Spirits of the Earth

OOC: Tags to @Wicked Basket

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The word was on the street that early next week would be the annual Crocodile Hunt, and this year the prizes given out were a lot grander than they had been in years past. With money in his eyes, Karime was making every preparation he could to get himself a cut of that fame and money. Naturally, his tool of choice was to be Red Sun, and a few newly acquired slaves. And with the deadline looming, Karime spared no expense to have Red Sun in top condition for such an affair.

He and his men accompanied her to the Colosseum, where there the endless sea of practice rooms awaited them,a nd the sounds of swinging swords and clubs and mashing practice dummies could be heard echoing all around the chambers.

"Seems as if we're not the only ones here with the same idea," Karime mused, and gestured for his leashed beauty to move forward, and Red Sun obeyed, stepping into the practice room until the ends of her chains leashed indicated she could go no more. She peered back at Karime and he only smiled. She supposed this was the end of the line for her.

Every since that one time she tried to escape...
She couldn't go anywhere without chains. Her eyes scanned the rows of weapons before she pulled out one of the practice spears with a partially blunted blade. Spears were ideal for crocodile hunts as it gave you distance from the snapping jaws of the massive crocs. And the crocodiles could vary greatly in size. She'd hate to approach one of the larger ones ill prepared, as this would be her first time hunting a crocodile in the wild, and though she had fought one once before in the arena, she had a feeling facing one on it's home turf would be fairly different.

After all,s he had never been to the delta before or had to deal with swamps terrains. It would prove interesting indeed. And she had to wonder if Karime would even keep her on a leash out there too.

Cassius had been at the Colosseum all morning to prepare for the Croc Hunt. Taking on other humans was one thing, taking on giant crocodiles was something else entirely. Having only one hand always put him at a disadvantage one way or another, but he always figured something out. One of the slaveowners had been bragging about how great of a gladiator he had, so Cassius had beaten that 'great gladiator' into submission just to shutup the owner.

Just then, who could enter the Colosseum next other than his old friend Red Sun. Cassius knew that Karime wouldn't be able to resist entering his prized slave into the Croc Hunt, especially after that fiasco with the giant snake.

Cassius approached Karime with a practice spear in his hand.

"Are you hoping to have better luck with the crocs than you had with the snake," Cassius asked.

Karime's eyes narrowed dangerously upon Cassius.
"There will be no need for luck. You yourself know of Red Sun's perfection," Karime went on with an indignant sniff. "She will bring in the biggest and most dangerous crocodile's head, just for the Shah. She brought down that snake, no thanks to you, she can do much better than that once we get her in the wilds. You know how these savage beasts can be," he said, and the savage beast he was speaking about was Red Sun, who wasn't even bothering to glance back their way as she rose up her spear, and gave one swift cut of it, cleaving the practice dummy before her in half.

So much for partially blunt weapons...

"Actually, Red Sun was eaten by the snake and I killed it," Cassius corrected him. "You should be thanking me for saving your most prized possession."

Not to be outdone, Cassius proceeded to cleave a training dummy in two as well. He just needed to do it a bit differently since he only had one hand, but the result was still the same.

"What? Are you here to collect your reward?" Karime asked with an angered wrinkling of his nose. "You were outside of your rights to join the fight. "

"You were outside of your damn rights for even setting it loose in the arena," Cassius shot back. "You saw it eat one of the spectators. Who knows how many more it would have eaten had I not intervened? I was even personally thanked by the Shah for killing that beast and saving everyone in that arena."

Karime held back a growl, but gave a snort instead.
"If Red Sun would have been eaten, that would have been the match. You make the Shah seem weak by intervening in her shows." And he tried to ignore the fact he was seen to some a hero. How disgusting!

Cassius took a step closer to Karime so that he was looming over him.

"I did not talk to her during the show," Cassius replied angrily. "She summoned me to her palace later that day. How dare you accuse me disrespecting the Shah!"

Cassius was now most displeased to the point where Red Sun might not even be able to save Karime. One of the things Cassius prided himself on was loyalty to his country and respect for its leaders, and Karime was questioning both of those things.

Karime gave a snort.
"She probably gave you a thank you in order to make it appear as if it were planned. Surely your mind has been in the arena too long, Cassius. The rules are rules, and you must realize you're adding to the rumors about our youthful and wise Shah. I've heard them more than once myself. A pity really, such a pretty thing becoming the focus of tongue and scorn."

"Then we cut out the tongues of those who scorn her," Cassius replied simply. "Now then, I have training to do to get ready for the hunt, not that you would know anything about fighting, or even lifting a sword. You just hide behind Red Sun, but she won't be around forever."

Cassius moved away from Karime and cleaved another training dummy in two. It was amazing how much easier it was to accomplish while imagining that the dummy was Karime. Cassius was determined to kill the biggest crocodile of the hunt. He would show Karime who was really the bigger man and better fighter, and he would make Karime admit it one way or another.

Karime snorted and waved the man off.
"As reckless as you are, she'll probably out live you!"

Cassius merely chuckled to himself. If Karime kept throwing Red Sun into impossible fights like the fight with the snake, then Red Sun won't last long at all. Cassius just continued breaking any training dummies in his vicinity. The Colosseum staff really hated how he went through so many dummies like nothing, but none of them dared to confront him about it for fear of being a replacement for a training dummy. Crocodiles are a lot different from dummies, but Cassius would succeed either way. He was undefeated after all.

With the line of dummies gone, it only left the last one in the line he had been destroying-
and the last one was being occupied by Red Sun, who was still using her practice spear, but was now practicing a few high kicks and swift moves as her long red hair fluttered and twirling behind her in her wake, the sharp end of the spear not being thrusted forward as Red Sun crouched down low and let out a cry, and it pierced the dummy in the center. But even harming dummies was not nearly as satisfying as tossing Cassius about inside the ring.

Or, in what could only be a dream, to toss around Karime. Her master was getting on her nerves more than usual as of lately, and the small taste of freedom was always just at the tip of her tongue. Damn Cassius for that. Damn him to hell!

With no more dummies to destroy and no one willing to spar with him, Cassius decided to enngage in one of  his other favorite pastimes, which was bothering Red Sun. He walked up behind her and then leaned on his spear.

"Is that me or Karime," Cassius asked after she had pierced the dummy.

Red Sun released a huff before glaring over her shoulder at him.
"You and him both."

"I see," Cassius replied casually. "I've destroyed quite a few Karime's myself, but it just isn't as satisfying. You've no idea how badly I want to break your master over my knee."

This was a very unusual way to talk to a slave, but Cassius didn't care. It wasn't as if anyone had the guts to confront him about. People usually just talked behind his back and sometimes got knocked unconscious if Cassius overheard them. At least Red Sun didn't judge. Much.

"I'd like to see you try," she quipped, and with a grunt, she yanked the end of her spear out from the dummy's middle. "Not only would Karime be dead, but you'd be on your way to the chopping block." And she turned away from him, not even giving him a second glance as she worked at eyeing the dummy up, this time pretending it was him. And with a heavy thrust, the spear was shoved into the dummy's belly again, expelling out exploding pieces of straw and hay into the air.

"Must've been me that time," Cassius commented. "Even if I did kill him no one in this city could stop me. They're all too afraid to fight me anyway. It makes life kind of boring."

Red Sun gave a snort, and then gave a violent yank of her spear and ripped it out from the dummy where it had once been lodged, purposely doing so so that her elbow would connect with Cassius's stomach. The man shouldn't have been hoovering so close.
"Oops.."

Cassius took a step backwards, but was otherwise unaffected by the blow.

"Very sly, Sunny," Cassius said. "I could knock you on your ass for that, but I'm still preoccupied with hating Karime. Who the hell does he think he is that he can insult me anyway? Does he not realize how easily I could kill him at any given time?"

"He does realize it," she said simply, walking away. "It's why he does it. It gives him power knowing you are impotent. Powerless. Unable to best him."

"I can easily best him," Cassius said angrily. "I am three times the man that slob is! He's just too much of a coward to fight me!"

"With Karime, it's not about that sort of power." And she left it at that, putting the spear away and thoughtfully eyeing the other practice weapons.

"Strength is the only power that matters," Cassius shot back. "No power he possesses is greater than my strength, and I'm just as rich as he is anyway. He is nothing, you hear me? Nothing!"

Red Sun said nothing, only flashing him a smile before she moved to walk away, but realized her chain link leash was caught beneath Cassius's boot and that smile was quickly replaced with a frown.
"Move your boot so I can keep practicing," she said. "I've got a lot of crocs to kill and being tied up the last few days has gotten me rusty."
And he knew exactly why. She still blamed him for that.

Red Sun may not have smiled much, but when she did it was contagious. Perhaps that was because it was a rare thing to see. When she asked him to move his boot he simply smiled and spread his arms.

"You come and move it," he told her. "I don't think you're as rusty as you say."

Red Sun shot him a look.
"I can not practice with your boot on it. Move it, or I'm using my practice sword as a club on your foot. Would be a shame to see you with a broken foot at the crocodile hunt," she taunted, and maybe threatened, if even a bit playfully.

"I already told you. If you want my boot moved..."

Cassius twirled the practice spear in his hand and got into a ready stance.

"Then come move it yourself."

Glaring at him ferociously, she rose to her full height, tossing her shoulders back while drawing out her false sword.
Then suddenly, and most anticlimactically, poked him in the belly.
"There, you're dead. Now remove your boot."

"No, you're dead," Cassius replied bonking Red Sun on the head with his spear. "Though you may wish it were that simple, you can't get rid of me that easy."

"You were too slow," she told him flatly "Now move your boot."

"A stomach injury is not an instant kill like a blow to the head," Cassius told her. "Therefore, you are dead, but I am merely wounded."

She lifted up the fake sword and touched his chest.
"There. A blow to the heart. You're dead."
She tapped his boot with her own. "Now move."

"Nope. Sorry, but you're already dead," Cassius informed her. "I struck your head remember? You can't kill me after you're already dead."

"So if I knee you in the groin, you're saying you won't feel it since I'm dead?" she asked, and it was hard to tell if she was being serious, or actually being playful, or jesting the threat.

Cassius had to think about that for a moment.

"Well, if you do hit me in the groin, then I will just have to hit you even harder to make sure that you're dead."

Now it was hard to tell if Cassius was joking or not. Surely Red Sun would not stoop so low as to hit him below the belt.

Red Sun folded her arms across her chest.
"So you're just going to remain on my chains? You're just wasting both of our times here. And it seems as if you're making my master upset," and she peered over at Karime who was shouting over their way.
"Why aren't you practicing!?" he roared at Red Sun. "Push that no good man aside and fight."

"Yeah, Sunny," Cassius urged. "Go ahead. Push me aside."

Cassius didn't care whose time he was wasting. It wasn't like he actually had other things to do. He was just itching for a fight, and he would get one, one way or another.

"I can't push you aside," she told him, impatiently. "You weigh as much as a horse, and are as stubborn as one. Just remove your boot so I can pass."

"Is that a fat joke," Cassius asked. "Surely you can move me. Unless Karime wants to come over here and try to move me himself."

Cassius made sure that that last part was loud enough for Karime to hear. He knew it was pointless though. There was no way that slob would ever get his hands dirty.

"Muscle is far heavier than fat. You wouldn't able to move so swiftly to best an enormous serpent other wise," And it was hard to tell, but it was there. Just the subtlest of smiles on her lips.

"That must be why my bed groans so much when I lay down on it," Cassius said thoughtfully. "That would also explain why I'm heavier than Karime even though he is much fatter."

Cassius was fully aware that muscle weighed more than fat, but that wouldn't have made a very good joke. Besides, it opened up an opportunity to insult Karime, which he would never turn down.

"Yes, whatever you want to call it. You're an ox. And your hoof is on my chain. Move it, or I'll be forced to whip you like an animal."

"A slave is threatening to whip me?"

Cassius' laughter echoed throughout the training area.

"That's a first. Usually it's the other way around."

"Yes, but I've already had my share of whipping, no thanks to you. ANd I think I liked it. Maybe I'll ask for more."

"I'll give ya a good whipping if you want," Cassius said with a wink followed by more laughter.

Cassius actually enjoyed talking to Red Sun. The strange thing was, was that Red Sun was the closest thing to friend that he actually had.

"I'd rather knock your teeth out,"s he said, pointedly and prodded his belly with the wooden sword. "Now are you moving or am I going to have to toss your ox ass aside?"

