Was it really possible to be filled with righteous indignation while one was dying? You would have to assume if a being were truly dying they would be too preoccupied with more pressing matters than feeling insulted and humiliated. Ketu was choosing to assume that his level of outrage was indicative that, no matter how badly wounded and battered his body was, death was not imminent. The alternative was positively unacceptable. As a dragon his destiny was clearly something far greater than dying young before he had managed to achieve any true greatness.
Future greatness aside, Ketu focused on his walk of shame, although it was more of a limp and stumble, much to his aggravation. Each step was punctuated with a soft chorus of distressed grumbles. He could barely let his left foreleg touch the ground without a lancing pain shooting all the way through the limb, and putting weight on it was simply out of the question. Numerous sets of gashes, clearly caused by claws, were scattered across his body, a particularly deep slash across the outside of his right hind leg was producing a steady stream of blood. The rest were not as deep and they only slowly oozed blood that eventually dripped onto the earth of The Thunderblacks.
A screech split the air and a shadow zipped past him, causing Ketu to jerk his head up and nervously scan the sky. The victor of the territory dispute was apparently surveying his prize. He tried to move faster, not wishing to give the other dragon reason to attack him again. As badly wounded as he was he knew he probably would not survive another fight just then. It galled him, but wounded pride was better than dead, so he limped away as quickly as he was able.
Ketu lost track of time, and with each pained step his ego grew less important. The farther from the bloodstained battleground he moved the less important his loss seemed next to his survival. He did not enough know how far he managed to flee. It was undoubtedly still The Thunderblacks, but the young dragon did not know this place. He could not recognize any landmarks when he did manage the energy to raise his head. Raising his head actually took great effort by that point and his foreleg could no longer even touch the ground without causing unbearable pain – even the small movements caused by his labored gait were almost too much to endure. His badly damaged rear limb was being half-dragged, barely able to press on, and then suddenly taking even one more step seemed impossible.
No amount of pride could have kept Ketu on his feet, the dragon collapsed heavily, body trembling as his breath came out in ragged pants. He let himself rest for a few moments before forcing himself to crawl towards the shelter of some large boulders. It would be hard for other dragons to see him in his vulnerable condition if he hid in the shadows of the great rocks. He could stay even more hidden if his form was smaller and of a less interesting shape. It took the last of Ketu's energy to summon enough magic to shift his form from that of a dragon to a human.
Most dragons would pay little mind to an injured human hidden within the shadows of craggy boulders, right? Ketu tried to position himself in the least painful way that he could manage before closing his eyes wearily. All he needed was some rest; he would heal given enough time. He did not even consider how such a heavily injured man laying naked next to some large rocks might look to beings that were not dragons. Such thoughts were hardly his concern as he lost consciousness.
How many days had they been traveling since the unfortunate attack on her hunting party? Probably just a few nights, but the haunting memories of her friends dying beneath strangers' blades haunted her even in the waking hours. The visions were not unlike the curling, whisping fog that rose up from the marshy lands they now traveled, silver light of the moon blanketed by it's veil. It created lurid shadows from the tree and scratchy underbrush, long, dying branches appearing like human sized, wicked thorns.
The jostle of the ride was no picnic either, the roads were unsteady, the cage she was locked within rocking less steady than a ship tossed in stormy seas. More than once she was thrown about within her confines, acruing angry bruises to go along with the hard lump on her head. It had taken a day or two for her to come around from that, and to realize just what happened-
She had been the only one to survive- and the only one these men had taken captive. She had no idea what their nefarious purpose was, but she could tell by their sharp eyes and wicked grins none of it was good. She barely spoke a word of common- hadn't a real need to, so whatever the men were saying were about as readable as the words spoken by the winds.
They must've been traveling a good bit of the night, because the marshes were becoming less wet and much thicker, with larger trees towering on the mountain way before them. The winds howled and rattled the tall trees against the foggied skies- a sound not unlike the call of thunder.
