Laylir walked into the town. She had walked a long way. She would briefly stay in a town but never long because of the danger. Her long ears would give her away and she feared what that would mean. She had won her freedom with a cup. Her old owner had passed out after drinking from a cup she had made. It had made the wine he was drinking strong enough to knock him out. She had run without another thought. She had kept running since. The only thing she had going for her was that her collar had been off so that she could work on a necklace for a woman her master favored.

She now covered herself in a long brown cloak with the hood pulled forward to hide her ears and face. It was a thin protection though. She walked through the town looking for a place to buy food and sell another one of her possessions. She looked over and realized that she had ended up next to the slave shops. She stared at the cells remembering her time in a one just like it.

Jonathan was still standing by the building where Alice had gone in. clutching the picture. He was lost in memories of his friend/girl friend. He thought of the dance and all the times she had used ehr powers to play pranks on him or they had used them to play pranks on others. He thought of her laughter, and the little cave they had found in a clearing in the woods where they had spent hours playing. It had been their secret hide-out.

The apparent overcast day was proving beneficial for Iruna's new visitor and he made his way down the streets with a grin on his fair face. He was happy that he wasn't going to have to draw too much attention to himself by resorting to his usual habit of hiding beneath a parasol.

The visitor was a Sekassiret, a member of a spider-like humanoid race that held a natural aversion to the sun. And, while this particular specimen was a tourist from the far-off world of Vidania, the a small group of Seks had populated the planet only 2 generations ago, creating the object of this man's visit.

He was tall, nearly 6 feet, thin and only slightly muscular and that lean frame was nearly surrounded by unusually long hair that trailed to his feet, most of which was red, save for long white bangs that framed his face. This particular combination of hair coloring was a distinct trait of the noble Abez'iana family, though here they did little to identify him off the bat. But that is who this strange traveler was, Afanassii Abez'iana - the oldest boy of a prominent clan in Freeland of Vidania.

The beautiful boy soon found himself glancing in the direction of a reflective surface. He was worried of coming across as too feminine, as he was often taken as a female during his travels. With a sigh, he pulled his crimson tresses back into a quick braid and looked about in an attempt to obtain his bearings. If he had a clue what was going on in Iruna at the moment, he would be far more interested in blending in than how he currently was. Still, unless the sun shone bright or he revealed his fangs, the humans on the planet would be hard-pressed to identify his race - the Sek settlers numbered less than a 100 planet-wide.

For now, he scanned the sparse crowd with wide and interested eyes, smiling sweetly at whomever locked eyes with his own deep blue ones.

A satisfied smile appeared on the Yuki-onna’s lips. Walking over to the table where the tools laid out for her use Zeira dropped the whip by it. Quietly she looked over the toys. She would have a little more fun with this one before treating her. Her fingers lightly ran over the tools while she decided on what to use next. Picking up a small knife she considered what to do. A slight sigh escaped her as she sat it back down. If she left anymore open wounds on this slave the boss would most likely punish her. Then she got an idea. Turning back to the girl she grinned. “Time for a break, I don’t want to cause too much damage to the pretty body of yours. So just hand around for a bit. I or one of the others will be back in later.” With a laugh she woman disappeared through the door, back into the shop.

Maiara followed after Alice. “I suppose the way I think does, but one has to be cunning and be able to think quickly in the way this world is now.” As they exited the building she ignored the man that was waiting outside in the alley. She would like it up to Alice if she wanted to talk with him again. Since the other girl didn’t stop she went on, pulling the cloak around her more to conceal her wings. “Yes, that should work since my wings are of no use right now.”

((I'll update with posts for my other characters as I get things typed out.))

Nikia tried hard not to let the woman's smile phase her as she hung on the wall. The wounds were painful, the smile sadistic. It was like she wanted to cut her up into little pieces or even make her a slave for herself, but slaves didnt own slaves. Thats the one part that stopped her from thinking anything of it. The woman looked like she was having fun as she put down the knife and went towards the door. Then she heard the words, "Time for a break." A deep breath came in through her nose as she waited to be released, but the next sentence from the woman made it all seem different. She was not going to damage her beautiful body any more than she had already done. it was then that she said to hang around for a bit. With that, her head hung low from disappointment. The wounds hurt way too deeply for her to do anything but hang where she was. her shoulder muscles were getting sore from having to hold her in the position she was in.

Chiki stared at the door for what seemed like an eternity, but then gave in. She wasn't one to turn down a fight, but this man seemed persistent, and she didn't want to attract more attention to herself that what was necessary. Despite her strong outside persona, she is a very timid girl with multiple personalities as well as phobias, each one depending to a situation. She waved her hand dismissively,"Farron, we might as well go, there's no point on trying to coax the man out, he's set on his sick intentions." I hate to make this kind of decision, but right now, we can't waste time. She turned around, her short hair whipped around as well, and her boots were silent as she made her way out of the shop.

