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How Much is That Doggie in the Window? [M]

Started by Zero, November 13, 2015, 02:39:25 PM

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Zero

To be honest it was probably a rather comical sight to watch such a large man plaintively following a little boy about as they set the table together. Tobias was quite absorbed with listening to Seth list off who would be seated at the servant's table, well, that and carefully setting the dishes in their proper places.

He knew his mother would have switched him with her long wooden spoon if he broke one of her dishes and he honestly did not want to see if Della was like his own mother in that regard.

Once all the dishes were laid out the werewolf was quick to claim the place next to the twins, because honestly he was most comfortable around the little children - and their mother. Indeed, now outside the kitchen Tobias didn't look at all at ease as he'd been. Once more he was hunching down slightly and keeping his eyes off of the people around him as if trying to avoid attention.

Those bright, golden eyes.

DragonSong

Tessa was distracted through much of the meal. She kept glancing across at the servants' table, trying to glean how Tobias was getting along with the other members of the household help.

He seemed to be trying to shrink down into his chair, from what she could see. She saw Isaac, the gardener, and Mia try to draw him into conversation once or twice. Most everyone else seemed content with curious glances over their food. The Varryses had never had a slave in the house before, and no one seemed quite sure how to handle it.

"Tessa, are you listening?"

"Hm?" She jerked her attention back to her own table and realized her mother had been speaking to her. "Oh, uh, sorry. What was it?"

Nateri tutted and shook her head. "I was saying that I scheduled your dancing instructor to be here at noon tomorrow."

Tessa bit back a groan and forced a polite smile, nodding. "Alright." She took another bite of her meal and realized it had gone cold. How long had she been distracted? Nateri continued talking, but she really wasn't paying attention.

She was snapped back into the present when her father stood suddenly, his chair grating across the floor. Immediately everyone's attention was on him. He nodded toward the servants, saying, "Excellent as always, Della." The cook smiled, nodding to the people around her to indicate they should start clearing up. As they did, Erik added in a voice that was somehow both quiet and carrying. "You, Tobias was it? A word please."

Tessa froze. "Father-" she started.

Her mother touched her arm gently, shaking her head. "Come along, sweetheart," she said quietly, pulling her to her feet and leading her toward the door. To the servants she said, "Go on about your business please."

Tessa resisted, though not very forcefully. She ignored the servants trickling out of the room, muttering conspiratorially among themselves, eyes locked on Erik. "Father," she tried again.

He ignored her. Beckoning Tobias with a hand he said imperiously, "Come here, please."

Zero

As soon as dinner had started the werewolf had clammed up. Tobias kept his eyes on his plate and gave short, softly spoken replies to the attempts to engage him in conversation. He never once even glanced in the direction of the other table. Mostly because he didn't want to know if Erik and Nateri Varrys were glaring at him in disapproval throughout the meal.

Even if he didn't want to be a slave or be there, it still bothered him to have such unpleasantness directed at him. After all, Tobias hadn't volunteered to come along, Tessa had made the call and he hadn't really had much choice but to do as he was told.

The werewolf visibly winced as the chair grated across the floor, shoulders hunching further as he tried to sink down in his chair, as if it could shield him from whatever attack was about to come. Tobias wasn't going back into a cage, his wolf would never allow it. The man could dismiss him, but if Erik thought he was selling the wolf to someone else to act as property, then he was going to  be sorely disappointed.

He was already on the verge of simply bolting when the master of the house asked for "a word" with him. It was hard to block out the servant's whispers as they left, but Tobias dragged his eyes reluctantly to Erik before getting out of his chair slowly and shuffling towards him.

"Yes sir?" The werewolf was almost behaving like a cowering dog might, creeping towards an angry master with its tail tucked between its legs.

The wolf wouldn't cower before anyone or anything, but the man sure did.

DragonSong

Erik crossed his arms over his chest, planting his feet and trying to be as imposing as possible. Tessa recognized the body language; he wasn't used to being smaller than someone, and was trying to make up for it with authority.

"I believe it's pretty clear that I don't entirely trust you," he said without preamble. Tessa opened her mouth, not sure what she was planning to say exactly, but her mother's grip on her arm tightened and she closed it again, seething.