"You just got done saying that you couldn't push me," Cassius said with a smile. "How do you expect to toss me?"

"Whoever said anything about toss?" And before he could stop her, she dropped down suddenly and attempted to kick out his legs from beneath him.

Cassius quickly jumped over her leg and landed right back on top of her chain. He had been waiting for her to make a move.

"You did," he said in response to her question.

"Well maybe I'll have you eating my boot, first," And she swung her leg up high, hoping to connect it with his head.

That boot eating comment made what was coming very obvious. Cassius caught Red Sun's ankle with his right hand and smirked.

"Come on, Sunny. I know you can do better than that."

Cassius gave her a little shove as he released her ankle. She had just been pretending to stab him, she didn't want to fight him? She wanted to train, so why not fight? Cassius was probably the closest she could get to fighting a crocodile without fighting an actual crocodile.

The second he ankle was released, she threw another high kick at his head with a shout, and somewhere, at the end of her chain, she could feel the eyes of her master upon her, he and his hench men rooting her on.

The second kick was avoided by simply ducking. Red Sun sure was awfully flexible to be aiming kicks at the head of someone of Cassius' height.

"Strike two."

Growling, she whirled around and threw a fist his way, then an elbow, hoping they'd both connect.

Cassius crossed his arms in front of his face and took both blows.

"Do I have to spell it out for you, Sunny," Cassius asked. "Just fight me already! No one else will and I'm bored as hell."

Red Sun growled in his face.
"Fine, but we go by my rules. First one down owes the other one a drink."
And since Red Sun could not possess her own money, it just made it all the more obvious she believed she was going to win.

"And what rules might those be," Cassius asked cracking his fingers with his hook.

"I just told you," she said, growling in his face. "Now.... remove your boot."

"Those are just victory conditions, but whatever," Cassius said.

Cassius moved his boot and got into a fighting stance. She better not try anything funny. If she tried to escape then he would just have to chase her down. He couldn't wait to get that drink. He already starting to think about what drink he would get.

"The rules are don't fall or you lose. Or is that too hard to follow?" she asked, smirking over at him as he got himself ready, and she paused a moment, pretending to tie her sandal, before suddenly raising the fake sword upwards towards his head.

Cassius blocked the incoming blow more by accident. The way he held his spear got in the way of the surprise attack, but Cassius wasn't going to complain. In retaliation, Cassius aimed a kick at Red Sun while she was nice and low. Of course, there was no way beating her would be so easy.

His kick was deflected by a kick of her own, then was joined by a second kick, and another, each one aiming higher and higher up his legs.

Cassius braced himself and just took the kicks. It wasn't like he hasn't been kicked before. Cassius then swung at Red Sun with her spear followed by another kick. Red Sun sure seemed content with giving Cassius an even bigger height advantage then he had before.

Dancing away from the spear, Red Sun then sure footed herself and blocked the kick with a grunt. Her chains rattled as she moved, and once she was done being on the defensive, she swung the false blade toward shis head then gut to get him to move back and give her some space to swing.

Cassius batted aside the swing at his head with his hook and jumped back away from the swing at his stomach. She would be able to stand up now, but that's what he wanted. He was tired of swinging at her so close to the ground.

Once she was up on her feet, she swung towards his hook arm, hoping to off set any preemptive strike he may have had in mind.

Cassius blocked the incoming blow with his hook and then tried with the spear again, followed closely behind by a headbutt. He was swinging nearly everything at her.

When Red Sun dodged his spear, she was uneven in her footing, so when she stepped near enough to Cassius for him to deliver his head butt, she was seeing stars. Stumbling back, she had almost fallen over, but her practice blade saved her in time as she recovered from her position with a highkick from where she remained precariously arching her back. But one kick wasn't enough,s he followed through with a second one, then a third, until she was finally standing more evenly against him again.

Having just completed a headbutt didn't give him a lot of time to react to the incoming kicks. The first kick connected with the side of his head. As he stumbled backwards, the second kick hit him in the shoulder and the third hit him in the back. By the time Red Sun was done, Cassius had stumbled around in a circle from the constant kicking. Cassius shook his head to refocus his vision. Looking at the spear in his hand, Cassius decided that it was to clumsy to wield with one hand, so he broke it in two over his knee. Wielding the half of the spear with the tip still on it, he advanced on Red Sun and started swinging. Oh yes, half a spear was much easier to wield with one hand.

Too bad Red Sun was ready for him, she dodged the swing and moved around swiftly, ramming her own shoulder into his, hoping to off set his balance. It was only then she heard her master speak and she stumbled, literally into Cassius.

"RED SUN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? JUST BASH HIM OVER THE HEAD WITH THAT WEAPON AND BE DONE WITH HIM!" Karime roared. He did not like seeing the pair of them apparently enjoying this little spar.

The laws of physics prevented Red Sun from knocking the bigger and heavier Cassius back very far, and he was easily able to regain balance. What he wasn't ready for was Red Sun stumbling and landing pretty much in his arms, and he froze. His mind temporarily switched from "I'm fighting a slave" to "I have a reasonably attractive woman in my arms." His mind was quickly snapped back into the former mindset at the sound of Karime's voice.

"Why don't you come over here and do it yourself if you think it's so easy," Cassius shouted back at Karime.

Now determined to drag this thing out just to piss off Karime, Cassius set Red Sun back on her feet and took a step back, ready to resume fighting when she was. Cassius gave Red Sun a wink, hoping she would catch on. 

Red Sun's heart fluttered, but just for the briefest of moments when she was poised in his arms, but then she was standing alone again, Cassius before her and giving her a wink. She narrowed her gaze. While she understood what he wanted, she didn't like being toyed with, or becoming a toy. So she swung her fist towards his face.

Cassius shrugged as Red Sun narrowed her eyes at him. Guess she didn't want to play. All well, fighting was just as good.

As Red Sun's fist came flying towards his face, he employed the same trick he had done in their last encounter. Instead of blocking or evading the punch, Cassius brought his forehead down to meet the punch, allowing Red Sun's fist to smash into one of the most durable parts of the human anatomy. He followed up by throwing a punch at her stomach to see how she liked it.

Red Sun let out a scowl as her fist connected with his on coming head. It made her stumble and almost drop her weapon, and become too close to comfort with Cassius as she jutted out her elbow in attempts to keep him away while she tried to dance away from him to recover.

Cassius grinned as his little technique worked a second time. She would probably figure it out by the third time, so he would have to think of something else later. As Red Sun lifted her arm, Cassius attempted to get his hook around the crook of her elbow and pull her into a gut punch.

At the gut punch, she flinched, then threw her face into his, hoping to smash his nose and make him  bleed. Though it started off as a somewhat friendly fight, making him bleed might do Cassius some good!

With both of his hands (well, hand and hook) occupied, Cassius had nothing to use to impede the oncoming headbutt. Pain shot out through his entire face from his nose as he stumbled backwards. He lifted his hand to his nose and pulled it away to see that his hand had blood on it. It wasn't often that his opponents managed to actually draw blood on him. Well, with the exception of Red Sun obviously.

"Alright," Cassius said. "I'll give ya that one, but now it's my turn."

Cassius advanced on Red Sun slowly and purposefully as if he had a master plan in the works. As he got close enough to execute the expected plan, he simply attempted to body slam into Red Sun. Surely she wouldn't be expecting something so crude and disorganized out of him. If she did, it was insulting that she thought he was so simple.

OOC: This made me giggle 8D

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He was right, Red Sun hadn't expected it, and with the full force of Cassius's body (which now she could say full heartedly was truly like an ox... She had the wind knocked out of her as she was downed. Eyes wide, she stared up at Cassius in surprise, hwen a few droplets of blood from his nose fell onto her cheek. And then she did something most unusual for her, she smiled, even if briefly because well...

She hadn't expected to loose. And she had no idea how she was to even leave her master's home to get this man the drink she now owed him.

"Guess you finally beat me," she said with a smirk.

Cassius couldn't help himself and began laughing despite the blood still leaking from his nose.

"If only it was in the arena," he mused. "Now then, when do I get my drink?"

Cassius offered her a hand to help her up. If she took it, he would have no problem pulling her to her feet.

"By the way, you got a bit of my nose blood on you."

Red Sun took his hand and was pulled to her feet, and blinked at his comment. She moved two fingers to wipe at the blood nad peered down at it,t hen back to him, before wiping it onto his shirt.
"There, you can keep it. As a memento."

And seeing how the pair were getting even more close for comfort, Karime snapped his fingers and his guards were moving in, giving Red Sun's golden chain a pull.

"Guess there goes my day of training," she said, feeling the pull on her neck, but managing to still stand her ground.

Cassius pulled his shirt out and looked down at the blood that was now on it.

"Ah man," he said. "It's impossible to remove blood stains."

As he said this, more blood dripped from his nose and landed on his shirt making an even bigger stain. Cain chuckled.

"All well. I have plenty more of these."

It was then that Red Sun's chain got tugged and she said she was done training for the day.

"I guess I'm done too," Cassius told her. "I'll be wanting that at some point though."

With a smile and a wink, Cassius walked away to wash the blood off of himself that was leaking from his nose. He had actually beaten her. As he reminisced and replayed the fight in his head, he got to the part where Red Sun fell into his arms. It was a rather unexpected occurence, but it was no big deal. At least that's what he thought until he couldn't get the fight to move beyond that moment. Why could he not stop thinking about that moment? It had only lasted seconds. What possibly could have happened in those few seconds that he couldn't forget about it? Alcohol would surely help him forget about it. It made him forget everything else. He had even forgotten his name once. Yeah, alcohol. That would fix it.

It didn't take too much more effort to drag Red Sun back to his home, and she was taken back to her room for the night, and unfortunately still wearing her golden leash. She knew she owed Cassius that drink, and she too, kept letting her thoughts drift back to the fight....
Well, it was better to think about that then what she was stuck doing, which was in her room, alone and not allowed to eat anything for the night. But she was growing restless. Ever since that night she had attempted to escape....

A servant entered the room, one of the guards who tended to her frequently. She noted he had a bowl of water in his hand and she paused to observe it, before suddenly doing the most stupid thing she could think of-
and that was kicking the bowl out of his hand. WHne hte water went everywhere and before the servant had a chance to realized what was going on, Red Sun bashed him over the head hard with a nearby vase, and the large man fell down in a painful thud to the ground.

Smirking, she saw the pile of keys at his side,a nd wasted no time slipping them in and removing her collar and leashed. She gave a shake of her head. It felt so good to be free of that damn collar and then after hearing hte man groaning, she wasted no time sneaking past him- then out into the night.


A smarter slave might have gone off to try her luck at freedom, but Red Sun decided to go elsewhere. And the night time streets were busy- so were the taverns. But she knew welle nough about Cassius's reputation for it to be confirmed just where he was, so when she approached him in the rowdy place, wouldn't he be surprised to see her- not leashed up but walking around the place, free?

Unfortunately for her, she couldn't find Cassius that easily. The place was alive, thriving like one large serpent of drunken fools. And pushing her way through the crowd, more than one person noticed her.. and just who she was. So as she began to seek out Cassius, a pair of large men stepped out in front of her.

"Well, well, well, Red Sun? The famous woman in the arena? Fancy meeting you here? Where's your leash?" one of the men asked with a dark laugh.

Red Sun's eyes narrowed.

"I haven't got one,"s he said. "Now move. You're in my way."

The men all laughed but did not oblige her.

"Seems to me you slaves need to know your place. And if Karime hasn't got his leash on you..."

Red Sun felt the man's hand go up her thigh, and when she moved to pull away, the other man moved up behind her with a laugh, groping at her ass. And that's when suddenly both men were knocked to the ground.

"KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFFA ME!!!" she roared.

Cassius sat in tavern drinking his cares away. However, the alcohol was not helping to make that moment go away. In fact, it was making him wish it had lasted a bit longer. Goddamnit! What was wrong with him? She was a slave.

Cassius soon heard a commotion behind him, but he ignored it just like every other one. Bar fights happened. However, when he heard Red Sun's voice, that got his attention. He immediately stood and went to the source. Sure enough, there was Red Sun witn two very unhappy drunks picking themselves up off the floor. Cassius walked up behind the men and looked down on them.

"Is there a problem here, gentlemen?"

"Yeah," one of the men sneered. "There's a slave here in our tavern. And she ain't got none of Karime's men leadin' her."

"Yeah. We ought to take it up to the night patrol. I'm sure they'll have no problems helpin' us bring her back to her master."