The Thunderblacks. They were traveling through the mountains. Clearing her sleep fogged head, she turned herself around within the cage. She had plenty of space to move within- her captors having been desiring a much larger load than the single girl they now processed. But time was of the essence, and it seemed they were happy enough with their cargo, or they wouldn't be traveling forward at all.
She must've been asleep for some time, the temperature had changed and sent chills down her body. She was not dressed for mountain weather, but that of the much warmer plains in which she had been taken. Her skirts were too short to be of much comfort, nor was her top- both of which just covered her slender form enough to protect herself from rough terrains when crawling about on a hunt.
She supposed the chill, as annoying as it was, helped lift her from the grog of sleep, for she would have had a rude awakening when the cage hit off an uneven rock jutting out from the road, and tossed her unceremoniously into the cage bars before her. She let out a squeaking growl of pain, her shoulder being wrenched back in an awful direction- when she noted how very loose the bar she struck was. She tested it a moment, realizing, she could infact, manipulate the bar to free herself! A rush of hope tickled up her spine and quickened the pace of her heart. But then turning, she noted the men approaching her side of the cage and she fell back.
They were checking out the damage, probably cursing something about the wheel and giving it a wriggle. Then, they turned to inspect the cage- and as they did so, she held her breath, fear all but consuming her as it seemed they might figure out one bar was looser than the others, and any of her plans to escape this nightmare would be shattered.
But the horses made a noise, and the men were quick to check on the beasts, leaving the girl once again to her own devices. She didn't dare move until the caravan was moving again, and as they slunk forward into the sleepy, misty night, she slipped forward and tested the bar. And then patiently waiting for the moment to slip out- she did.
There was a thick wall of bushes leading down a steep hillside lined with coltish trees, reaching out tall towards the incredibly tall heights of their parents. It offered lots of shadows, and lots of weeds, thickets and thorns that tore at her as she nearly tumbled down and threw them for her escape. But it was easy to ignore the burning tears at her flesh- they would heal, and the scrapes at her knees and hands. She had to keep moving, and to keep moving fast. She barely made it out of the thickets and just out of sight of the men on the road over head when she heard one of them cry out in alarm-
And she knew the chase was on. She didn't look back, but use her hands to shield herself from the oncoming brush, shoving low vines and branches aside while ducking beneath others. She heard the men behind her make another cry- one that tensed her entire spine to neck at the realization she had been seen. She spat, and dove into another nearby convoy of bushes, rushing through the thickets and wriggling out desperately to the other side. She then raced down through a cove of trees, the footing here had to be done with her dancer's grace, ones she had years of practice in the uneven, wild fields of the plains. The rocks were slippery, and the space between trees were narrowing, but she had to keep pressing forward, had to be sure of her footing-
But then her foot hit a hidden patch of pebbles, that seemed so sturdy in the foggy moonlight, but they gave way to reveal their truth, and Urdarhza found herself soon tumbling, to her knees, and down the steep hill side, body rolling uncontrollably over sharp, fallen trees and unforgiving rocks.
She wasn't sure how long she fell, but she lay there, in a pillow of mossy leaves, breathing heavy on her back as she stared up at the twinkling fog light streaming down between the ancient trees.
But the voices of the men on the hill side sobered her, and she sat up suddenly- now able to just barely see them ascending the hillside her way. She grit her teeth and crushed, scrambling towards a pair of tall, craggy boulders and hoping to use them as a momentary shield-
and found herself tripping over another fair of feet instead, her body crashing down unceremoniously, and unprettily, and very much painfully upon the body of a bloodied man.
The silent darkness began to lift in a hazy fog. Ketu slowly became vaguely aware of his surroundings again. Mist was swirling around him, and the moon was high in the sky. His body still hurt in a most undignified way. It made it hard to focus on what was going on outside of his own physical state. What had woken him up?
In the distance he started to pick up the sounds of yelling? That had to be humans, it seemed like they were hunting something. Ketu sighed heavily and closed his eyes once again. Whatever the humans were doing, it didn't concern him. Stupid beasts hunting even stupider beasts. If he really tried he probably could have made out what the humans were shouting. That required effort he really didn't want to make at the moment.