"However," Erik continued, looking Tobias up and down, calculating. Brown eyes sharpened the way they always did when he was making a business deal. "I have a proposition for you. One that I believe may put both our minds at ease, a little." He glanced quickly at his wife, and Tessa started to have in inkling of what she'd meant when she said she'd "talked to him". Nateri was a persuasive woman. "Serve and protect my daughter to the best of your ability for a year, and you will be a free man."

Tessa drew in a sharp breath, eyes widening. She had not expected that.

"I understand that you don't want to be here," Erik continued, "but you are marked as a slave. If you run, you will be caught, and just taken back to the slavers. But if you take the deal, you'll have my word backing you, no one in the city will question your freedom. I could even arrange to have you unmarked." He stared at him levelly. He'd made the sales pitch, now it was the werewolf's move.

"Do you agree?"

Zero

No, really?

Tobias bit his tongue, not needing to start a fight with the man that could make his life easy or difficult for the unforeseeable future. Not to mention he didn't think Tessa's father was a bad man, just a man that didn't know him and was currently biased against him.

For no reason.

Brown-gold eyes glanced towards the two women still lingering in the room, listening to their conversation, when he heard the gasp. Tessa wasn't the only one that hadn't really been expecting that kind of offer. Although he didn't know what he was expected to do with such an offer. He had to internally battle with his wolf over the proposition.

"I think your offer was made under false pretenses, is what I think." Tobias said slowly, raising his eyes to look at Erik steadily. "I don't have any slave mark on me. They were too afraid to try to brand me, and even if they tried it wouldn't work. If I decided to run away this second, nobody in this house could stop me, and if I made it to the woods, nobody would be able to find me, and even if they did - they'd wish they hadn't."

He wasn't hunching over anymore, and his eyes were becoming more golden than brown. "I won't go back in a cage, my wolf won't do it. I'm not a liar, I have never wanted to hurt anyone, but don't think for a moment I won't protect myself. A month ago I was a free man. So don't be so naive as to think "your word" will mean a damn thing to slavers. Trust me, I should know, since I was given my freedom three years ago, fat lot of good it did me, eh?"

The werewolf cast his eyes back over to Tessa. "You're worried about her, or I wouldn't be here. All I want is to live in peace. You let me be, don't act like I'm some sort of lesser being or vicious monster, and I give you my word that nobody under your roof is going to be hurt by anyone while I'm around. How long that is...guess that depends on how long you feel like your family's not safe."

DragonSong

Erik Varrys pursed his lips. He was not used to being spoken to like that.

Tessa, for her part, found she was feeling a strange combination of relief and pity. She'd assumed Tobias hadn't been born a slave- his personality would have reflected it if he had- but to learn he'd had his freedom taken from him not once but twice made her feel wrong, dirty, as though if she scrubbed hard enough she could wash away the stain of buying him.

"I believe him."

Both Tessa and her father started and looked to Nateri. The Essyrni woman was watching Tobias with dark, calculating eyes. "I believe him," she repeated, looking at her husband.

"So do I," Tessa piped up softly, though she knew her opinion didn't really matter in this particular instance.

Erik looked between the two of them, eyes narrowed. Then, slowly, his shoulders started to relax and he let out a heavy breath. "I believe...we have an accord," he said, looking at Tobias and nodding once, rather officially. He turned away, saying tiredly, "Tessa, why don't you show your guard the rest of the manor? He'll need to know the layout if he's going to be at all useful." He took her mother by the arm and they left the dining hall, heads bowed together, talking softly.

Tessa let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and looked at Tobias. His eyes still had that gold sheen to them- it was almost hypnotic, and the words she'd meant to say flew out of her head, leaving her with, "So, ah...would you like a tour?"

Zero

Golden eyes darted to the darkly beautiful Nateri as well. Her speaking up in his favor was a little surprising to the werewolf as well. After a moment he turned his eyes back to Erik as the man began to relax. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips when the man nodded quiet seriously and he bowed his head slightly in return.

As soon as the pair left his shoulders slumped slightly, as if simply exhausted by the exchange. It had been rather intense for him. He was half surprised that he hadn't gotten himself in trouble and caused a big mess of the whole thing.

Tobias wasn't used to talking to people like that.