"I'll take care of it," Cassius told them. "Right after she buys me that drink she owes me for kicking her ass earlier today."

Cassius grabbed Red Sun roughly by the arm, drug her to the bar, and sat her down on one of the stools. Taking the seat next to her he spoke softly.

"You're really pushing your boundaries lately," he said with a chuckle. "It's a good thing I'm a pretty good actor."

Red Sun cocked a brow.
"Oh, that was acting? So you were lying to those men when you said you'd take care of me. Though I doubt you could do much in your state. Are you already drunk?" she wrinkled her nose. "I can smell the drink on your breath."

"I honestly don't give a damn what you do," Cassius told her. "Let Karime worry his little head off for awhile. He won't be happy though. And I'm not drunk yet, but I'm getting there. I have a high tolerance."

Cassius emptied the glass in front of him and whistled to the bartender who automatically brought him another. He had been there enough times for the bartender to know what he wanted without asking.

Red Sun peered at him curiously.
"So you can order drinks here with a whistle?" And so she tried it too, and smirked when the bartender looked at her funny, and then handed both Cassius and Red Sun his usual.

Cassius laughed at Red Sun's cluelessness.

"That's not usually how it works," he told her. "I've just been here so many times that he already knows what I want. Other people usually have to tell him what they want."

Cassius couldn't help but laugh again when the bartender actually brought something over. It was what he usually got.

"If you have never drank before I wouldn't drink that. It's strong stuff. You'll be on the floor after one sip."

Red Sun stared back at Cassius skeptically.
"Is that a challenge? Besides, I owe you a drink," and she turned ot the bar tender and asked how much Cassius owed, and at the amount, she simply nodded and slipped the man a gold coin. The bartender stared at Red Sun, not certain what to make of it, but pocketed it none the less before moving on to wait on another customer.
"I think that ought to just about cover it,"s he said, and lifted the drink to her lips.

"It's friendly advice," Cassius told her. "And that's something I don't do often."

When she paid what he owed, he was somewhat curious as to where she got the gold coin from, but just wrote it off as Red Sun being Red Sun. When she lifted the drink to her lips he stopped her.

"I still don't think you should do that. It's powerful stuff, and I don't think you drink much."

Red Sun peered back at him, drink just gracing her lips. She lowered it.
"Then what would you suggest?"

Cassius took her drink and slid it over in front of himself.

"Hey," he called out to the bartender. "Bring something for a lightweight."

The bartender grudging got to work and brought over another drink that was a bit clearer than Cassius' drink. He slid the drink in front of Red Sun.

"Here. This isn't so strong. We call it noob juice for those who have never been properly introduced to alcohol before."

Red Sun cut him a look.
"And who's to say I've never had a drink before? Besides, I'm not sure I like the idea you can best me at two things in one day."

"Alright. You want to be competitive," Cassius asked sliding his usual back in front of her. "Then we drink on three and see who finishes first. How does that sound?"

Red Sun smirked.
"I thought you didn't condone this, taking advantage of an amateur." But she lifted the glass anyway and tipped it towards him. "On three."

"You asked for it," Cassius told her lifting his own glass. "I'll let you count because you're the 'amateur'."

"That's so kind of you," she said,keeping her glass lifted and simply stated, "Three," as she knocked back the drink in great big gulps, hoping to get ahead of him, but damn, did that stuff burn and was going straight to her head!

Cassius had been expecting her do try something like that. He tipped back his head and downed it in a couple large gulps. What Red Sun didn't know was that Cassius wasn't only undefeated in the arena, but in the bar as well. He had never lost a drinking contest before. Cassius was down with his drink in no time at all.

"You done yet, Sunny," he asked slamming his glass down on the counter.

She slammed her drink down next to him and gasped out a breath.
"What am I drinking?" she asked, a hand to her temple. "Hog piss?"

Cassius laughed at how much of a lightweight Red Sun was when it came to alcohol.

"That there is Devil's Nectar," he told her. "It's hard stuff, especially for a lightweight."

"Devil's nectar?" she winced, her head still swimming. "Makes sense someone like you would drink a Devil's drink." She tried clearing her throat, hiding it behind a small cough, but her throat still burned from it and her mouth still had the nasty after taste from the drink.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Cassius said as he took a swig of his other drink. "So, how did you manage to get away this time?"

Cassius slid the noob juice over to Red Sun. It would probably be a little relieving after drinking something like Devil's nectar, his personal favorite.

Red Sun was still coughing as she accepted the second drink.
"I'll tell you once my head stops swimming. But let's just say, I'm sure Karime won't be too happy. I not only was able to slip out from his place undetected, but I took some gold for myself too." She smirked, raising the drink to her lips. "I did say I owed you a drink, after all."

"I see," Cassius replied.

He honestly didn't care. He wasn't fond of Karime at all anyway.

"So, now what?"

"Now you tell me when my head will stop feeling like this," she said irritably. "This can't be why men drink. It's.. strange." She tried to shake her head to shake it off, but to no avail.

"Don't worry," Cassius assured her. "It'll be gone in the morning and replaced with a splitting headache and probably vomiting, better known as a hangover."

"What?" she made a face. "Then why would someone drink this stuff? It's just so.. so odd." But in spite of herself, she actually giggled a little, but cupped a hand over her lips in attempts to hide it. Or stop herself from... well who knew. Perhaps keeping herself from having a good time? She had snuck out deliberately.. but now what? Was she to simply get drunk and then fall back into the consequences? Unless she stopped right here and crept back into Karime's place...
But lifting up the second drink seemed like a better idea.

"I suppose if I'm going to get sick and then punished, I might as well enjoy myself." Ands he knocked back the 'noob drink' in a few, great gulps.

"That's the spirit," Cassius said giving her a slap on the back. "The idea of drinking is to forget about life for awhile. You pay for it in the morning, but it's a blast up until then."

Cassius finished his drink and whistled again. Sure enough, the bartender put another drink in front of him. Cassius was positive that the bartender hated him, but as long as Cassius payed him, he would serve him. The power of greed at work.

Red Sun slammed her empty mug down with a gasp. Her head was still swimming, but this drink definitely did not burn as much as the other going down.
"So I take it you're here a lot," she said, wiping of her lips on the back of her hand. "Drinking this much... you must have a lot to forget."

"I suppose you could say that," Cassius agreed taking down another to mouthfuls of his drink.

What he wanted to forget was how meaningless his life seemed to be. He had it all. He had money, slaves, power, and strength and yet he had nothing. He no friends, or drinking buddies, or even people who at least pretended to be his friends because he was rich. Red Sun was actually the closest thing to a friend that he has. He also could still not get rid of that moment of her falling into his arms.

"I wouldn't think you'd be the type. I'd suspect you'd have a harem of wives to get back to when this is all said and done. Unless, of course, they're the reason you drink," she quipped.

Cassius smiled at her joke, but it quickly faded. Who knew that Red Sun had a sense of humor?

"I don't have any wives," he told her. "I live alone. It's just me and a slave or two."

Red Sun sized him up.
"And here I thought you were like every other man. Even Karime has about ten wives and you are no where as hideous as he."

"It's not often that someone gives me a compliment," Cassius mused. "At least I think that was meant to be a compliment."

Cassius downed the rest of his drink and the bartender quickly gave him another to deprive him of the chance to whistle at him again.

"I just never had time for women I guess. Too busy getting bigger, better, tougher, stronger. I just get so tired of men throwing their daughters at me just so that they can have a rich son-in-law."

Cassius emptied half of his glass in one go. This is about the time that the really heavy drinking begins. 

"I suppose it is a compliment," she mused. "Though don't let it fuel your ego. It only came out because I am drunk." And it was here she watched him down more alcohol. Knowing what was in it, she frowned in thought.
"So is this what you do all night? No wonder you're crazy enough to throw yourself in the ring. And throw yourself at me, a woman you can't beat."

"This isn't what I do all night," Cassius told her. "Just most of the night. And I believe that I did beat you. That's the whole reason you had to buy me a drink in the first place."

Cassius downed the rest of his drink and immediately received another with no sign of letting up.

"And I throw myself in that ring to get stronger and better. The strong rule over the weak, so I will be the strongest just like my father."

It was obvious now that Cassius was becoming considerably intoxicated, and it only took five or six of those Devil's Nectars to do it. That alone was a pretty clear signal of what a big drinker he was.

"Too bad that win hardly counts in the arena. And with the crocodile hunt coming up..." She peered at him as he downed more to drink. "How can you drink so much of this stuff? It's disgusting."

"You build up a resistance to it after awhile," he replied taking another drink.

"Sort of like me to your charms?" she said with a smirk, but then she sobered a little, expression growing a bit more serious, despite her mind still swimming. "Though I presume you like challenging me in the Colosseum simply to annoy both me and Karime." And she peered down at her empty drink, wishing she had more.
"Maybe you need to find another hobby. Trying to prove yourself better than a female slave..." And she idly tapped her finger against her mug, staring at the back of the bar tender's head who was waiting on somebody else.

Cassius wasn't sure how to take that comment about is "charms", but he just let it slide. Red Sun was drunk. It was to be expected that she would start saying silly things.

"I challenge you because I have yet to defeat you," Cassius told her. "When I finally beat you, then I'll stop because I would have proven that I am stronger. Then when someone else comes along I'll challenge them until I win. That way I can prove that I am the strongest out of everyone."

"And if you are killed, what does that prove? You can't be the strongest if you're dead."

"If I'm killed than no one would be able to rub it in my face because I'd be dead," Cassius told her.

"You... have a strange philosophy. But then again, I am talking to a drunk man who promoted this slave her freedom." And she looked over at the bar tender irritably, who kept ignoring her before slamming her fist onto the bar.
"Another drink!" she shouted, nearly growling out the order. The bar tender turned to stare at her, and looked from Red Sun to Cassius. After all, despite the fact she paid...
He really wasn't going to take orders from a slave....

Cassius whistled and jerked his head towards Red Sun. Now the bartender had no choice but to comply, for he knew how Cassius could get when he was drunk. The bartender brought them both their respective beverages before quickly walking away again.

"People tend not to take orders from slaves," Cassius told Red Sun. "I'm going to have to be the one to order them. He'll listen to me."

Red Sun cut him a look.
"He'd listen to me if I kicked his ass," she grumbled, snatching up her drink and knocking it back. She was finding this intoxication things rather interesting, and she could see why Cassius took advantage of it often.

"If you kicked his ass then everyone in the bar would come after you because you're a slave," he told her. "He just listens to me because I've broken men's arms for looking at me funny. I'm a very violent drunk sometimes."

"And you're very violent in the Colosseum. Perhaps you're just a violent man," and she moved to knock back more of the drink. She still couldn't believe she was doing this. Not only did the drink taste like hog piss, but she was sitting here, conversing with Cassius, of all people, in some bar in Essyrn. If anything,s he should be plotting her own escape.

"And if everyone in the bar were to come after me, I'd have to kick their asses, too."

Cassius shrugged at her calling him a violent man. He couldn't say it wasn't true. He was just a violent man by nature, which was probably the main reason that people avoided him.

"I don't know if you could take them all," he told her. "You're awfully outnumbered."

"That's what you think," Red Sun said, nearly slurring her words. "I could take on them. Any one of them. Or all of them! No one could stop me! Hell, even Karime could not! He's a dead man!" She barked, which drew the attention of the bartender, and a few nearby patron's as Red Sun was growing rowdy.

"You really are a lightweight," Cassius commented. "But I think you've drawn enough unnecessary attention to yourself for now."

Red Sun's face became red, like her name and she gave Cassius an incredulous stare.
"Let them look! I'm free in the moment. That's what you wanted, wasn't it? To see me without chains? Well here I am!" And she knocked back the rest of her drink and slammed it onto the table. "And I'm wasting it on this hog piss drink of yours, too!"
Is this really what free people did?

Cassius was silent for a moment and just stared at her.

"This is as about as free as it gets," Cassius told her. "It's as free as I get anyway. Don't have much going for me when you really think about."

Cassius downed the rest of his drink, but didn't call for another. He was going to wait a couple minutes before his getting his next drink to give the last few ones time to get through his system. He would be very drunk soon.

"Yes, well at least you have your freedom. I have to be taken back to my cage at the end of the day, to remain there until my master calls on me," she growled, face still flush and drunk. "I suppose a freedom of drinking piss freely is better than being a slave and never having a choice."

"I guess that's one way of looking at it," Cassius replied.