Or ever.
It wasn't like a dragon had any reason to concern themselves with what humans were doing. They were insignificant. Even if the sounds were getting closer. Ketu had just about managed to doze back off when whatever manner of creature the humans had been pursuing came scrambling straight towards his resting place. He was inclined to ignore that too until the accursed beast had the absolute nerve to trip right over him.
Ketu's eyes snapped open, a pained hiss escaping as a weight landed on top of his aching body. The hiss was followed by an angry snarl and he decided that maybe he should steal the human's prey for this insolence. After rest, the thing he would need next would be food, right? Heh, and he didn't even have to hunt for it himself. Dinner had come straight to him!
...if he could even raise a claw against it. The young dragon was suddenly reminded that he was currently a human, and hadn't the energy to return to his draconic form. Also as he actually got a look at what had fallen on him, it wasn't a deer or boar as he'd originally expected, it was a human.
"Get the hell off of me before I eat you, stupid ape!"
The young girl all but yelped when the man beneath her spoke, words meant as threats only grazing her as she placed a dirty hand over his mouth and shook her head, signally with imploring eyes for silence.
Ketu let out an extremely low growl, one that rumbled deep in his chest. How dare this inferior creature put its filthy hand over his mouth! Was this glorified monkey shushing him?!
Baring his fangs, Ketu jerked his head away and bit down on the human's hand in swift and mindless retribution. Who cared about the other humans hunting this one?
Surely not a dragon like him! They were all beneath him.
Urdarzha hadn't expected such a vicious retaliation as she sucked in a yelp, swallowing it in silence and instinctively punched at his jaw to get him to stop! She was hissing warnings between her teeth for silence again. There was danger very close by. Did he really want the hunters to find them both?!
Well, the punches did make Ketu let go, as he let out his own hiss, half pain and half anger. Normally a pitiful human wouldn't hurt him with such a pathetic punch, but he was injured already. That was absolutely the only reason.
"I don't take orders from primates." Ketu was full of righteous indignation, but his voice came out a hushed, angry whisper at least.
The young woman hissed under her breath.
"Trouble comes! Don't alert them. They'll kill us both, " She tried to warn, using hand motions along with words, uncertain if he'd understand.
But her gaze was hard, like a warrior's, and though her body ached to fight, she knew she wouldn't survive it.
It was then at began to realize the man with her was already injured, and she leaned away from him to examine his bloodied body before looking at his face with concern.
Did he too, run from trouble?
It wasn't a matter of Ketu being unable to understand, although perhaps it might seem that way given the way he had been ignoring the human's words, but simply a matter of prideful indignation at a creature he considered lesser trying to command him.
Regardless of his pride, Ketu was becoming more and more uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by. He squirmed under the scrutinizing gaze of the human, and clenched his teeth together, sending Urd a silent glare.
It wasn't pleasant being seen so vulnerable. Also the added weight was beginning to make already painful injuries ache that much more. Although it was clear his injuries were not, in fact, inflicted by humans. Gaping gouges caused by claws, vicious bites, and angry burns were what afflicted the young dragon.
It was only relieved that, for the moment, this man was no longer making noise or a fuss. She sighed and took another moment to look over his body, frowning at the deep gashes, so fresh and gnarled upon his flesh. Her eyes returned to is, but then quickly away she looked as the sound of the men grew closer.
She held her breath, gesturing to him to be silent again and imploring him, pleading with her eyes.
They would both be dead if they were found. Or at least as good as caught. She wasn't sure what would be worse- to become slaves, or to simply be gutted and to bleed out.She swallowed thickly and prayed the men would leave this portion of the wood with haste.
But of course they lingered since they lost sight of her, and began to prod through the bushes a few trees to their left.
Well.. shit.
Ketu narrowed his eyes at Urd as the human once again signaled for his silence, but he could hear how close the hunters were now. If it wasn't for his injuries and tiredness, he could have easily sent them running, how annoying.
