slave Lord the large steel gates to the encampment had swung inwards, parting to show a small band of armoured Akkedisian soldiers marching in, led by a taller drake in much finer clothing. This one was tall and lean, glittering lime scales covering his body, dispersed with black patterning running down from his neck and over his arms. Two petite horns jutted out from the front of his head, the base of them situated just behind his slit-ears. On top of that, there was a fine gold ring around the left one.

            “I told you." Misha whispered, nudging him. “Try to look useless." Bailey chewed on his lip, wondering if Garrett knew to look 'useless'.

            With a start, he realised that he recognised the well-dressed Akkedisian leader as Urie Khasteer, eldest son of Zakhar Khasteer, Treasury Lord for the Imperium. He'd never spoken to either before, and surely the drake wouldn't recognise him, but the sight of a vaguely familiar face gave him chills nonetheless. The lightly-armoured Akkedisian soldiers took up position close to the gate, their eyes always on their charge, spears clutched tight.

            “And these are the ones that were present at the bout?" Urie asked Turin, who nodded.

            “Yes my Lord. There…was another crew there as well, but they were relegated to the cellars and kitchens, out of sight." Urie nodded at that, walking along the front of them. His eyes lingered over Misha, and Bailey recalled all the horrific rumours he'd heard about Akkedisian slave owners. But thankfully, the lizard kept walking. He let out a breath as he passed them both by. The silence was palpable, and Urie seemed to have no problem with this, taking his time to really look at each of the things Turin had to offer. When he was about halfway down the line, he stopped, turning to the Slave Lord.

            “A tiger? How did you get one in Aleya? They're so rare this far south." Bailey licked his lips, knowing who they were talking about. Yuri was the only tiger around, at least in Turin's crew. He'd stolen food from Misha, pushed them both around…and yet Bailey still didn't want to see him sold off to the Akkedisian. Whenever things got really bad, slaves always talked about how at least they were chained in 'the good side of the city'. Turin beamed.

            “I keep my eyes and ears open, my Lord." He replied smugly. Bailey had never hated him as much as he did when he saw that smile on his face.

            These are people, and they talk about them like they're trading stones. He thought, paw becoming a fist by his side. Urie kept walking, and the slaves waited patiently as he capped the end.

            “An interesting collection, slaver." Urie mused, looking over them. “I think I'm spoiled for choice." Turin stepped a little closer at that, hands clasped in front of his waist.

            “May I ask what kind of work you have in mind for this lot?" He asked tepidly. Urie turned to him, and Bailey had to cock an ear up to make out what he said properly.

            “Oh, house work mostly. My family recently lost two, so I'm just bulking the numbers back up." Bailey swallowed.

            Lost. He thought.  

            “Well, in that case…I have one that performed exceptionally well with the guests of the arena. He's a purebred as far as I know, somewhat of a rarity, and was serving up food to the noble Tevarian blood. I received many compliments." Urie scoffed at the word Tevarian, but glanced back towards the slaves. Beside him, Misha grabbed his wrist, squeezing tight. Bailey leaned forwards slightly, trying to see if he could spy Garrett anywhere in the line. He couldn't, and suddenly he wanted to vomit. “He can be a bit resistant sometimes, but with a strict hand he's one of the best workers we have."

            “Oh?" Urie asked, eyes searching the other end of the line. Turin grinned, showing teeth. Jackals made for good scavengers, picking up the dredges of everyone else, but in that second Turin looked more like a predator than anyone Bailey had seen.

            “LORDLING!" He cried, looking right to Bailey. “HERE!" At first the wolf couldn't move.  He wanted to collapse. He'd been sure they meant Garrett…Akitas were rarer than Timberwolves…he hadn't even thought. What about what Sanrivagh had said? He was supposed to be safe…there was an agreement.

            You were an idiot for believing anything that old fox said.

            “Please." He whispered, looking to Urie and thinking how cruel those eyes looked. Beside him, Misha clasped down on his paw, squeezing as hard as he could.