Though he wouldn't admit, he wasn't really free either. All he had was a life full of endless conquest in pursuit of indomitable strength and fighting prowess. Everything he owned was merely for show. He would easily be satisfied with a house that is only a quarter of the size of the house he has now, but you needed to display your wealth in a place like Essyrn. His house was actually quite empty on the inside. The only ones who lived there were himself and three slaves, but he needed to keep the house to maintain his high social standing. He couldn't wait to go to Adela after the Croc Hunt.

Red Sun frowned, turning to observe Cassius.
"You don't seem happy. Normally you're all smiles knowing you've bested me. And I must look a fool. I think these drinks are making my head swim."

"I'm never happy," Cassius said simply. "That's what drinking is for."

Deciding that he had waited long enough, Cassius whistled the bartender on over to bring him another drink which he immediately got to work on. Drinking was not a permanent solution, but it worked pretty well while it lasted.

"You could have fooled me. Each time we fight you egg me on, or even outside the arena. I think you get your enjoyment out of that. And what's with the nick name?" She wrinkled her nose. "I hate Sunny. It makes it sound as if you're calling your dog."

"It's quicker and easier to say, and if it pisses you off it just gives me more incentive to keep using it, Sunny."

Red Sun cut a glare his way before finishing her drink.
"Use that nick name again and I'll clobber you with this mug."

"I'll use that nickname as much as I want, Sunny."

"You trying to get smart with me?!" She snapped, leaping to her feet and knocking the bar stool over in the process. But the second she was on her feet, the alcohol went to her head and she was falling over, right onto Cassius. It seemed she was not familiar with how alcohol effected her equilibrium as she remained clinging onto him with a blink.
"What the hell. Did this donkey piss break my legs!?"

Cassius froze just like he had when Red Sun had fallen into him the first time.

"Um..N-not quite," he said, his voice a little shaky. "It just throws off your balance a bit."

This was just great. The one thing he was specifically trying to forget just happened a second time, and she was even holding on this time. He was going to have to do a lot more drinking.

"Well help me to my feet so I can hit you with my mug!"

"Help you up and get hit? Is there a second option?"

While having Red Sun clinging onto him like this took him way outside of his comfort zone, he wasn't too big on getting hit with a mug either.

Red Sun growled and tried to stand herself up, fumbling and groping onto Cassius as she did so. By the time she was finally on her feet, she gave a huff and looked up at him triumphantly.
"There. Now time to hit you with my mug." Except when she moved to get to her own stool, she miss stepped and collapsed onto the floor.


This drinking thing was a lot harder than she thought.

Cassius breathed a sigh of relief once Red Sun finally managed to get off of him. She didn't seem at all affected by all of that physical contact like he had been, but that was probably because she was drunk. Cassius reached down to help her up and ended up falling off of his own stool accompanied by the appropriate profanity. Cassius managed to get back onto to his feet and pulled Red Sun back to her feet, accept he pulled toward himself so there was only one place Red Sun would end up going: right back into him.

Somehow she had gone from on the floor and into his arms,a nd she was much closer to him this time than she had been before. Peering into his face, she paused a moment and felt her face flush all the way to her ears.

"Errr, I should be thankful for the help, but I think I was just in this situation before..."
And though this time felt even more awkward than the last. She had never been so close to Cassius before, and something about it.......

No, no.. it clearly was the alcohol. Yes, being this close and presuming he was handsome had t have been side effect of the hog piss she'd been drinking. But then again, her heart was doing all sorts of loops. It was strange.

"So are you going to help me to my stool or cling onto me? I think the whole tavern is watching.."
And watch them they were, whispering and snickering about Cassius seducing Red Sun- and what would Karime think?

Of course it happened again. This whole drinking thing only seemed to be making it worse. To top everything off, the entire tavern was snickering at him. Having no clue what to do, Cassius went to his default option: violence.

Cassius turned to the nearest snickering man and slammed his fist into the man's facing, downing him instantly.

"Anyone else think something's funny?"

"Yeah, I do," said one large, mean looking man with a scar covering most of.his face. "I see you handling that slave. Does Karime know she's even here? I dont see her collar..."

Cassius took off his shirt and threw it aside, something he always did before a fight to eliminate handholds. Removal of his shirt exposed his heavily scarred and muscled upper body.

"You'll be handling a broken arm," Cassius growled. "Fight me if you're not a coward."

"Are you challenging me because you know you're in the wrong, Cassius? Fraternizing with a slave.... Did she escape from Karime again?" The man cracked his knuckles. "I look forward to her punishment then. Maybe this time he'll behead your little friend."

And that's when the very drunk Red Sun stepped right in front of Cassius and before the other man.
"Who cares what my master says? Are you just worried if his little trophy  slave escapes you won't be able to cash in on me?"

The man's gaze narrowed as anger flashed within his eyes.
"You little red haired rat! Know your place!" And the man back handed Red Sun into a table as he barked out to the bartender, "Call for the guards! We have an escaped slave here!"

Just as the man finished shouting Cassius' fist came crashing into his nose, shattering it. As the man stumbled backwards Cassius followed up by a kick to the stomach and a half-full mug off of a nearby table to the back of the head.

"Get up," Cassius shouted at the man. "I'll teach you to accuse me of such things! Get up and fight!"

The man groaned from where he lay, blood gushing down his face. But the second Cassius beckoned him, he pushed himself to his feet.
"You little shit,"A nd he threw a punch towards his face.

Cassius caught the man's fist before it connected, adrenaline and rage making up for his drunkeness.

"I killed a giant snake. I can handle you."

Cassius delivered a headbutt to man's already broken nose. This was followed by Cassius clubbing the man over the head with his hook.

"Come on, make it challenge."

THe man groaned as he was down. He was a hulking man, and towered easily over even a man such as Cassius, and as the man began to pick himself up off the floor, other tavern goers shouted,

"Get him, Bronto! Put that slave lover in his place!"

But just as Bronto was picking himself up, Red Sun stepped in and slammed her foot in his face. And not just once, but three times she kicked him, spilling the man onto the floor.

Turning to Cassius, she wiped the blood from her own nose.
"You weren't the only one who killed that snake."

"I did most of the kiling," Cassius grumbled.

Cassius stepped past Red Sun and looked around at the other tavern-goers.

"Anyone else? I have enough for the lot of you!"

Three angry looking men were glaring at him, but it was at that exact moment a pair of guards burst through the door. And it didn't take more than two seconds for someone to shout at them, "Over there! The woman with the red hair! She's Karime's slave!"

And with a menacing look, the guards began to head their way.

When Cassius saw the guards he assumed, in his drunken stupor, that the guards were accepting his challenge. Without warning, Cassius charged the guards and knocked them both onto their backs.

Seeing the display, a lot of the men gasped.
"Cassius, what are you nuts? Those are the city guards you're fighting!"

But while some were surprised, others snickered wickedly and accused,
"Look at him! Proving he wants to defend this slave."

"Here we thought you despised them, yet you share a drink with one!"

"Yeah, and look at him fending off the guards for her."

"Think he's sleeping with her?"
But a fist to that mans' face quickly put him in his place as Red Sun glare down at him. Drunk or not, she was still a powerful woman, and the men near her backed away but scowled at the sight.

"Call for more guards! They've both lost their heads!" Someone shouted,a nd it seemed almost as if the entire tavern was coming alive over this.

Cassius felt like a cornered animal. Everyone was against him, and the only way he knew to get out of rough situations was through hitting things, hitting people, and hitting people with things. Anyone who came near him was automatically swung at or hit. He didn't know what all was going on anymore, but he knew he wasn't going down without a fight.

By the time it was all said and done, the only ones left standing were Red Sun- who naturally joined in on the fight, and the poor bar tender who was cowered behind his bar. Oh, and Cassius as well, who Red Sun turned to after she kicked a down man in the face. Flicking red hair from her face, she planted a hand to her hip.

"So do you get into this sort of trouble every night?"

"No," he replied. "I usually only beat up half of the people in here."

Cassius set a stool back up and slumped down it to finish his drink. Once it was done, he stood up and looked around again.

"What am I going to do now?"

Red Sun moved cautiously over at his side, watching him finish his drink before he spoke. And she frowned, taking a seat beside him and leaned into the bar.
"Are you asking me for advice? A slave? Last time I checked, this was all your fault anyway. And I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. Heh, looks like you proved you could finally beat me, and just about everyone else here today. Though you knocked out two of the city guards. I wonder how long it'll take for them to send in more?"
And here she rose from her stool.
"I suppose this is when I ought to make my own exit."
Karime was definitely going to kill her for this.

"I don't know who I'm asking," Cassius told her. "Everyone is going to think that we're a couple now or something. I'm going to lose everything."

Cassius stood and hurled his mug across the room causing it to shatter upon impact with the wall. After releasing a big sigh, Cassius began slowly walking out of the bar.

"My house is big and empty. You can hide there for the night if you want. It's not like things get any worse anyway."

"Hide at your place?" Red Sun frowned. That was the last place she ever suspected she'd go. "Would't Karime look their first? If anything, I should take this time to finally get away from this place."
But where could she go? She knew nothing about the world outside of this life she had been forced to live. Could she even make it out there by herself? How would she eat? How would she sleep? How could she find means to support herself and know where to go and avoid the men that Karime would certainly send out to hunt her?

"Karime wouldn't have the balls to come to my place," Cassius replied. "Besides, wouldn't sending out a search party to track you down be one of the first things they do? You know how cold the desert becomes at night. You'd freeze to death before you got anywhere, but it's your decision. Do whatever you want. I'm going to spend what is most likely the last night I'll be able to spend in my own home, in my own home."

Red Sun hesitated. But she knew he was right. She hadn't a clue as to what to do now that she was out. Last time it didn't end well...
This time...

She was not so sure she'd make it out alive. Frowning, she peered up at Cassius.
"Guess they'll be two staying at your house." She almost growled it out as she moved to his side. The fight had been sobering, but her mind was still whirling. What was she going to do?

"You won't be lonely. I have three slaves there. I'm sure you could exchange slave gossip or whatever it is you do."

Cassius kept his eye out for any ambushes as the walked down the street. As far as he was concerned, he was public enemy number one and was quite paranoid. His house on the other hand, was quite impressive. It was a large mansion with no small amount of ornamentation, on the outside anyway. The inside was fairly empty with almost nothing beyond the usual furniture that you would find in a house.

When they walked inside, Cassius was greeted by a female slave. The slave was shocked to see Red Sun with him, but knew enough not to question her master. Cassius waved her off and she quickly left the room.

"This is it. Home sweet home."

Red Sun gave him a bitter stare.
"I don't talk to other slaves." In fact, she rarely talked at all, but followed after him anyway,a nd was impressed by his home- but more certainly, that it was so... well, empty. She looked all around for anything to make this place distinguishable, except for it's size, but there weren't evening paintings on the walls. But she was also wary... she was alone with a dangerous slaver in his own home. She had no idea what to expect from him, sos he remained ever cautious of his presence, and of exactly where his hands were or where his eyes lurked.

"You live so plainly. I would have thought you'd have much more here to flaunt your wealth and strength."

"Wealth is not equal to strength," Cassius replied. "My strength is shown in the arena. The only reason I have a big house is to maintain my status as a wealthy businessman. I would be satisfied with a much smaller house."

"Karime seems to think other wise. Or, he believes his strength comes through me." She spoke and moved about cautiously, ever wary, wondering if something might surprise her an dpop out from behind any of the curtains or doors. Cassius was technically her enemy. How did she end up here?

"That's why Karime is a fool and needs to be broken in half to show him that money does not equal strength."

Cassius' footsteps echoed as he walked over to door, opened it up, and stepped inside. When he emerged, he had to bottles in his hand. After digging the cork out of one of the bottles with his hook, he began drinking the contents. The slave girl from before emerged only to pick up the cork before disappearing again.

Red Sun wasn't going to comment on that.S he didn't like her master either, but she normally held her tongue. But seeing him pull out a bottle of alcohol, she raised a brow at him.
"More drink?"

"Helps me fall asleep," Cassius explained. "Although some people call it passing out."

Cassius emptied the first bottle and began taking the cork out of the second one.

"Did you want some?"

Red Sun groaned when he offered her some. She shook her head.
"I think I'll pass. I'm still feeling the effects of those three drinks from earlier," she said,a nd moved to make herself at home in one of his chaise lounges as she continued to look around his place.