Of course Erik hadn't only been talking to Tobias, the wolf had propped him up, given him the extra bite to his words. Although now his plans had to change a bit. Escaping as soon as possible was no longer an option. The werewolf had given his word, and he wasn't a liar. For now he would just have to get used to this place and the people here. As long as he didn't feel trapped it wouldn't be so bad, now that staying felt at least a little more like his choice.

Plus Tessa seemed like a sweet young woman, and her life was in danger. Even the wolf agreed that it would be good to put a stop to whatever threats were plaguing this family.

"Sure, lass. Might as well get familiar with the place if I'm really staying. If we run into more of your people you should give me some formal introductions. I was too nervous at dinner to talk to them much." Tobias still had to introduce the wolf to them all - what a meeting that was sure to be.

DragonSong

Tessa smiled, relieved and somewhat surprised he was being so easy going about the whole ordeal. "Follow me, then," she said brightly, pushing open the doors to lead him into the main hall. "The manor is basically a big box, divided into front and back on the first floor, then the second floor is mostly bedrooms and the library, then there's the attic," she explained. She pointed to the other end of the main room at the rather imposing set of double oak doors. "Those lead through to the foyer, and the parlor is just off of that."

She walked closer to the center of the large room, gesturing around. "This is sort of the main room of the back of the manor; you already know where the kitchen is, and the servants' quarters are just off of that." The glint of the setting sun through the large, elegant windows set into the back wall prompted her to say, "And you can get right out to the gardens and stables from here, if you want."

"And they really are quite something, if I do say so meself." Tessa turned to give Isaac a smile as he leaned against the now open doorway that led outside.

Remembering Tobias's request, she beckoned the young man over, saying, "This is Isaac, he works miracles with those plants."

"I'm blushing, Miss," Isaac said, grinning cheekily as he approached. "So you're the new guard." He looked Tobias up and down, smile still in place but clearly evaluating. She knew that look.

"This is Tobias," Tessa introduced him. She gave the gardener a mock stern frown "And if you'd be so kind as to wait a day or two before you start flirting to avoid scaring him off, it'd be much appreciated."

Isaac laughed. "Doesn't look like there's much that'd scare you off," he said teasingly, giving the much taller man a meaningful look.

Zero

It was a nice house, much too big for someone like him, but still very nice. Tobias remained quiet, eyes moving around at Tessa's direction and attempting to commit things to memory. Being a guard he might actually have to move through the house very quickly at some point. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but better prepared than ignorant.

They made it to a lard window that looked out over the garden and suddenly they had company. The werewolf remembered him from dinner, perhaps more clearly than some of the others, because he was one of the people that had actually tried to speak with him.

He felt embarrassed that he couldn't remember a single thing they young man had said or that he'd said over the tense meal.

Of course there was something else. The way Isaac was looking at him made Tobias squirm a little, and then there was the flirting comment and then the laughter and teasing, which had the werewolf blush and shuffle to kind of put Tessa between him and Isaac, as if a huge man like him could hide behind a wispy girl like her.

"You'd be surprised." Tobias's voice had gotten raspy, his face still quite red as he ducked his head down. "I guess I'd be flattered if you thought I was good-looking enough to flirt with and all, but, uh...not that there's anything wrong with it...but..."

He flailed his hands a little in a helpless gesture as he was quite unsure what to say or do. "I'm not...you know. Let's just be friends?"

DragonSong

Isaac laughed outright now, not in a mean way, simply very amused. "Hey, I get it, no worries." He quirked an eyebrow, still chuckling, and added, "You don't have to hide, you know. I don't bite."

Tessa tried and failed to stifle a chuckle, glancing back over her shoulder at Tobias. "You'll get used to him," she promised, grinning. "Gods know the rest of us had to."

Isaac put a hand to his chest. "You wound me, fair lady," he said, pouting. Then his easy grin was back in place and he asked, "Do you happen to know where Anna went? I lost her after that oh-so-awkward dinner."

Tessa blushed. "Yeah, sorry about father," she mumbled. "I think she went with Della to clean up the kitchen."

"Thanks." He leaned in closer to her and whispered, "You know, he really is cute. If he's not playing for my side, you should take a crack at it before someone else does." Tessa went very red, praying that the werewolf hadn't heard him, and shooed the gardener away.