Listening as the hunters began rustling the underbrush in their search for the woman laying across him, Ketu found himself holding his breath. He really didn't want to have to fight a bunch of stupid monkeys right now. It was absolutely not that he was afraid of these insignificant pests.
The dragon closed his eyes, face scrunched up in discomfort - not fear!
"Do you have any weapons?" she asked, pressing herself closer to him as she Whispered into his ear. "Those men.. they draw closer.."
And she wasn't sure if either of them would have the luxury of choice. She could hear it. They were closing in.
"Do I look like I have weapons?" The words came out a low, harsh hiss. Ketu was completely naked and heavily wounded. It should be obvious he had no human weapons!
If only he was in his other form, then his fangs and claws would be all the weapons he needed. Oh, he had his magic too, even in this form.
Although...
"I am too tired to use magic." He admitted bitterly.
"You know magic?"
Urd was surprised but then she heard the men stepping even closer and suddenly placed a hand over her mouth and his.
And listened, tensely, with breath held
Just as he opened his mouth to give a hushed, probably snippy, reply the primate had covered his mouth to shush him again. She was the one that asked!
Ketu glowered at her with narrowed eyes, but clicked his teeth shut as he waited tensely with her. These foolish human hunters were seriously getting on his nerves. Why did this irritating woman have to run in his direction? She should have gone somewhere else!
An subconscious shift in position, a futile attempt to get more comfortable, had Ketu letting out a strangled groan of pain that tapered off into a low growl of displeasure. The sound was muffled behind Urd's hand, but was it enough?
The men moved suddenly, acting on years of impulse- this was, after all, their livelihood.. their trade. And before Urd even realized what was happening, the men were upon them- weapons drawn and Urd - who was still hunched over and pressed against the wounded naked man- hissed and got up in a defensive position-
But what could she honestly do? The only thing she could think of was to fight- and she grabbed a nearby large rock and launched it at the man closest to them,a nd attempted to scramble over Ketu's form, tugging at his arm and hissing for him to 'Get up! We gotta run!'
Ketu cursed in the low, guttural language of dragons as the hunters closed in on them. This was all the stupid woman's fault! She had led them right to his resting place in her ignorance.
Things happened rapidly, a rock was launched at one of them men, and then Ketu found himself bring half-dragged as he stumbled to his feet. His injured leg protested by sending shooting pain through him. Despite himself he tried to draw on his magic, but barely felt a tingling spark at his fingertips. It was no good, he was just too drained.
"This is all your fault, stupid primate!" To think, a dragon like him, running from monkeys.
Despite her valiant effort, and barely managing to scramble away, the men were upon them- a lasso going after the girl and...
snagging the wounded man instead.
They yanked the rope and secured the rope around him, the man drawing Ketu in while the other still rushed after Urd.
She cursed, scrambling and stumbling as she realized..
This was all her fault! The poor man...
And before she knew it, she was pinned into a corner, struggling with the man who eventually fought her to the ground, a knee to her back and began to tie her up.
A pained sound, something between a growl and a yelp, escaped Ketu as almost as soon as he'd gotten to his feet, they were yanked back out from under him. The ropes aggravated the many wounds already littering his body as he was securely tied by one of the hunters.
Did they think mere rope could contain him?! Ketu thrashed against his binds, continuing to curse in his growling native tongue, ignoring the pain as much as he could.
It did not take long for him to decide the pain wasn't worth it and he was wasting precious energy fighting this humiliation. The rope wouldn't be able to hold him once he regained his strength. Once he was properly rested and healed, then these foolish humans would pay for this insult.
"I will kill every last one of you stupid apes." Ketu just had to be patient. Going limp in his binds, but still growling with inhuman insults peppered throughout.
The men carried them off, back through the underbrush and tall treed meadow, up the vegetated hillside and back towards the caged wagon that waited, perched upon the road. It had taken some effort to get them inside the cage, Urd using a last bit of effort to fight against her captors-
but she was eventually subdued, nd shoved into the cage, where she fell and stumbled against the poor fool she had gotten wrapped up into her troubles.
She grimaced, trying to wriggle off of him, and ignore the tears of frustration burning in her eyes.