Cassius shrugged and polished off the other bottle before dropping both empty bottles to the floor. The same slave emerged, picked up the bottles, and then vanished. The slave girl seemed quite young, no older than 18 at most, and it was clear that she knew how the whole routine worked by now. Do your job and don't talk unless spoken to. Still, she was dressed pretty well for a slave and was in good physical condition. This was due to the traveling that Cassius did. While he was away, the slaves had the house to themselves.

Cassius grabbed another bottle of what was undoubtedly an alcoholic beverage and sat down in front of the fireplace. Without a word, another slave, not much older than the first, emerged and lit the fireplace before disappearing. Cassius started polishing his hook as he sat by the fire, pausing occasionally to take drink as he worked.

Red Sun observed him in silence, and his slaves. She couldn't imagine to be one like them. Perhaps that was because she was trained to kill. But her body was sore and her mind beginning to throb. But still, she watched him.
"Are you really going to keep on drinking?" She asked, rubbing at her temple. "I'm still feeling the effects from my.few drinks." And she closed her eyes and frowned.

"Yes," Cassius replied without taking his eyes off of what he was doing. "How about you just go lay down somewhere instead of griping to me about it every five seconds. There are plenty of empty rooms, just pick one. Just don't go into mine."

"And you trust a slave to do as she will?" She asked, peering at him curiously.

"Well, you would have killed me by now if you really wanted to, and it's not like I have much worth stealing anyway," he replied. "Even if I did, after what happened tonight, I wouldn't care anyway."

It was here Red Sun paused to observe him.
"Why did you do all of that tonight? Were you that drunk?"

It was here that Cassius stopped what he was doing and his head appeared from behind the back of the chair.

"Do what," he asked as if he didn't know what she was talking about.

"I was referring to all of those men you knocked out at the bar- the guards included. Were you that far gone not to realize what could happen?"

"I felt threatened, so I hit whoever came close. It's that simple," Cassius told her as he took another drink and continued polishing his hook.

"Shit happens when you're drunk. Sometimes you just gotta roll with the punches."

"Yeah, well the same rules apply in the Arena. You make it seem as if this life of freedom isn't much different than the life I'm forced to live and fight through everyday."

"Freedom is a matter of perspective. What one person considers being free may not be what another person considers being free."

"Yeah, well, I don't see you wearing a collar," she jabbed, narrowing her gaze at him. "You have all of this money and wealth.. you can do whatever you want, be whoever you want. Yet you try to throw it all the way on the Arena, or some drink..."

"So wealth automatically gives me the ability to change my destiny?"

Cassius stood and turned to face Red Sun, bottle in hand.

"Look at me, Sunny. What else could there possibly be to see here? I'm a fighter. That's it. My life revolves around conflict and I have adapted to that life. This is what I am. This is what I will always be."

"It just seems an odd choice as a destiny. You could always be like Karime and get fat on dates and wine and luxuries and surround yourself with petty wives. It seems Karime is not the only one who enjoys such a life. I've seen the way most slavers are." And they were all like Karime. Yet somehow... Cassius was different, he wanted to BE different. It was just so very strange. What did he really have.to prove in wanting to be strong?

"All those luxuries and wives mean nothing. Strength is real. You may never know how much wealth you have or how many wives you have, but strength is absolute. The strong survive, so I will be the strongest."

It was true. The strongest did survive, and survive Cassius did. Though he survived, he felt as though he wasn't living. He had so much strength, but for what purpose? Why have it if he had no good use for it? Sure it won him many fights and earned him a lot of money, but all of that never satisfied him. He was missing something. He didn't know what it was, but something was definitely missing.

"Strength may be real for you, but it does not matter that a slave like me was undefeated. Strength gets me no where, but praise for my master." She then rose a hand to her temple, frowning that the affects of the alcohol were still affecting her.
"I might take you up on that offer to find myself a place to sleep." Though truthfully, she could fall asleep just about anywhere. "I'm exhausted and dizzy."

"Strength won't get you anywhere unless you use it."

When Red Sun mentioned finding a place to sleep he sat back down.

"As long as you don't go in my room," Cassius reminded her.

Red Sun waved off the idea. As if she'd want to. But as she began to make her way down the massive halls, she soon found herself lost. And not knowing which way was what and not certain which room was his, she found a bench at the end of one of the halls and curled up on it.
It was rigid and hard on her back, but it was at least a perch for her to be off of her feet. And despite being in some strange, foreign place and drunk- Red Sun found herself soon passing out.

Deciding that he was finally sufficiently intoxicated, Cassius decided to get to bed. As he walked down the hallway he saw Red Sun sleeping on a bench. Cassius pinched the bridge of his nose, shook his head, and sighed. Clearly she didn't know how actual houses and beds worked. Cassius approached Red Sun and looked down at her sleeping form. She had passed out, so disturbing her would not be a concern. Knowing that he would be unable to carry her very well with a hook for a hand, he simply picked up the bench she was on and carried her to the bedroom next to his own. Once they were inside he placed her down to draw back the sheets and then lifted the bench and tilted it slightly so that she rolled off of it and onto the bed. Cassius then tossed the sheets over her and hoisted the bench onto his shoulder.

"That wasn't so hard now was it," Cassius muttered shaking his head.

After putting the bench back in its place at the end of the hallway, Cassius went to bed as well.

Red Sun woke up with a groan, her head was pounding and she felt as if it might explode. And something else felt as if it might explode as she suddenly shot out of the bed and scrambled to find something before she doubled over, puking into a vase. It was barely morning by then, cracks of sunlight seeping through his house. And once she noticed this, (or perhaps she did not) she keeled over again and heaved out more of the contents from her belly into the priceless vase before her as she groaned.

Cassius didn't get much sleep at all, mostly due to Red Sun. All of those moments where the two of them had been so close together kept playing through his mind, even as he slept.

Cassius got out of bed with a groan and went to check on Red Sun, not bothering to put a shirt on. The first thing he saw was her puking into one of vases.

"At least it's contained," he commented.

Cassius whistled and the third slave girl who was even younger than the other two, maybe about 12 years old, emerged. She approached Cassius and wiped some of the sleep from her eyes.

"Bring her some water," Cassius commanded jerking his head toward Red Sun.

As the little girl hurried off to do as she was told, Cassius entered the room and sat on the bed.

"I'm pretty sure that was expensive," he said. Though by the way he said it, it was obvious that he didn't really care about the vase.

Red Sun simply groaned and asked, still perched over the floor as if she might vomit again.
"How.. how did I get in this room?"

"I carried you in here because you were sleeping on the bench at the end of the hall for some odd reason. It's a good thing I did too. There aren't any vases by that bench."

Red Sun groaned and lifted up her head a bit more. She looked positively awful, with bags under her eyes and her long red hair an untamed mess about her face, and her thick lips in a frown. Even her coloring was a bit off, thanks to her hang over, and it was then she peered the bench in a most awkward spot, and was wondering how much was it that she drank last night? Or maybe her memory wasn't at all that good.

"So I take it Karime hasn't figured out where I've gone off to yet?" she asked, surprised, after all, the men Karime hired to hunt her down hadn't showed up yet. And as she asked, she tried to stand, but needed to lean into the wall for some support. God, this was an awful feeling. Then peering over at Cassius, she had to wonder why he looked... well, okay. He drank way more than she did and she was a wreck!

"If anything he'll probably think you just tried to escape again or something," Cassius replied. "All hell with break loose when he finally gets his hands on you though."

It was then that the little slave girl appeared in the doorway with a cup in her hands. Cassius turned his head to her and jerked his head toward Red Sun. The little girl silently padded across the floor and stopped in front of Red Sun. She held out the cup to her with both hands and waited for her to take it.

"It's water. It won't cure your hangover, but it'll take the worst of the edge off."

Red Sun took the glass with haste, and began to drink the water down swiftly, some of it spilling out from her lips and dribbling down her chin. When she was done,s he gasped for air and wiped off her lips on the back of her hand and remained poised, one hand raking through her hair.
"I think I'll need more than one cup if it's too do enough to make me feel any better,"s he said with a frown. Then he peered back over at him. "What about you? You drank more than me." And she narrowed her eyes suspiciously upon him.

Cassius took the cup from Red Sun and handed it back to the girl.

"More."

The girl scurried off to refill the cup as she had been instructed. Cassius turned back to Red Sun.

"I always feel like crap, so this is pretty close to my natural state anyway," Cassius told her. "I guess I'm just used to it."

Cassius stretched and loudly cracked his neck.

"I didn't sleep at all," he muttered.

Red Sun studied the man for a moment, not certain what to say to that. He was always miserable? He didn't sleep? No wonder he went out of his way to be a pompous asshole, or at least tht's what she'd like to believe, and was relieved when the young slave girl returned with some water. WIth anod, she accepted the drink, and drank it a bit more slowly now, her eyes still studying Cassius.

"So I suppose you take that out in the ring? Aiming to tear me apart since you feel your life is so horrible?" What a barbaric concept.

"I aim to tear you apart because I need to prove my strength," he told her in a way that made it quite difficult to tell if he was joking. "Those idiots at the tavern serve as stress relief."

Cassius was silent for a moment. Why was Red Sun so stuck in his head? Did she have the same problem? Most likely not. Cassius knew that he was far from desirable. He was just a big brute that knew nothing but violence. Cassius sighed deeply. Realizing that he was staring at Red Sun, he quickly diverted his gaze.

"So, you want to tell me why you were sleeping on a bench?"

"I honestly can't remember,"s he groaned, and rubbed at the sleep from her eyes. "I think I was too drunk to try to find a bed."

Cassius shook his head and chuckled softly.

"You are such a lightweight, Sunny," he teased.

"It's not like slaves get drunk!" she snapped. "Unless our masters want us to." She gave a bitter expression, finished her water and set the mug aside. "And aren't you supposed to be in a foul mood? What's with all of this teasing? Is it so amusing that I'd be unadapted to this sort of thing?" And she looked up at him with a puzzling, tired look.

"Don't worry. My mood will get foul soon enough," Cassius assured her. "I'm too tired and hungover to be in a foul mood right now, and yes it is rather amusing which is also keeping me in a decent mood."

Red Sun glared at him.
"I should have known there was a reason you'd let some slave into your home."
Picking herself up, she waited for the blood to stop rushing to her head before inquiring.
"So what do you have to eat?" she was starving and it couldn't hurt to prod him for food.

"Let's find out."

Cassius looked to the little girl.

"Go tell your sisters to make some breakfast."

The little girl scampered off once more.

Cassius stood and stretched again, several joints popping and cracking as he did so. It was then that he remembered the vase that Red Sun had just been vomiting in. He should have had that taken care of first. Cassius grabbed the vase and went to dispose of it, glad that he had an excuse to get away from Red Sun, which was weird considering it was his own home.

"Breakfast should be ready shortly," he said as he was leaving. "Don't break anything or puke into anymore of my vases in the meantime."

Red Sun gave a soured frown.
"Anything would suffice," she said, wrinkling her nose. Though she was a slave, Red Sun's vocabulary was impeccable compared to most. In fact, some couldn't even read. She was at least 'honored' enough to know that. It was perhaps due to her furthered education that made her a different sort of fighter in the ring. And she supposed if it was up to her.. she might have been some sort of a scholar in another life.

At Cassius's last remark about not puking, she just made a face.
"I'll be sure to oblige you, your majesty!" she barked back, not even sure why she was being so sassy wth him. But her head hurt,a nd she didn't much care for anything at the moment.

Though it was still strange...
To think she was here of all places. ANd she was still uncertain as to why. The day had been long and awkward... not to mention all of those times she just so clumsily fell into him. Her cheeks heated at the memory.

He probably thought she was getting sloppy with her technique.
ANd then there was this. She felt ill, a hand going to her stomach as she looked around the room a little, but thankfully, the nausea had passed.

Cassius' idea of disposing of the vase was to drop it down the old dried-up well that he usually used for garbage disposal. He still couldn't shake those moments from his mind. She was a slave. A slave. Nothing more. At least that's what he was telling himself. He was having a hard time convincing himself though. This was probably just some kind of phase. Yes, a phase. That's it. Merely the result of him being a male with almost no interaction with females other then in the ring. Surely the feeling would pass. He probably would be having the same probably if any other woman bumped into him. It was just testosterone that's all. Nothing but the side-effects of being male.

Cassius strode back into his home still not entirely convinced by his own explanation of these bizarre feelings. He didn't have emotions, so it was just weird feelings. That's all. It was nothing. Nothing at all.