"Go bother your sister," she snipped, frowning. With a wink and another laugh he strolled off. Hoping her blush had died down, she turned to Tobias and explained, "Anna is his sister. She's the...housekeeper, I guess you'd call it." Indicating the still open door with a nod she asked, "Want to see the gardens?"

Some fresh air seemed like a good idea right about now.

Zero

Tobias only blushed harder when Isaac said that he didn't bite. That might be the case for Isaac, but as a werewolf the potential for biting was certainly there for him. Not that he'd ever bitten anyone accidentally since he'd learned to control himself. Had bitten a few people on purpose, but those were very bad people and they didn't survive the encounter.

His thoughts had spiraled way out of control and off topic. The werewolf barely noticed Isaac leaving, and just looking at him made Tobias blush again and cover his face with a groan.

Flirting wasn't his strong suit, for sure. Especially when it was intentional. Apparently he'd accidentally flirted with some girls before, but when he actually tried to think about it all that came of it was embarrassment.

This was a first for him - having a guy giving him those looks.

Not that he was much better when women looked at him like that. The wolf found the entire thing amusing and offered no help whatsoever when Tobias ran into such issues.

"Yeah, gardens sound good lass." Anywhere outside would be nice. Or just anywhere that wasn't going to have people seeing how red his face was. Maybe the evening air would cool his warm face. Maybe.

DragonSong

Tessa tried to hide a smile when she noticed the young man's blush. "He really got to you, didn't he?" she said, leading them outside. The sun was setting now, casting a rosy sort of glow over the winding paths through the gardens. She followed one to a bench and sat, fiddling with her skirts in an attempt to avoid wrinkling them. Her mother would kill her if she ruined another gown.

"I know Isaac can be...a lot, but he means well," she said. Now that there was cool air on her skin, she was feeling much better, the gardener's teasing comment fading from her mind. "Most everyone here means well, come to think of it. The only person you should really avoid is Andrew, the butler- fair hair, kinda tan, always scowling. Honestly, if that man ever smiles I'll die of shock."

She looked around, breathing in the scent of roses and lilies and a dozen other flowers she couldn't even begin to name. "I'm, uh, sorry about my father. Really, he's not a bad guy, he's just very protective of me..." She trailed off, feeling like if she kept making excuses it would only make matters worse.

Zero

Out among the flowers the werewolf started to slowly relax again. The fresh air was welcome, and the flowers smelled kind of nice. Plus it was slightly cooler which helped his blush start to fade away as he took a seat on the bench next to her.

What could he even say to that? Tobias looked at her with an expression that was almost contrite. He knew his reaction had been ridiculous, but he still couldn't help it. It wasn't as if he thought Isaac was going to pounce upon him, but he still acted as if he wanted nothing more than to hide from the flirtatious looks.

"I'll keep all that in mind." Well, not everyone could be pleasant. There was bound to be at least one Grumpy Gus among the staff. He understood about her father, he really did. Understanding the man was protective didn't make it stop bothering him.

"You know, if I had a daughter I'd be super protective too. I just don't like...I'm not a monster. I was perfectly normal, and then..." He rubbed the old scars on his hand, the last scars he ever received, since becoming a werewolf changed the way his body healed, and how quickly. Wounds never scarred now. "It's hard when people are afraid of you."

DragonSong

Tessa tilted her head, watching his movements. "So...you weren't born this way then?" It was phrased as a question but she knew the answer. Slowly, she ventured, "If- if you don't mind me asking...what happened?"

She realized how forward she was being and blushed, dropping her gaze. "Sorry, that was too personal. If I were in your place I wouldn't want to tell the person who bought me anything, let alone something like that."  She looked away toward one of the experimental rose bushes Isaac was working on, covered in yellow blooms. She found it was suddenly difficult to meet his eyes.

Zero

"I don't suppose slaves get to have anything personal, lass." That was how this worked, right? Tessa owned every aspect of Tobias, the only things private were those allowed to remain so. Although he knew that she didn't expect him to pour out any of his life stories, let alone think she'd demand he do so.

"Little over eight years ago I was as human as anyone else - probably boringly so. I was only just eighteen years, still lived with ma and pa, helping him fish and bringing home rabbits for her to roast. We were what you'd call poor, but I never saw it that way. We didn't go hungry and didn't need or care for luxuries." He paused contemplatively, staring out at the garden but not seeing it. His mind was focused inward on his memories.