As she exited, she looked up, not very sunny today. It was good for her, the sun always seemed to burn her golden eyes, as well as burn her skin. She was in a sour mood, and wanted nothing but to set the poor shop into flames, but knowing her slave, Farron would not take it rather well. "Hnn, what should we do now...?" She asked, mostly to herself, since she didn't make sure Farron was actually following her outside.

Sidney hadn't the slightest idea who the red-haired waif was. And, though the person had caught his eye in passing, he lost interest when he overheard the accented baritone that the male had muttered. He rolled his steely blue eyes and sniffed the air.

Something was strange about the foreigner, and it caused the veteran to narrow his gaze. He couldn't quite put his finger on the difference and he eventually rolled his shoulder dismissively at the thought that it probably was because he likely could bowl the boy over by just breathing on him.

He was off to enjoy the fruits of his labor today. Among his planned stops was a trip to the slave shop, to peruse the wares. He had yet to actually own a slave himself, but he did so enjoy seeing them behind bars. For the quintessential "American male" mindset, he was oddly accepting of the current slavery - if not for the fact that it was so easy to think of them as possessions.

They weren't like him - then again, that was always the excuse for slavery, wasn't it? Throughout history one group of people had asserted their will on another group for perceivable differences of some sort. This trap was all too easy to slip into now - and it felt like a veritable glove to him. These things weren't human. And his religion said that all other things that walked or swam the world and were not human were merely put here to be at the disposal of human beings.

He smirked as he made his way through the entrance. He walked with a slow, confident gait - knowing full-well the impression that he made. Sliding that steely gaze along from the face of one captive object to another, he finally rested on the face of one of the handlers. "I'm mildly interested..." he said at last, straight-faced. "What do you have for me today?"

Victor heard the retreating steps from the door. A slight frown slid onto the man’s face he was wanting to play some more. “Well it looks like your would be rescuers have given up sweety. So where were we?” The frown was replaced with a more bored look. This slave was starting to lose his interest. She was close to passing out and wouldn’t be much fun. He paused a moment when there was another knock on the door. This time it was Ian. “Victor if you’re done with that girl get her back into her cage,” the man bellowed through the thick metal door. The vampire grumbled slightly under his breath before unshackling the nymph. “Looks like you’ll be going to your cage instead of staying back here. Aren’t you lucky?” Taking the lead chain he tugged on it roughly, leading the girl back into the shop. “Let’s go.”

Ian gave up on the look for the angel, Dimitri could take care of it after he was finished bandaging his ribs. After telling Victor to get the nymph back into her cage he walked around looking over the slaves. They still had a nice selection he thought to himself. A man (Sidney) had entered the shop and he seemed rather bored by his tone. “Sir that would depend on what you’re looking for. If you are wanting a male slave then we have a few, a vampire, a unicorn, and a nine-tailed fox. Now if you are in the market for a female slave we have a little bigger selection. There is a water nymph, a shapeshifter, a wolf/vampire hybrid and a dark angel. The nymph, shifter and angel will be out on display shortly.” The young man’s tone was polite and business like.

Dimitri gave Zeira a sly grin when he seen the look on her face as the woman came out of one of the back rooms. “Having fun? Making some poor man wish he was dead?” He teased as he continued to wrap a bandage around his ribs. Hearing the woman’s words he growled slightly. “I wouldn’t bet on that sweetheart. Besides you’re not my type.” He finished wrapping his ribs up then slide his shirt back on aware that the other handler was approaching him. Knowing Zeira she planned to try teasing him or to get him to let his guard down for once around her. He glanced up at the Yuki-onna, his crimson eyes darker than normal. “I know, I’ll find that bitch and she will regret trying to escape.” The anger he felt towards being punished again by the boss was evident as he talked about retrieving the missing girl.

Zeira laughed slightly at the male. “If only I was that lucky. Then again I could get that lucky, but I doubt you’re a match for me with the way you’re all banged up.” She was pleased with the reaction she got from him. Dimitri was a curious one in Zeira’s opinion. He knew how to be tough and gentle at the same time, but he did tend to let his softer side get the better of him which caused problems. “Maybe we’ll just see about that sometime.” As she spoke her tone changed to one of seduction. Her steps were quiet as she moved closer to the male. “Anyway you better find that missing angel before the boss finds out. You know he’s going to blame you for her missing.”

Eris felt no disappointment with whoever was previously behind that door, she was never expecting anyone to come and save her. Who would anyway? She barely knew any of the other slaves, and she highly doubted that angel would be returning any time soon. The nymph was slightly worried as to want he would do to her now; the slave handler had a bored look on his face which to her could only spell disaster.