OOC: Maybe he can blame it on indigestion? :P

-------

By the time he returned back inside his home, Red Sun was going around examining the place. She was more sober now, so it was more than evident how vacant his home was.

"Your home is strange," she commented. "There's not much here, and the echo when I walk through these halls... Makes this place seem... hollow."

"They say that the home matches its owner," Cassius replied.

One of the slave girls appeared before Cassius could say anything more.

"Looks like breakfast is ready," Cassius said.

The slave vanished and Cassius made his way to the table. It was one of those very long tables designed to accommodate many dinner guests at once. There were two places set up at the table, one on each end. Cassius walked down to his end and started eating after he had sat down. Perhaps getting a bit of food into his system would calm his nerves.

Red Sun frowned at such an idea. Did he honestly mean to say he was hollow? Then again, he had been saying that since the beginning, had he not? And the more she observed him, the more she realized it to be true. It seemed such a sad existence... such a waste...

But why should she care? She had to remind herself he was, in fact, technically her enemy. But upon seeing him sit all the way at the end of this large table away from her made her frown.

"You nobles are strange. Having such extravagant things, yet no one here to share them? Well, at least with Karime, his table was always full of his wives and children."

Yes... it was very strange, and she began to feel awkward that it was just the pair of them now.
"Do you always eat like this? Do you not have others over, or entertain?" the table looked practically unused, like a new sword, unaffected by the scars of battle.

"You make it sound like people would want to be near me," Cassius stated. "Do you want the truth or one of those little white lies that people tell to prevent other people feeling sympathy for them?"

Red Sun frowned.
"I wouldn't know what a white lie is." The phrasing was a bit lost on her, considering she was not exactly apart of his society. "But share with me if you wish." Apparently, he had no other ear in which to share.

"A white lie is a small harmless lie that is usually told for someone's benefit," Cassius explained. "But since you don't know what that is I guess I'm left with the truth by process of elimination."

Cassius paused long enough to finish eating and then looked Red Sun square in the face.

"The truth is.....You are the closest thing to a friend that I've ever had."

Cassius leaned back in his chair and chuckled to himself.

"Kind of ironic since you try to kill me, but then again who isn't?"

Friend? Red Sun blinked. That was definitely a surprise indeed, and she was not exactly prepared to hear that sort of statement- especially not from Cassius of all people.

"You have a strange view on friends,"s he told him with a frown. But he was right- it was ironic. They both tried to kill one another in the arena. Or... was he just letting her win? The very idea of that made her more upset then the idea of him claiming her a friend, and she soon dropped her gaze angrily to her food (that of which she had yet to touch).

"Well how am I supposed to know how the whole 'friend' thing works? I've never had any before."

One of the slave girls giggled slightly at that statement, but then immediately fell silent when Cassius' gaze fell upon her. The slave girl quickly grabbed his empty dishes and scurried away.

Even his own slaves were laughing, and if she didn't know better, the girl had been giggling at them both.
"I couldn't tell you what a friend was, I never had any. I've always been a slave, just a slave; and my only interactions with anyone else were always at Karime's orders."

"Well Karime's head is so far up his ass that it would be easier to just push it the rest of the way through rather then pulling it out," Cassius commented.

Cassius never missed an opportunity to insult Karime. Then he realised that he and Red Sun had many things in common. They were both warriors, they both hated Karime, they both were slaves though in different ways. No. She was a slave, he was a wealthy merchant. How could they possibly be similar? Cassius slammed his fist onto the table as he fought the urge to yell at Red Sun and tell her to get out of his head. That would only make things worse though because then she would know that she was in his head. Why was this so hard?
Red Sun- slave.
Cassius- wealthy merchant.
It wasn't a hard thing to differentiate between the to, so why was it becoming so difficult?

If Red Sun weren't so poised as a warrior,s he would have jumped in her seat. But as it stood, she simply peered over at Cassius.
"I don't think beating your table will do much of any good. Karime will still be Karime and.... well, that's just how things are."

"I know how things are," Cassius snapped abruptly standing up. "Maybe I'll just beat Karime into a big greasy paste!"

Cassius hurled his chair across the room suddenly enraged for no good reason. Anger was all he ever knew. He was angry at Karime because he was an arrogant fool. He was angry at Essyrn for being so corrupted. He was angry at his father for never telling him he was good enough or proud of him. He was angry at Red Sun for falling into his arms and causing him to question everything he knew. It felt as though his head was going to burst at any second.

At his sudden outburst, Red Sun shot up from her chair.
"What's the matter with you?" she snapped. "We're not in the arena. Why are you throwing your furniture at the wall?" And the thing was in pieces on the floor. She peered down at it, then over at him, her face wrinkling in disapproval. She could not have known all of what he was going through- for her problems seemed rather simple-

She was a slave, and her life would never be hers. And she had to fight and bleed every day for an arrogant prick whom she didn't even like. But she was too proud to be anything but the best of what she was, but even now, that foundation was crumbling-

But if Cassius wanted to fight, she wasn't just about to sit there and let him possibly hurl a chair at her. Was he secretly a mad man? Perhaps it would explain why he throws himself in the ring...
But he had something about him.... something...
She just couldn't put her finger on.

"Everything's the matter," Cassius shouted. "Karime, this city, the people....Even you!"

Cassius grabbed another one of the many chairs that surrounded the table and hurled that one as well. This was followed by more chairs with no sign of him stopping, the remains of the broken chairs piling up against the wall.

At first, all Red Sun could do was watch, but after a while, something inside even her broke as she crossed the distance between them and halted Cassius by grabbing onto his arms.
"What the hell are you doing!? Are you crazy!? Are you still drunk!?"

Cassius had just grabbed another chair when Red Sun grabbed his arm, causing him to stop. More physical contact. Cassius' grip on the chair loosened until he eventually let go and sat down on the table, his breathing heavier from the sudden violent expenditure of energy.

"Crazy sounds like a good word for it," he said softly. "I should've just taken my foot off your damn chain. Then none of this would have happened."

Red Sun blinked.
"What are you talking about?" She frowned. "Are you pissed over that?" She shook her head. "Shouldn't I be the one upset over that?"
He DID do it to make her angry, after all.

"I'm fine with how it began. It's the way that it ended."

Cassius get off the table and took a few steps away from Red Sun before stopping with his back to her.

"Doesn't anything about what happened during that fight bother you?"

"Ended?" Red Sun blinked again, eyes searching his curiously. What did he mean? What was he going on about? He had beat her, but just as his expression changed to... something else, she felt her heart skip a bit and clench within her chest.

The ending...
And she recalled being in his arms and blushed. But at his words, she shook her head.
"What do you mean?" She tried to act nonchalant, as if nothing did.  At least not that. "Of course.... I lost..."

"You know what happened," Cassius shouted. "I just saw you blush! Karime started yelling and you fell into me. You know full well what I'm talking about. Ever since that happened I can't get you out of my head. Why is that?! Why?!"

It was safe to say that Cassius had now officially lost his cool. Emotions had never been a problem for him because he had never had any. At least until now. He didn't understand what these new sensations were and he wanted, no needed, answers.

At his accusing her of the blush, her eyes went a bit wide, her own current blush heating, even unto her ears before she growled at him, baring her teeth in displeasure.

"And so you seek to throw chairs about the room because of your own confusion!?" She snapped. "Karime startled me, I fell." And though that was true...
The reaction... she was not about to press in on that. Because if she did...
She was not about to open herself to Cassius, not to anyone, and she garded herself with a venomous gaze against him. Why was he bringing this up now!? Why couldn't he just forget it like she had? There wasn't even anything of it...

Right? Because that's what she had to believe. She had to. As he stated...
She was a slave. And he- always a master.

"Exactly," Cassius said. "So if it's such an insignificant event, then why can't I forget it?"

Cassius was on the verge of losing his marbles a second time, and there were plenty of chairs and breakable objects in the room. It obvious how stressed he was. Though he didn't say it and would never ask for it, he needed help. Red Sun, being the only person readily available as well as the only person that ever talks to him, was the only one who could help him at the moment. Cassius was a slaver. He was always in control, but right now he was not. He needed to regain control.....over himself.

"Maybe it's the alcohol," she growled. "I don't know? Why are you looking at me as if I might know the answers?" For she got quite defensive over this, feeling almost like a cornered animal, and was completely on edge still by his chair smashing- and now.... well... this.
"You should get a hold of yourself. Take out this aggression in the ring" Because those sorts of things... well, even she could understand. But this?
This was just awkward, and she'd rather be done with it.

Frustrated that he still did not get his answer, Cassius anger boiled over once again. This time though, he went for the table. Bending his knees, he got under the table and started lifting, veins and muscles bulging from the stress. Eventually, he managed to turn the massive table over onto its side. Cassius simply stared at it while breathing heavily. No matter how much he destroyed and no matter how hard he hit, he couldn't get the answers he sought. The three slave girls rushed out to see what that loud bang was and became frozen in shock when they saw the destruction. It was a lot even for Cassius.

Cassius buried his face in his only hand and sighed. His strength couldn't help him here. That was a fact that was a bit difficult to accept for a man like him, but that's how it was. Strength would not help. This was a matter of the mind, but where should he start?

This was madness. She could not believe what she just witnessed as she cried out his name just before he uprighted the table in one loud, clamoring noise. Gritting her teeth, her heart was pumping loudly within her ears.

By Hakeshna's name, what on earth was going on!?

Seeing how Cassius appeared nearly sobbing by now, after throwing such a tantrum,s he gritted her teeth-a nd said the only thing she could think of-

"I'm leaving. You can have fun destroying your own home- but I want no part of this."
And it was something that was long over due. She should have been trying to sneak out of the city, or returning back to Karime's manor, long before he awoke-
But she ended up over sleeping, and Cassius's home was large. She could easily get lost in it, but thankfully her feet carried her swiftly, and soon she was making her way towards the front door.

What was she thinking? Offering to buy him a drink? The man was crazy! And how was it that he kept thinking of her!? Yes.. this was all madness.S he wanted no part of this!

Cassius said nothing as Red Sun announced her departure and quickly left the room. She wouldn't be the first to run away from him like that nor would she the last. With nothing else to do, Cassius dropped to the floor and just sat there, his slaves still petrified where they stood and stared at him. He scared everyone away. It was just how he was. Cassius was a big, intimidating man, which was both a blessing and a curse. Most conflicts could be resolved by his mere presence, but it also meant that no one wanted to be around him because they were afraid. And now, after everything that had happened at the tavern last night with Red Sun, things would only get worse. Everyone would think he had grown soft. They would think that he had feelings for Red Sun, and they would mock him to no end. That, however, his strength could fix. Anyone who so much as uttered a single word would be broken. If they wanted to be afraid of him, then he would give them a damn good reason to fear.

Throwing the door open to his estate, she had every intentions of just up and leaving these place, completely forgetting about Cassius and all that had occurred-
But the second she did, she was taken back when Karime's men were standing at Cassius's door.

"RED SUN!" They boomed, and quickly advanced upon her.

When he heard the commotion at his front door Cassius sprang to his feet and went to investigate, making a point to grab a sword from his room along the way. Cassius marched right up to the door and moved Red Sun aside to confront the surprise visitors.

"What's going on here," Cassius asked angrily.

Karime's men glared at him.
"Red Sun has escaped. We're here to collect his property."

"Well maybe if Karime kept better tabs on his slaves then this wouldn't be a problem," Cassius shot back.

These poor fellows just so happened to have come to Cassius while he was in a beyond-foul mood. They had best be careful.

One of the men cut him a look while the other one grabbed onto Red Sun roughly.

"I take it you'll give us no problems in bringing back his property," the one man said, gaze narrowing towards Cassius as he helped his partner in detaining Red Sun in their grasp.

"If you keep glaring at me like that as if I just slept with your wife then I will give you problems," Cassius threatened while returning his gaze.

"I'm not glaring at you as if you slept with my wife," the man guffawed. "But there's talk on the street.... we got word what happened at the tavern..."
And the implications that she was found here....
It did no bode well for Cassius and his 'reputation'. To be accused of sleeping with a slave, let alone someone else's slave....

He might as well never set foot in this country again!

That was an incredibly poor choice of words on that man's part and he soon found himself on the ground with blood pouring from his nose.

"What else have you heard on the street," Cassius asked darkly. "I would love to hear about it."

Karime's man howled in pain, and the second one drew his sword, and stood defensively between Red Sun and Cassius.

"Leave it, Rekko, we've got Red Sun. Let's go."