Ketu quietly seethed the entire time they were carried back to the wagon cage. It was hardly dignified being lugged around like cargo. These insignificant little pests, treating him with such disrespect?
He grunted when he was shoved into the cage, and moments later hissed angrily as Urd fell on top of him - again. Ketu was a very angry dragon. His wounds hurt, he felt exhausted, and these lesser creatures had the nerve to capture him, to tie him up like some animal!
"Why are you crying? I am the wounded and insulted one here!" There was not a shred of empathy or compassion towards the woman that had brought this misfortune down upon him. "Why are they even doing this?"
Ketu did not associate with humans regularly - on principle. He was not entirely knowledgeable on all their customs. This included the practice of slavery.
She eventually crawled far enough away from him, but the cage was small, and although she had escaped through a loose bar- the men had saw to it and fixed it-
not that she could do much, bound as she was. She slumped forward, trying to figure out what next to do. What were the odds she could break out of the cage twice?
And then the other man spoke- angry and gruff.
She felt a pain of guilt and grimaced. It was her fault he was here.
Granted, it was nice she wasn't alone- she had been so frightened to be held captive but...
this poor man hadn't any clothing and his body, now that she could get a better look at it, looked worse for wear. Someone had wanted this poor man dead.
Now she was helping him off to another fate- perhaps just as bad as whomever plagued his life.
"I'm sorry," she said after a time, her voice hard, gruff- but she was serious. "This bad luck of mine was not a good one to share."
And at his questions, she lowered her gaze in thought, then looked at him, shaking his head.
"They are likely slavers- aiming to sell us to other men. For work.. or play."
Ketu didn't respond to the apology with more than a dismissive huff. Apologies were cheap. Saying sorry didn't change the fact that he was tied up in a cage.
He squirmed on the floor of the wagon, trying to get into a more comfortable position while he listened to Urd explain that they were currently being held by slavers. The concept seemed absurd to him. Did the monkeys really sell each other like cattle? Just another reason to look down on them.
"They will die screaming." Ketu wasn't going to be sold. He would be strong enough to shatter this silly cage long before they got the chance to sell him.
Urdarzha gave him a rueful smile.
"Screaming.. and hopefully gurgling on their own blood so that they can suffer unto the last drop of their life."
These men had already taken enough from her. If she had the power, she would gift them the same.
She eyed the naked, injured man before her. He looked beaten.. exhausted.. but there was a certain air about him...
"Are you from these lands?" The young woman asked.
Ketu flashed a downright sinister grin at the description. Yes, those stupid primates should die choking on their own blood. That would be a fitting death for lowly creatures that dared lay their filthy hands on him.
It was just a matter of time and patience.
"I was born near here. This is my rightful domain." Ketu knew that humans had strange ideas about who, how, and why this human or that human 'owned' certain lands, but that was of no concern to him. Human notions of property had no bearing on his territory.
"Domain?" Urdarzha perked up, large eyes transfixed upon him.
"What do you mean? Are you a chief of your tribe?"
"I mean this is my territory." Forget the territorial fight he'd just lost earlier that very day. It was a fluke. Ketu gritted his teeth, reminded at the sheer amount of indignation he'd been forced upon today.
"Tribes are for monkeys. I don't need one. I am enough alone." He squirmed in his rope bonds again, wondering just how tight they might be. If he could get out of them it would be more comfortable - and easier when it came time to destroy the cage to regain his rightful freedom.
"These stupid ropes! Stupid apes!" The snarl and brief thrashing ended with a grunt of pain and a rather petulant pout.
Urdarzha blinked. So he was a loner? And if he ruled here.. what had happened that he ended up like this?
Her frown deepened as he struggled, thrashing uselessly before she turned away. He looked human but kept speaking strangely. But he was also acting like a child.
Even still.. she felt bad for him. Her consequences were now his.
"We'll find a way out," she promised, more words than truth. What could they even do? They were bound and caged.
And the caravan continued to roll on.