"Late one night the things came. We didn't know what they were at the time, but one managed to maul me real good while we were barricading ourselves in." Tobias lifted his scarred hand to show her the bite marks that never completely faded. "Most everything after that gets pretty hazy. Turning wasn't at all a pleasant experience for me, but I hear it isn't usually as bad as mine was. It's pretty crazy I even survived the night, to be honest."

Tobias looked down at his hands quietly, staring at them intently as he tried not to think about the realities of that night he couldn't remember. "They weren't like other werewolves. These...things...they were feral - mad. It happens sometimes, to werewolves that just can't cope with the change. It happened to me, for the first five years. I was caught and turned into a gladiator slave. My particular ferocity made me appealing, apparently. Three years ago I was bought by a woman that helped me remember that I wasn't a feral beast. She made me whole again, and gave me my freedom back."

Mable had been a very good friend to him. He missed her now. Maybe he should never have left. "My parents didn't make it. Most of the village didn't. Though when I went back sane, there wasn't only bad news. A girl I was sweet on survived, found out she married a man from Deep Water and had two little ones. I was...happy for her."

It wasn't as if he could have married her - not after what he'd become.

DragonSong

As Tessa listened, her eyes became wider and wider and she placed a hand over her mouth. "Gods," she breathed. "I- I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."

The words weren't nearly adequate, but they were all she could come up with. "Gods..." she repeated shaking her head. There were a million questions circling her around in her head; how had he become a slave again, who had given him his freedom the first time, what were his parents like- but she couldn't say any of that, couldn't ask him to relive that.

She wanted to drop the subject, to leave him be, she really did, but somehow she found herself asking, "What's her name? The girl you loved?" She snapped her mouth closed quickly, cursing herself for opening it at all.

Zero

It wasn't as if Tobias was fishing for pity - pity was something he neither needed nor wanted. Eight years was a long time. The past was buried and all he could do was keep surviving.

"Miranda Marsh. She was a year younger than me. I always called her Minnie, she hated it when we were kids, but when we got older she got mad if I didn't call her Minnie. I used to dance with her at the holiday festivals. We'd have probably gotten married that year if the beasts never came." That all seemed a lifetime ago. Tobias wasn't even upset anymore over losing her. From what he'd heard she was happy now, with a normal family.

The werewolf tilted his head and smiled at her. "Not the first question I expected. I was kinda figuring on some reaction to that whole revelation about me being a feral werewolf for a while."

DragonSong

"Well...I am curious about that," she admitted. "But it just- it didn't seem right to ask." She offered a soft smile. "Besides, that's over now. You don't seem like a feral beast to me." She frowned slightly. "Though I guess that does explain why those awful men didn't want to give Father any background on you..."

Shaking her head, she stood, brushing at her skirts to smooth the wrinkles. Still looking down, she said quietly, "If...if you want to talk about it though, I've been told I'm a pretty good listener."

Zero

"Yeah, I'm not. Mable Sinclair rescued me. The man that owned me liked me feral. It's not something I like talking about, but I'm sure you know what fighting slaves do, lass." Tobias shuddered softly. Even without remembering the time, he still knew the things that he'd done - what he'd been forced to do.

"If you want to know about that time I'm afraid you're going to have to remain in the dark, lass. I can't remember anything from that time. I wasn't in my right mind." The werewolf frowned before shaking his head. "Maybe we don't mention all this to your father, lass. Not sure he'd take it as calmly as you. He doesn't need any more reasons to worry about my stability. I think Saul did enough to make him uneasy with me."

DragonSong

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Tessa agreed. The very idea made her physically cringe. He'd only just calmed down, they didn't need him worked up over this.

She couldn't deny that she wanted to know more about his past now, but she didn't want to pry. Besides, it seemed he'd told her all he could. "Thank you for telling me all this," she said, dipping into an automatic half curtsy before she remembered she didn't have to and straightened quickly.

"Do- do you want to go back in?" she asked, nodding toward the manor. It was a rather abrupt change of topic, but she wasn't sure what else to say. "I mean, technically I haven't finished giving you the tour, so..." She coughed lightly, feeling awkward.

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