But the other man just couldn't let it go at that,a nd turned as he rose to his knees, and spat bloodily towards Cassius.

"Slave lover."

Reciprocating the fact that rumors were going around was one thing, but outright calling him a slave lover was another. With a roar of anger, Cassius smacked the man with the sword aside and drove his own blade through Rekko's stomach. Cassius then turned to the other man and pointed his sword at him.

"Do you have something you want to say too, or are you going to do the smart thing and just walk away?"

Rekko let out a grunt of pain, and the second man watched in horror as it transpired. Keeping a firm grip upon Red Sun, he gave a snort.
"I'm taking my leave, and Red Sun with me." And with that, he began to drag the slave from his home.

"Tell Karime that if he wants the body he needs to have it collected by sundown or I'm throwing it out with the trash," Cassius called to the man. "Tell that he should also teach his underlings proper manners."

Cassius slammed his front door shut and simply tossed the bloody sword aside. He then proceeded to enter his dining room and smash all of the chairs except for one for him to use. He never had company, so why have more than one chair? They would be more useful to him as firewood anyway. He left the table as it because he saw no need to make his home look nice because, again, he never had visitors. Cassius then proceeded to fill his arms with as many bottles of alcoholic beverages from his closet as he could, sit down in his chair, and start drinking. Maybe he would even get to die from drinking to much. 

Karime did come to collect the body, but those that came to take him refused to, or barely spoke to Cassius. They just hefted up the dead body and were out of there before the sunset-
But that was the least of anyone's worries. It seemed, at least, for now, Karime wasn't pressing the issue about Red Sun- and the next day, she wasn't even seen in the stocks-

But it was not the stocks or pillory she was destined for-
For this time, it was made in an announcement Red Sun was to be publically punished in the arena. And one man laughed as he heard about this 'rumor', which, was soon found out to be true.

"I can't believe it! Red Sun? She tried to escape again."

"Yeah, rumors have it her and Cassius.."

"Watch your tongue! You heard what's been happening with him, right? He could skin you alive for that!"

"Yeah, but a slave and a master... well, one that ain't even his?" The man shook his head. "It just ain't right. Maybe if the woman was his no one would care and he could do anything he wanted. But she's someone else;s property. He could just buy her from Karime if he wanted her so badly."

"Yeah, but Karme ain't having her for sale, and for all we nkowt his public means to punish her could have her killed!"

"Yeah, and he'd be making money off of it. Wonder what sort of things he aims to do to her int he arena. She's undefeated."

"I don't know, but I aim to find out! Heard he'll be hosting this event tomorrow! He even asked the Shah to come! Wonder if she'll attend."

After somehow managing to grow tired of drinking Cassius wandered down to the Colloseum to get some training in. No one spoke to him and most were afraid to even look at him, but whispers could be heard all around. He entered the training area without a word to or from anybody and began breaking training dummies apart. As always, no one wanted to volunteer to spar with him, but that was normal. He wasn't sure what he would do once he ran out of training dummies. Maybe he could wander out into the desert and get himself jumped by a couple thugs or something. It might be awhile before he went into the arena again with all these rumors about.

"Do you really think he's bedded Red Sun?" One man whispered.

"Well, if he was going to fall prey to a slave, she's at least an attractive one," another man retorted.

"Do you think he'll intervene again at the Colosseum? Remember what happened with the snake?"

"I don't know, but hush your tongue, there's Cassius now!"

Cassius simply glared at the men as he walked past them. He had already smashed all of the training dummies and so was on his way to grab more. Maybe once he run out he could use some "more realistic" targets. At least he was the only was there at the moment so that there were more dummies to himself, and wooden mannequins to break as well. 

It was around this time that Karime himself was waltzing through the Colosseum. He had just set up all of the information for Red Sun's 'punishment' fight, when he noticed Cassius destroying the training dummies. However, he ignored him. Let the man destroy his own reputation. And he? Well, he supposed he'd just have to cash in on it as his entourage of men walked on by, laughing jovially as they went.

Cassius would have been able to ignore Karime and company if they weren't all laughing. He couldn't help but think that they were laughing at him, which didn't sit well with him. So, he 'accidentally' sent his wooden training sword flying towards the group and then casually moved to retrieve another one as if nothing had happened.

The entourage all paused at that, casting glares Cassius's way. But when Karime waved it off, they went back to snickering again.
"He's of no consequence to us. We don't associate with slave lovers."

Cassius smashed apart one of the dummies.

"Coward," he muttered.

They wouldn't be so smug if he went over them and beat the crap out of every single one of them. He knew that he could. None of them were fighters. All they were was a bunch of sycophants and bootlickers that all want some of Karime's money. And Karime was just a rich snob who had probably never touched a sword in his life. How could he be so weak and yet still call himself a man?

If Karime heard his remark, he made no reaction to it as he and his men simply went back to their conversation and laughing as they moved to exit the Colosseum.

Karime drew his dagger and began scratching something into one of the dummies. When he was done he took step back and re-sheathed his dagger to admire his handiwork. The dummy now had 'Karime' scrawled into its chest.

"Now that is a real dummy," Cassius chuckled to himself.

Cassius smashed the dummy apart in one blow. He then proceeded to break as many pieces as he could into smaller pieces. This whole thing was Karime's fault. If he didn't get that damn snake to throw at Red Sun, none of this would have ever even happened. Karime would pay. He didn't know how, but he would make Karime pay.

The day went on as usual, an the normal whispers of rumors were going around. The obvious ones of what was going on between Cassius and Red Sun were pretty prominent, considering the latter rumor that Red Sun was to be punished for it in some sort of Arena battle would follow afterwards...
but after hearing about the killing(s) Cassius had committed, the folks in Essyrn were a little more than cautious as to who they spoke around-
But the taverns held tongues that move more loosely, and was definitely a place where Cassius and Red Sun rumors were flying around without much thought.

Once he had broken every last training dummy available, Cassius felt like going to the tavern, as usual. However, with all the rumors going around he immediately reconsidered. Going to a tavern now would just be asking if not begging for trouble. For once in his life, Cassius wasn't in the mood for causing trouble. So, Cassius decided to head home, maybe stopping for a drink of water on the way after all of the smashing he had just got done.

When Cassius would arrive at the well, there was a young woman who was bringing up the bucket. She was alone, but the street there was relatively empty, but the second she saw Cassius, she gasped, and dropped the entire bucket down into the well with a slow-to reply splash at the bottom when the bucket refound water.  Timidly, and afraid, the woman backed away from the well, before turning a tail and simply running away. It was uncertain if the woman knew who the man was, but it did not matter. Cassius was not the sort of man anyone wished to find themselves alone with in the dark.

Cassius didn't even bother trying to say anything as the woman fled in fear of him. While it was a sign of power to people flee before you, did all of them have to flee? Cassius sighed and drew the bucket back up for himself. After drinking some of the water and pouring the rest over his head to cool himself off, he sat down on the edge of the well. He was alone and didn't have to go back to his destroyed house. That sounded pretty good. So, there he sat.

As the night rolled on, more people passed by the well; but this time it was a group of men coming home from the tavern. They were drunk, but the jovial kind, laughing about as they made their way along.

"My money's on Red Sun winning. She has yet to lose."

"Yeah, but she's up against some beast I heard- and no weapon to protect herself."

"Yeah, but her record is flawless."

"Well, flawless until she's pit against Cassius. He did save her int he ring."

"You think that's why he rescued her?"

"Why who did what?"

"Cassius. Think the rumors are true? That he and Red Sun..."

" I don't know what to think and it ain't any of my business. I just know Red Sun has yet to lose a match and I'm going to bet on her."

Cassius listened to the men as they spoke, but he remained silent in order to prevent discovery. So Karime was going to pit Red Sun against another beast again it seemed. He wondered what it would be this time. Karime seemed awfully dead set on getting Red Sun killed. Maybe he would go watch. It wasn't like he had much else to do.

Cassius stood and walked back to his house. Everything was still a mess as Cassius had not told his slaves to clean it up. He kind of liked it the way it was now. There was no longer the pressure of making sure everything looked nice in case he ever had some wealthy guests visit him. The thought made Cassius chuckle to himself. As if he would ever get visitors. Cassius sat down in his chair and began his drinking session. At least alcohol was always there for him.

In the morning of the event, it was still not revealed what surprise monster Red Sun would face, but the entire city of Essyrn was thriving. The event seemed to generate more interest than her past battles- but it seemed horribly one sided-

Un armed warrior woman to face an unknown beast....


"Considering how Red Sun was nearly killed by that snake, I think Karime's determined to end her career in blood." The man shook his head as he was hanging up a sign just outside the Colosseum walls. "If she dies, he makes money. If she lives.. well.... that would make things very interesting indeed."

He turned to the scribe behind him, "What are the odds?"

And the man peered up from his scroll. "The odds are against Red Sun. 10.. to 1."


The other man chuckled. "Is that it? Well, might as well place a bet ont he loser. After all, if she wins... I'll be quite the rich man. If she loses well..." he stroked his beard and shrugged, and moved to enter the Colosseum where a sea of people were beginning to rush inside, and despite the heat of the day, the place was already becoming packed with people.

And it was only when Karime's flags were seen and his entourage began to approach the Colosseum that the attention was turned to him- and there, upon a carried throne he sat, drinking his wine int he shade, while behind him- Red Sun remained, in her usual, meager armor- and in chains within an iron barred cart.

As the caravan strolled through many turned to look at the woman, both fascinated by her- and also repulsed. To think she defied her master two times already. They all seemed eager to see her blood, and those near to her that could, threw rocks at her as she passed.

Cassius made his way to the Colloseum to see what Karime had in store for Red Sun. Karime's arrival proved to be the perfect distraction to allow Cassius to enter unnoticed. Instead of watching from the stands, he would watch from inside of the Colloseum itself through of one the several gates around its perimeter. It wouldn't provide the best view, but it was better than jumping into the lion's den.

By the time the fight was ready to begin, the Colosseum was nearly bursting. So many people had come out for the occasion to see the 'mystery' creature versus a weaponless Red Sun. Odds were against her as far as bets were concerned, and not many believed she would make it out alive- so no one wanted to miss her death if it were assured. She was definitely one of the more popular attractions, and Karime sat up on his shady perch, slaves fanning him off and he- enjoying a freshly poured gilded goblet of wine as he sipped it and peered down at the sunny arena.

The moment the portcullis was raised and the red haired warrioress stepped into the sands, the entire place went wild. She wore barely a thing, but that was her usual armor, and fresh scars and whip lashes were evidnt on her back side. Though the wounds burned, as did the sun, Red Sun stood as ready as ever before the crowd, feigning indifference on her placid face, even as her heart was hammering heavily within her chest.

She had no idea what she was to fight, and her stomach chilled the second she heard the second portcullis raise with a few, hasty- click, click, clicks-
and then the whole crowd was gasping at the sight of a massive crocodile that came lurking out from the darkness and into the intense sun light. The creature had to be coaxed out with spears, that of which he was none too happy about- and he bit one clean in half, leaving the two useless halves in the sands while the ushering guards rushed back inside to their posts while the beast's gate was sealed shut.

Cassius' hand came up to stroke his chin as the giant crocodile entered the arena. Karime seemed to have a fetish for abnormally large reptiles. This fight hardly seemed fair at all, but that was probably the idea. There was no way she could take on something like that without a weapon. It would have been difficult with a weapon. Cassius watched attentively, curious as to how Red Sun would handle this situation.

Big Snake- now this? Red Sun narrowed her gaze at the thing. The thing was gigantic! And could easily gobble her down in one bite! Gritting her teeth, she took a few cautious steps backwards, eyes ever wary of the reptile as it seemed to be angrily storming around for some place to go. But considering there was little shade for them both- and Red Sun was the only object in view, the crocodile gave a grunt and began to use its stubby, strong legs as it began to suddenly rush her way.

A rush of cold fear swept through her as she realized she hadn't much time to think, and danced out of the way as the gator came near. But it didn't take long for it to spot Red Sun again- her long hair was like a flag,a n he cuold easily place her out amongst the nothingness of the arena floor. So it gave a heavy turn and began to pursue, but when it's angered jaws came down in SNAP, Red Sun used the moment to tumble directly beside the beast and found herself recovering to a stand beside it's tail. And before she knew what was happening, the crocodile accidentally knocked her over with it's long and heavy tail.

Well, she was still alive. The fight was going good so far. How would you kill something that big without a weapon? If Cassius were in the situation, he'd probably let the thing eat him and then make the gator choke on him. Then again, Cassius was quite a bit bigger than Red Sun, but she might still be able to make it work. He would have to just wait and see.