Fortunately, or maybe not so fortunately, the person bellowed through the door. It was a deep baritone voice, so it couldn’t have been the same person. She guessed it was their boss because the slave handler dispersed the cage of fire and unshackled her. Her arms fell limply to her sides, exhausted from being chained above her head for so long. She didn’t have time to relax before being tugged coarsely ahead, causing her to stumble forward. Eris let out a tiny gasp, but steadied herself as she followed. The female let loose a murderous glare though as she walked back to her cage.

Her body ached, her back burned, and she could hardly see straight. But the water nymph would not show defeat. Yes, she was a slave, but she’d be dammed if she gave in so easily.

Laylir jerked when she realized that she had spaced out. She reached up to her hood to make sure it was still in place. She sighed when she felt it. She turned to leave the horrible location when her cloak caught on the building she was standing next to. It jerked her back and the hood fell back for a moment. She reached down and tugged her cloak lose and quickly covered her head and more importantly her ears again. She glanced once more at the horrid store then walked away hoping no one had seen her.

Victor wasted no time leading the nymph to her cage. The fact that she was glaring at him made him smile. Yes, that’s it hate me. Hate is all a slave can do in this world. On the way to the nymph’s cage he grabbed a jar with a green substance in it off of a shelf. He wasn’t about to get in trouble for putting a damaged slave on display. Once at the cage he came to a sudden stop. With another of his cocky grins he turned to the girl. “Alright sweety tell me where it hurts and I’ll make you feel better.” If one didn’t know better it would have sounded like he was trying to hit on the girl instead of annoy her.

Zeira took a breath before reentering the room where the shifter girl was. Only moments before she had been thrown against the wall by the door by Dimitri for her advances in trying to seduce him. “Looks like you’re stuck with me darling. The other handlers have their hands full, so aren’t you lucky?” A sickly sweet smile formed on the Yuki-onna’s lips. Just as she was picked up a flogger a deep voice shouted over the intercom system. “Zeira, get that girl cleaned up and back on display! You’ve punished her enough for now, we want her alive not dead! We have costumers so hurry it up.” The woman shuttered at the man’s voice, almost dropping the flogger in her hand. After a moment she moved over to the table placing the item in her hand down before pressing a button on the wall. “Yes, sir. I understand and will do as you wish.” There was a slight quiver in her voice as she spoke. Releasing the button she turned back to the girl. “I guess you are lucky. It seems the boss wants you back out front.” By this time she had regained her composure and was now rummaging through the cabinet in the corner of the room. The woman took out a couple different containers, some clean clothes and what appeared to be a bottle of clear liquid. With the items in hand she walked over to the shifter. “Try not to move around too much while I get you cleaned up and somewhat healed.” Her tone was once again icy like it had been earlier. Quickly the Yuki-onna cleaned the cuts she had made with the whip before gently spreading a slimy blue substance over them. The substance packed a sting, but it would make superficial wounds like these heal in no time.

Eris stared pointedly at the green stuff in the jar, looking rather uncomfortable. For one thing, she wasn’t sure to trust the handler with…whatever that was, and secondly she…well, she did not want to be touched by anyone. It was hard enough to let others address her wounds from before she was a slave; now he wanted to help her? The nymph simply refused to say anything and looked away to the side. She’d rather stick with her skin marred, thanks.

Plus, she really did not like the way he had said it; it certainly did not sound…appropriate.

Chuckling slightly Victor shook his head. “Now, now sweety. Those burns need to be treated otherwise they’ll get worse. You don’t want that do you?” He was rather enjoying teasing this woman. Without warning he pulled her closer to him, taking the chain that connected the shackles on her wrist in his hand. Then he lifted it high, forcing her to raise her arms above her head. He wasn’t rough about what he was doing mostly because they were in the shop. “At least stay still while I have a look and get those burns taken care of….pretty please?” The smile he gave her quickly turned back into his normal grin as he winked at her. He always did enjoy confusing the slaves that he handled. With his free hand he scooped a small amount of the gel like substance out of the jar and proceeded to spread it on the visible burn marks on the nymph’s body.

(( I even said that I was going to update a few days ago. Gomen. I updated now, and since real world BS is calming down a little bit I should be able to update more frequently now.))

Farron stood there for what felt like an eternity. He knew that by standing there, whilst doing nothing, the people behind the hard wooden door were being tortured and hurt, but for some reason he could not will himself to take any form of action. He knew that he was bound to get punished for his inactivity and if it wasn't that he knew that he was bound to at least get a scolding. He was shaken from his stupor when he heard his master, Chiki, say that if he wasn't going to do anything that they should just leave. As he turned around to retort and disagree, he decided that it would be better if he held his tongue since he had already disobeyed a direct order from her. He didn't want to make it any worse after all. As he followed Chiki out of the shop he closed his eyes tightly since his eyes hadn't adjusted to the light yet. Once he was in the sun for a while he chanced opening his eyes. His eyes still hurt, but at least now it was bearable. He turned to Chiki when he heard her ask what they should do now. He was about to answer when his stomach rumbled a little bit. He felt his cheeks flush a little bit as he managed to stutter out. "Well whatever you want to do, Mas-Chiki," said Farron as he lowered his eyes a little bit in either respect or embarrassment. He was still trying to figure out which it was.

