A Change of Scenery (Midnight)

[Wicked Basket]

Alsake looked down at himself. It did seem apparent that he had a talent for lifting heavy objects, but what objects were they?

"What I lift," he asked.

[Nightmare]

"Building materials, furniture imports, all kinds of things, really." Cynthia said with a shrug. "Often my business requires the transport of many objects or a few large, heavy ones. It's hard to say for certain, I'm involved in many different kinds of work."

[Wicked Basket]

"I carry it all," Alsake insisted. "More than anyone."

Alsake was more than happy to simply carry heavy objects around if it meant he didn't have to hurt anyone anymore. Not to mention carrying things was incredibly easy to accomplish and was pretty much impossible to mess up. This new master was definitely better than the last one.

[Nightmare]

Cynthia couldn't help but grin at the slave's statement. "Good. That enthusiasm is what I like to see."

Often slaves took a while to get adjusted to the new atmosphere but her newest acquisition seemed to be adjusting just fine. It was rare for her to come across a slave as obedient as this without her having to break them in first. Maybe he would end up being worth the money she spent on him after all.

It was then that a young slave girl came out onto the terrace and called out to the two of them. "Dinner is ready, mistress."

Cynthia stood from her seat and began walking back into the dining hall, motioning for Alsake to follow her.

[Wicked Basket]

Alsake followed behind Cynthia for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. He still could not get over the sheer size of her home. Why would one person even need a house this large? When they arrived he assumed that he would probably be escorted to the slave dining hall, but that was fine. It was still far better than anything he's ever had before.

[Nightmare]

When they arrived back in the kitchen, Cynthia turned to the slave girl that had come out to get them. "Vera, take him to your dining area. Show him how things work."

With that, she continued off to the kitchen where she would let the chef know whether she was satisfied with the meal that was coming out or not.

The slave girl smiled at Alsake and began walking. "This way."

[Wicked Basket]

It seemed like he had yet more following to do, but it was another slave this time. She was taking him to the slave dining hall. Now the challenge would be sitting down with his wings in the way.

[Nightmare]

It was only a few seconds before Vera started to speak. The way she talked betrayed her innocence and naivety. "So, you're new? What's your name?"

[Wicked Basket]

"Alsake," he replied. "How long you here?"

He figured he might as well try making friends. It couldn't hurt to have people who would be willing to help him adjust to his new life.

[Nightmare]

Vera smiled brightly as she talked to Alsake. "I was born here. My father is one of my mistress's guards and my mother is one of her other slaves. My name is Vera, by the way."

[Wicked Basket]

Born here? Born a slave? That didn't sound very fun, and yet she seemed so happy. Was it because she had never had any freedom to miss?

"You like here?"

[Nightmare]

"It's not bad." Vera said. "As long as I don't upset my mistress she's normally very nice. I've heard from others that they came from places that were a lot worse, so I'm grateful I have never been in that situation."

She looked over Alsake curiously as they continued to walk, blatantly staring at his wings. Finally she just asked the question, "What's it like to have wings?"

[Wicked Basket]

"Fun to fly, hard to sit," Alsake replied simply.

He didn't really know how else to describe having wings to someone without them. It's kind of like trying to explain color to a blind person.

[Nightmare]

They arrived at the dining hall then and when they entered they could see that there were already many other slaves eating their meals. Vera walked towards the far end of the table and found a place where there were two seats so that they would both have a place and then took a seat. "You can stand if you would like."

[Wicked Basket]

Alsake looked at the seat and thought hard. How could he make this work? Then he thought about making his wings parallel to himself instead of perpendicular. They would stick out to his left and right, but they wouldn't interfere with the back of the chair.

He decided to give it a shot. Though it made him take up enough space for two people, he managed to sit in the chair. Hopefully he wouldn't be in the way too much.

[Nightmare]

Vera looked over at Alsake and smiled kindly. "I'll be right back."

She then walked to the other end of the table and grabbed two plates of food from a large tray, then walked back over and took a seat near Alsake. She placed the second plate in front of him. "Here you go!"

[Wicked Basket]

Alsake's eyes widened as the food was set before him. This was better than anything he had ever gotten before. He immediately dug in and started eating with his hands, because he wasn't used to having silverware. The food was gone almost instantly and he turned to Vera.

"I allowed more," he asked hopefully.