Now with her face in the sands, she was spitting out the dirt as she grit her teeth and scrambled to get back to her feet. Her long red hair was a tangled mess about her, body tense as she pushed herself up and rolled away. Once she was half crouched off the ground,s he stared over at the crocodile who was still chomping away at nothing. It seemed it had gotten confuse, thinking some dancing shadow elsewhere was prey- and it was enough time for the red haired warrior to pick herself up and stare the creature down. Her midn was too panicked, and wiht the sun beating down upon her, it made her less able to focus. But she had to- she had to think of something, less this beast devour her and her days were through.

Cassius decided to give Red Sun a nudge in the right direction and started rattling the gate in front of him.

"Hey, Sunny," he shouted. "If that thing eats you I hope he chokes on it!"

Maybe she would take the hint and he wouldn't just have to come right out and say it, especially since Red Sun seemed a little too busy to discuss tactics at the moment.

She heard the familiar nick name and despite her predicament, she whirled around. Hearing his claims, at first she appeared surprised, but then narrowed her eyes at him angrily. The beast was now charging back her way, covering the grounds swiftly for such a low-sitting beast, but Red Sun had speed and agility on her side, and graceful as a dancer, evaded the beast yet again.

And the crowd was loving it, even those suffering in the broiling hot heat of day.

Apparently she didn't take the hint, but it was rather vague. Maybe she would still figure out a way to kill that thing herself. Cassius didn't want to interfere because his reputation was already damaged beyond repair. There was no need to make things worse for himself.

It seemed as if most of Red Sun's time was spent evading the Crocodile, but she knew this couldn't go on forever. Eventually, the sun would take it's toll on her, and she had a feeling she'd have less resistance to the sun than a massive crocodile, especially when he was charging after his lunch. But after a time, the crocodile began to slow, keeping his eyes locked to Red Sun as she darted off to the opposing side of the Colosseum, and now that it seemed the pair were at a stand still-t he crowd began to boo.

This fight was certainly dragging on longer than anyone had anticipated. Red Sun couldn't harm the croc and the croc couldn't catch Red Sun. Perhaps her saving grace would be that crocodiles are cold-blooded and the beast will overheat in the scorching sun. All Red Sun would have to do was survive until then. Simple.

Too bad the crowd had other ideas. Being upset not much was happening during this fight- some of hte audience begna to throw things, and thankfully, at first, they were simply rocks that did not hit their mark, but as more and more spectators began to participate in this, the rocks were getting dangerously close to hitting Red Sun-
and the crocodile that was beginning to get riled up again. A few rocks smacked at it's flesh and it opened it's jaw in defiance, and while the crocodile was getting pissed off it was being hit- a rock suddenly landed and hit Red Sun on the side of her head-
and down she went, blood gushing down from the wound.

Booing and complaining was one thing, but this violent show of disorder certainly could not be allowed. In order to restore order, Cassius decided to go straight to the top: The Shah. This rock throwing was interfering with the fight and preventing a fair one-on-one challenge between the two combatants. Cassius explained his concerns to the Shah in hopes that order could be restored so that the fight could continued unhindered.

When Cassius dared to near the Shah, a number of her guards stood in his way.
"Who dare approaches the Great Shah?" one asked, his voice booming over the boo of the crowds.

"I do," Cassius replied with his own booming voice to match the guard. "I wish to speak with concerning the utter anarchy that is arising in the Colloseum. There should not be such chaos in the Shah's presence."

"And who are you to approach our Shah?" the guard spat. "If the Shah is displeased, she can act on her own."

"I am Cassius, a wealthy slave trader," he replied with authority. "The Shah is young. Perhaps she needs guidance."

The guard could not believe the audacity of this man.
"The Shah is Hakeshna's vessel, she needs no help from any man unless it is she who comes to seek you."

"If the Shah needs no help from any man, then why don't you let her decided whether or not she will have an audience with me instead of you deciding for her."

The Shah herself glared from up high upon her throne as she demanded, "What is going on here?"
And her guards turned to her and said, "Your grace, this man requests an audience with you."

"Here and now?" the young woman stated, sounding astounded at such an idea.

"He believes you need his counseling," one of the guards said with disgust.

It was here the Shah looked away from her guards over the Cassius as she narrowed her gaze upon him.
"You there, who are you to approach me?"

"I am Cassius," he replied strongly. "Wealthy slave trader and champion of the arena."

He said nothing more for he had been asked for nothing more. If she wanted him to continue then she would tell him to.

Persea's eyes wavered as she registered what he said. But she did not wave him to approach her just yet, but allowed him to stand just beneath her in the stands.
"And what is it you wish to speak to me about?"

"This," he replied pointing to the rowdy crowd. "This chaos is not fitting for your presence. Order must be restored. Surely you cannot allow such lawlessness under your watch."

Persea's lips were drawn into a tight line as she observed what he was saying. It was unsettling to say the least, but what could she do? Even as the Shah, she was but one against an entire stampeding hoard.

"These are my people," she told him after a time. "And this is their way to show their displeasure." And she paused, her frown deepening. "Are you saying all of these people could act so wrongly in my presence?" Yes.. perhaps just accepting this was much better than trying to contend. For even she was not so naive to see it was a daunting and near impossible task- Shah or not.

"They are acting wrongly," Cassius told her. "Just look around and see. Not only will this interfere with the present fight, but it could severely piss off the giant gator. You remember what happened when that giant snake got angry, it ate one of the spectators. Who's to say that this croc will stop after just one?"

Persea's eyes went wide with fear at such a revelation. Surely that sort of chaos could not happen again? But the nervous glance she gave to her nearby advisors spoke volumes. She was definitely nervous, and definitely now more uncertain over the outcome of this fight since she spoke to him- for but moments ago she was sitting pretty on her throne. But now? Now the risk seemed far too real. Setting her jaw and trying to refind her own strength, she squared off her shoulders and spoke down to him.
"And what would you do to quell such a crowd?" For the crowd was acting like one large stampede of crazed animals. They wanted blood, and were roaring for it, but still, Red Sun and the crocodile had yet to drop an ounce. And the clock was ticking.. and the crowd was growing more irate.

"You are the Shah," Cassius replied. "What would you have me do, Your Highness?"

Persea faltered, but she did not wish to show her weakness. She kept her chin raised proudly, her shoulders thrown back as she groped for a solution. But inspite of herself, her brain seemed to be running dry. Perhaps it was the heat. And in retort, she simply stated, "What can you do?" and eyed him carefully. He was but one man, after all.

"I am the best fighter Essyrn has ever known," he replied. "No man or beast has ever bested me in the arena."

Persea stared at him skeptically.
"And how can that help us here?" She was growing as agitated as the crowd, but for good reason, for the crowd was seeming to take on an entity all of it's own- like a raging beast-
and raging beasts were never a safe thing to be around.

"Sometimes being feared is better than being loved," Cassius told her. "I am feared by everyone in Essyrn. They will listen to me for they know that I can break them if they don't."

The Shah hesitated but a moment before asking, "And you think you can break them all?" For even she wasn't entirely convinced one man could take on a nation.

Cassius turned and sized up the crowd for a moment before turning to face the Shah once more.

"Not all of them," he admitted. "But I could definitely take on a good number of them."

It was at about this time that Red Sun dared turned to the audience and shouted her angered cries at them. Though the only thing that seemed to steel her rage was the moment she noticed a lone figure she recognized in the crowd- Cassius.

"So, good Shah," Cassius concluded. "What shall you have me do?"

This seemed to be going well. If Cassius could get the Shah's blessing then no one could oppose him. No one would dare argue with the Shah, especially since he was making her make the call. Being commanded by her to do something would be much more impactful than him asking her to do something. This should work nicely.

Persea pressed her lips together, keeping them closed and flat. Her eyes flickered, her mind raced over what she should do. She wasn't about to bless this man with enough power to possibly outshine her own, when she gestured for him to stand aside.

"I will not need your services unless I call upon it. But I will put an end to this chaos."
And standing as tall as she could at her minimal height, she looked out angrily to the crowd and commanded the man beside her, "Blow the horn to end this fight. And make the announcement known that chaos is not tolerated before the Shah!"

And with a nod, a tall, obsidian skinned man beside her stood up and lifted a great, crooked horn to his lips and blew into it three times. First, it was long and powerful, enough that it shook her ears and the stands all around her. The second two were much briefer, but powerfully blown none the less. Then once some of the crowds attention began to look her way, the man bellowed out the command, "This fight shall cease! By order of the great Shah, Persea! She decrease, by virtue of our great Goddess Hakeshna, that no chaos shall reign before her!"

And with that, the crowd began to roar, and Red Sun stood there, stunned, as the portcullis began to raise with the slow, heavy clinking of it's chains.

Cassius bowed and moved aside as he was told. His plan had worked. The fight had ceased, and no one could argue with the will of the Shah. Looks like there was some brain under all that brawn of his.

"I take my leave, almighty Shah," Cassius said with a bow. "I wish you well."

With that, Cassius went down to ensure that the chaos would stay ended, but he doubted his services would be required. After all, the Shah's word was final.

Not wasting another moment, as the crocodile was looking mighty eager to have this end as well, she dashed across the Colosseum and exited as fast as she could. And she was elated for once to be put back into her cell, where she waited there for her master to come pick her up and take her home.

And she found herself suddenly smirking.
Boy would Karime be pissed!

Cassius decided it would be best for him to assist in the apprehension of the giant crocodile. They couldn't just leave the beast in the arena. It would have to be put in some sort of cage for the meantime. The question was how do you subdue such a monster and get it into a cage. As he pondered this question, he walked right past Red Sun's cell and he couldn't resist.

"I see you're still in one piece," Cassius stated casually. "Though just barely."

Just as Cassius strolled by, she instantly dropped her smirk. Her eyes narrowed as she approached the bar.
"If anything, I'm a little tired. I guess I must've bored the Shah. Stopping the fight like that... maybe Karime will retire me after this." And as she studied Cassius through the bars, she held her tongue. As much as she wanted to ask him what he was doing up there, she couldn't do it. Her pride got in the way.

Cassius merely grinned and chuckled slightly.

"You're welcome," he said simply.

He then began walking away to go see about the giant croc problem that the arena was currently facing.

Red Sun shook her head as he left. He was a strange one, but then again...that man just saved her life. And when she realized she was grinning again, she turned her back to the bars to hide it.

Just as he had anticipated, the croc did not want to go quietly. Despite the populace's general dislike for him, they did not turn down his assistance in subduing the scaly beast. With only minor casualties, the beast was put into a cage to await another fight in the arena. Cassius was in quite a good mood that he had come out on top in this whole ordeal, and when he saw Karime he couldn't resist.

"You don't have much luck with giant reptiles do you?"

Karime's skin was red with anger and sweating as he dabbed his brow with a silk towel. And when Cassius approached, his eyes flared.
"And here is the man who wastes his time on slaves," he sneered. "What did you say to the Shah? Why did my fight end?"

"Here is the man who wastes his time on completely ridiculous fights," Cassius countered. "I was merely a voice of reason amidst the chaos. I simply suggested that she not allow such chaos and lawlessness in her presence, and she agreed. I knew no one could oppose the will of the Shah."

Karime sneered.
"Save your breath, fighter. I know what you're really after, and I'll see to it you'll never have it."
He snapped his fingers to his men.
"Come. Get Red Sun. We're heading home. Now."
He didn't want to waste another minute in Cassius's presence, for he knew if he did, he'd lose his cool and who knew where his temper would lead him.

Cassius chuckled to himself at how mad Karime was. He wasn't sure what exactly Karime thought what he was after, but he decided to just let Karime's imagination run wild. Today, he had won. Now all that there was to do was go celebrate with the intake of much alcohol.

The great crocodile hunt would be coming up soon- and with such a considerably embarrassing loss in the arena, Karime was more agitated than ever. And as he and his entourage were storming off, Red Sun in town, the red haired warrior chanced one glance back to Cassius and the disappearing Colosseum- wondering what would happen if she ran into Cassius next. Her life had been considerably more interesting since their random 'rendez-vous'-
and as he and the crowd seemed to vanish from sight, her mind drifted back to that time she had fallen clumsily into his arms.


OOC: I figure this thread is finished here :)
Feel free to have Cassius run into her in this thread (http://www.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=16849.msg192382#msg192382) if you wish!