Ketu stopped struggling with a huff, not caring how his behavior was perceived by this woman or any of the other humans for that matter. It wasn't so far off to call him childish, after all, he was still fairly young, barely out of the nest.
"Once I have recovered my strength escape will be simple." His own escape, he really didn't care what happened to Urd. This was all her fault anyway!
With another unhappy rumble, he tried to make himself more comfortable as he closed his eyes. His strength would return quicker with rest, although Ketu's brow remained furrowed instead of smoothing out. It was hard to fall asleep tied up and uncomfortable.
Urdarzha considered what he said. Recover their strength...
She did feel exhausted, after all that hiding and running...
But she was still too anxious to just.. just close her eyes like her fellow captive was.
So she sat there a moment before finally asking him, "I'm Urdarzha. Or Urd, for short.." she chewed on her lip a moment before asking. "What's your name?"
Ketu sighed and opened his eyes, turning to look at his cage mate. What did it matter? Why bother with introductions? It wasn't like he cared what her name was, and he saw no reason why she should care what his was either.
Still, they were stuck together for now, whether he liked it or not.
"Ketu." He tsked after a few moments.
She tilted her head, curious.
"Ketu?" She repeated. "Interesting name... does it mean anything?"
"It means leader." Ketu paused and frowned thoughtfully. "It can also mean brightness or ray of light."
Name meanings weren't particularly interesting to him, but he at least knew the meaning of his own name. Ketu had never put much thought into it beyond that, though. His name was something given to him, not earned, and so the meaning wasn't all that meaningful to him.
"What about yours? Does it mean anything? Or is it just the sound other monkeys make to get your attention?" Honestly, at the root of it, that was the function of all names, regardless of race.
She snorted at his reply.
"You have a funny way of referring to other humans. " she shook away her smile.
"I was adopted by my family. I was born from the north. They gave me a name fitting of when they found me. It means 'fate by the moon'."
"Is it funny? You're all monkeys to me." Ketu genuinely couldn't really fathom that much difference between humans and other primates. Sure, humans were marginally more intelligent than other primates (this is arguable) and they were decent at using tools, but other than that...what was the difference? Less fur? Big deal.
Urd smiled again. The man must have some story to tell about other humans.
"I suppose you're not wrong," She mused, staring over at the slavers. "Some are barbaric apes."
Some?
More like all.
"At least you're self-aware." Some humans thought so very highly of themselves. At least the woman seemed somewhat humble. Ketu could stand her more than the slavers, which was a plus.
"Do you have any other trivial questions, monkey? The sooner I rest, the sooner I escape." Apparently Ketu didn't have much use for her name. Or he forgot.
Urd studied the man with more interest.
He kept talking about apes and monkeys.. as if he himself were no human...
Yet he looked very much human to her. This made her frown in thought. Before she thought better of it, she asked ,"What are you?"
The question took him slightly aback. Did she really have no idea? Could she truly mistake him for a mere human so easily? So what if he was in a human form? It should be obvious that he wasn't one of those brainless monkeys!
"I'm a dragon. Obviously." Given his current appearance it really shouldn't seem so absurd to him that he could be mistaken for something else, but Ketu wasn't exactly in the most rational frame of mind.
Urd just stared at him.
Then, without much thought behind it, she laughed.
Ketu was taken aback when the monkey started laughing at him. The momentary shocked was quickly replaced with anger. How dare this lesser creature laugh at him!
"Silence, monkey! What is so funny? Are you mocking me?" Did this stupid ape want to be the first to die once his strength returned? Surely only someone with a deathwish would laugh in a dragon's face.
His eyes began to glow in response to his rage, and electricity crackled across his skin before flickering out once more. Damn that interloper that attacked him earlier!
It took a moment for Urd to control her laughs, but their situation added a level of gravity and as she noted the little threads of lightning and his anger...
Then she took a moment to actually consider his words. What if what he said were true?
"But.. you... don't look like a dragon. " she tilted her head as she studied him. "But I am limited on the knowledge of such things. But if you're a dragon.. why take on the shape of a human?"
Hell.. if she were a dragon and could change her shape- human would be the last choice!