Sylar moaned out in his sleep as he brought his legs closer up to the middle of his body. He was lost in a vivid dream. He was dreaming of a time long since passed. A time that he had been with his mother, now since passed, as well as, his sister. They lived in the forest near a village, but they didn't bother one another ever. Besides, the humans never ventured into the "Forbidden" forest since they were wary that they would lose their souls, or some other superficial superstition. As he continued to dream the dream suddenly turned darker, more sinister even, as the trees around him began to burn, and they were found by the humans that they had for so long been away from. They immediately went after him, his sister, and his mother. He remembered screams, yelling, and the sulfuric smell of ash and fire around him. The dream moved forward a little bit, and he was running from the humans. Always running. He followed his sister over a small ravine where he saw her jump over it. As he jumped over it, he missed it, as he went plummeting to the ground below.

Before he hit the ground he woke up with a start with a yell of pure terror. Glancing around he noticed that he was in an iron cage with some form of a blanket draped over him. "Oh yeah," thought Sylar miserably. "I forgot that I was here. If only this, too, were a dream." As he continued to think depressing thoughts movement towards the door got his attention. As the door swung open the most imposing man (Sidney) that he had ever seen walked into the shop. There was something about this man. Something, not sinister, but dangerous. It was the look of a predator, of one who had seen death. He shuddered as he thought of the terrible things that would happen to him if he was bought by this man.

Alice looked at Maiara and said "Alright you can go up, and i'll head back into the shop to try and get some keys to unlock that collar of yours." She paused for a moment then said "And maybe another person too just to make the trip more useful." She smiled then stood by the stairs and looked at Maiara smiling. She hoped that when she went back into the store that no one had notice that she had left and thought that she was still there with the guy who had bought her. Although she did feel bad about leaving him she knew that since she was helping others that it would make up for it in the long run. She looked back at the door they had come out of earlier, that would be the door she entered back in to make it less noticeable since no one had seen them go that way.

Eris let out an undignified squeak, startled when she was pulled closer to him and her arms were raised above her head again. She squirmed in vain, and let out a hiss when the goop was applied; they burned for a moment before becoming very cool against her skin. Honestly, the gel felt very nice…almost too nice; she had to bite back a sigh, she wasn’t about to let on how she felt. Though the nymph felt it must’ve been water-base, or at the very least contained some sort of water-like ingredients because she felt her strength returning (or as much as it could with this damn collar)and with that her appearance bettered. Skin returned to its normal softness and hue, her hair shone bright and full, and she was more than certain her eyes were their unusually startling green once more.

Nikia wondered how she could have ever gotten herself into this type of situation. Her situation was bleak. There was no way she would be bought after the punishment she might get once the handlers come back. She hung on the wall like a decoration, waiting for one of the men to come back into the room. It turns out the woman's persuasion was not persuasive enough. She was the one to enter, not one of the men. She was about to come over with the whip again, when a voice came booming into the room.
Still being disoriented, Nikia wondered where it had come from, but the male told the woman to release her back into her cage after cleaning her up. She watched as the woman brought in a blue substance over to her. She cleaned the cuts made by the whip while the girl hung there, staying as still as possible. Once the blue substance touched the cuts, she could feel it working on closing the wounds to make it so that there were no scars, but the sting was too painful for her to resist letting out a small scream. She of course shut up as soon as she could so the woman wouldnt get too much satisfaction out of her pain. When the wounds were finished healing, she looked down to see her stomach was intact the way it had been before her punishment. If the sting of getting the cuts in the first place didnt teach her a lesson on escaping, the sting of it all healing back did. She looked up at the woman, then down to the floor waiting to be released.

Maiara gave Alice a nod. “Good luck Alice and I’ll wait for up on the roof.” She point up as she spoke. She hoped the imp would return safely and soon. The collar around her neck was starting to annoy her. With it she would pretty much useless. Glancing around she was relieved that the alleyway was still empty except for the man they had left back at the apartment building. So far, so good. Before starting up the ladder she secured her cloak. Her wings were starting to ache from being bound and she would be glad when she could unbind them.

Victor looked over the nymph one last time. Satisfied that most of the burns had been taken care of he lowered her arms. “There you are miss nymph, all taken care of. Now what do you say?” He let out a slight chuckle knowing full well that she wouldn’t thank him. At least the girl looked better and it probably wouldn’t take long for her to be purchased. “Anyway, in the cage you go.” He gave her a gentle push towards the open cage.