            “I'm so sorry." The mutt whispered. Bailey just nodded and reluctantly pulled away, tears brimming in his eyes as he trudged on over. It felt so unreal, this wasn't how things were supposed to go. He glanced back and tried to find Garrett, but couldn't make out the Akita anywhere in line.

            It doesn't matter. You'll never see them again. He thought, wetness staining the fur beneath his eyes. The ground felt unsteady beneath his feet, and he couldn't get enough air into his lungs. He stopped in front of the Akkedisian, waiting while Turin stalked around the side of him.

            “Chin up." He barked, and Bailey sniffled as he complied. Urie studied him with the same air one would have when purchasing a rug.

            “He'll do. Not too foul, should clean up nicely." The lizard muttered. Bailey let out a whimper, and his ears fell.

            “Excellent." Turin said, before muttering. “Now kneel Lordling." Slowly, Bailey felt his body collapse, going down on one knee and then the other. His eyes looked forward but didn't see anything, the information not registering. He couldn't understand what was happening, it was all wrong. “Just make sure you use a firm hand, and you'll be set my Lord." Turin added, reaching down and digging his claws into Bailey's shoulder.

            “I like servants with personality. I'll take the tiger too." Urie said dismissively, waving for a soldier's attention. “You, load these two into the wagon and we'll be off."

            “Get up." Bailey heard the order snapped by some vowel-heavy Akkedisian accent, and stood woozily before being shoved towards the gates. He glanced back for a second and saw Yuri slowly plodding towards them, head down. He desperately wanted to see Garrett one last time, or Resh, or Misha…but if he saw them he knew it would all get so much worse. He kept his eyes forward and on the ground.

            “Let's go then. The coachman will see to the payment." Urie said, pivoting on his heel. As he began to walk away a cough rang out, or…was that a laugh? Bailey paused, and looked back to see Urie staring back at the slaves in disbelief, Turin similarly stunned. Garrett stood slightly forward in the line, off to the centre left, shaking his head and grinning.

            “YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Turin bellowed, the words grating in his throat as he stormed over to the Akita.

            “Wait." Urie said, giving Turin pause, the jackal stopped with a fist raised to strike. The lizard walked over to Garrett, standing close to him, half a head taller than the Akita. “Why were you laughing?" He asked. Garrett looked away, but Urie shot a claw out and gripped his throat. “Answer me." He said firmly. Garrett gasped, and by his sides his fingers splayed out in pain, but he otherwise didn't react. Bailey felt the energy drain from him. They would happily kill Garrett for something like that.

            “He just…" Garrett wheezed. “He looks pretty, but…I'm glad you're taking him, he just slows us down. I'm…sorry for laughing..." Urie released him, and the Akita doubled over, sucking in air and rasping. Urie looked to Yuri who stood dumbfounded, and then glared at Turin. Slowly, Urie's guard got closer, making a loose perimeter.

            “You'd lie to me?" He asked Turin, his voice ice cold. The jackal quickly shook his head.

            “N-no, never! I only said the wolf was good, the tiger is…is just rare. You don't need to believe that mutt, they're all useful." He quickly excused, taking a step back. Urie sighed, pinching the scales in front of his eyes. Urie turned away.

            “Fine. Then I'll take whichever one wins."

            Wins? Bailey's blood ran cold.

            Neither Yuri nor Garrett made a move, and Urie swore in Akkedisian.

            “And I'll kill whichever one loses." He said, rolling his eyes. Garrett swallowed and looked to the tiger, and then to Bailey. He swallowed visibly, and brought his paws up.

He stepped forwards, and Yuri crashed into him. The two were wrapped around each other, grunting and swearing, no other noise surrounding them as everyone watched. The jackal was clearly unhappy, but too scared of the Khasteer family to do anything about it. Bailey whined as he saw Yuri punch Garrett in the stomach, the Akita doubling forwards and retching. Garrett growled, and threw his weight forwards, tackling Yuri at the thighs and taking them both to the ground. The tiger's head smacked into the dirt with an audible thud, and Garrett slammed a fist down onto his chest, feeling something give way. Yuri brought a knee up and rammed it into his side, and the Akita hissed in pain as he fell to the side. Suddenly there were eighty-five kilos of tiger on top of him, grunting, growling, his massive paws making to push down on Garrett's throat. The Akita smacked at his face to no avail, before finally taking a thumb and pressing it into the tiger's eye. Yuri howled and fell back as Garrett came up, but he was caught with a claw, four red lines appearing on his chest after a second, blood seeping out.

No! Bailey screamed silently, unconsciously stepping forward, he felt a soldier clamp a paw down on the fur at the back of his neck, squeezing it hard. He stopped, pain flaring up at his neck, eyes glued to the fight. Garrett was on top again, his fist coming down again and again and again. The tiger howled and threw dirt up at the Akita's eyes, blinding him. In the split second he had the advantage Yuri slapped him across the face, palm connecting with the side of his eye. Garrett fell and instantly rolled away, both of the figures coming to their feet, panting and gasping for breath. Their mouths were open and bloody drool slipped from their gums, neither making an effort to wipe it away.

Urie Khasteer just watched.

The tiger came in again, slower and less accurate now, but using his weight to the advantage. He swiped for Garrett and missed, but then pushed in and grabbed both his wrists. Garrett's head snapped forward as he head-butted the tiger, blood spraying out across his light fur, and dripping into the dirt. Barely able to stand up straight and swaying like a drunk, Garrett lurched forwards and shoved Yuri, who fell. He hit the ground and writhed, holding his bleeding face. Everyone watched as the tiger struggled to his knees, but stumbled, falling back to the ground.

He was able to get to his paws and knees again, but anything higher than that and he would lose his balance and fall. Garrett looked to Urie, hatred in his eyes, breath coming in short sickening gasps, blood spattered across his chest and face.

“Well." The lizard said. “That's that." A soldier stepped forward and drove a spear through Yuri's back. The tiger went completely still, opening his mouth as if to say something, no sound coming out. The spear was yanked free and he fell like ragdoll, blood seeping out into the dust. The soldiers began herding Garrett and Bailey out towards the gate, while the other slaves stared, horrified and stunned. Misha was crying, watching Bailey go.

Turin scurried up behind Urie, keeping close.

“Are you going to pay for that tiger? You've taken three from me now!" He said, sounding increasingly weak. Urie looked at him like he was an idiot and just kept walking. After a moment some guards appeared and handed over a pouch of gold, and the Akkedisians left.

In the carriage Garrett sat right against Bailey, leaning on him, panting.

“What the hell is wrong with you?" Bailey asked, still crying. Garrett coughed, holding his chest and wincing in pain as he did so. The fur on his face was hardening from the blood, and one of his eyes had the whites laced with thin needles of red.

“I didn't think that would happen..." He confessed, voice like metal shavings. “I just thought he might take me instead of…instead of Yuri. He…said he liked personality." Each word seemed to be difficult to get out, and he took long breaks between sentences.

“Why would you want to do that?" Bailey exclaimed.

“I didn't want to…agh, fuck…leave you alone, again." Garrett breathed, one of his eyes already starting to swell. He cringed every time the carriage hit a bump or hole, which seemed to come every few feet.

“For me?" Bailey asked, still confused. Garrett nodded, a paw sliding down and resting on Bailey's thigh.

“Yeah." The wolf let his head fall back against the side of the enclosed cabin at that, looking at the light shining in from the rear door, which was barred with iron rods. A part of him was glad he hadn't lost Garrett, but he'd just seen somebody murdered in front of him, and couldn't think straight. It was just like when it happened to his father, everything felt so unreal…and now he was going somewhere else, somewhere new, somewhere even more horrible.

“What's he going to do to us?" He whispered. Garrett was quiet for a while, and when he did finally reply, his voice was faint.

“I don't know." Bailey closed his eyes at that, and just let himself sob.