xx welcome to our paradise

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MARZELL

Against the pale sinking of the sun, Marzell trudged toward the Norden camp. It was getting darker earlier as the days grew old into winter's grasp, and Marzell was continually amazed at the changing of the seasons as the year began its descent into the chills Iudex would soon multiply. Although morning was typically the male's favorite hour, the minutes before dusk had recently gained his attention for the sweetness of the sunsets and painted skies that graced his land. This was no Irrsin, but it was something in its own right, that was for certain.

On the way back, Marzell had picked up the pace considerably, with both his yearning to see Azrael and instinct to leave the horrors of the Auktion Rock fueling him considerably. He wanted to breathe in the sweet scents and roll in the grasses of his new home more than anything--anything that could help him, if only temporarily, overcome the nightmares that the Auktion Rock trips would bring him. The last time he'd returned from the Rock, he hadn't slept for two days afterward. He'd just laid motionless in his makeshift den and watched tamely as the sun sank and rose, and then sank and rose again. He'd missed his mother and father more than anything in those days. Actually, if he was being honest with himself, he'd even considered returning home to Irrsin. He just wanted to sleep alongside his remaining sister and try to forget the last, dying squeals he'd heard from Adelina before the fire had separated them. He had needed Dresna. And yet, in the end, pride had held him back. He needed her, but not enough to overcome his own self-absorbed nature. Maybe he was more like Kasimira than he knew.

Of course, he did know that deep down that he was being unreasonable by leaving Irrsin without giving his parents and pack mates some type of closure about his survival. And he felt almost guilty in doing so after losing track of Adelina that night. But on the other paw, he knew definitively that Kasimira would never allow her son to simply leave. Frankly, he was just plain tired of living in Dresna's bold shadow.

As the pair of wolves passed over the Norden border, Marzell felt himself visibly relax. A small sigh escaped from his body and he slowed to shake his fur, as if to get rid of all the dirt and grim collected from the Auktion Rock. Once he'd stretched his back and released some of the tension of his trip, Marzell turned to address Jato. The poor sklavin was probably wondering what would be expected of him next, and it would be better to let the information sink and allow him a time to adjust to the immediate change while he searched for Azrael.

"So, all of that back there"--and at this, Marzell motioned to where they had come from--"was an act, if you can't tell. I'm not a dominor. I don't "own" sklavin. I'm a freior. And now you are too."

Marzell, his blue eyes flashing excitedly, moved forward to nudge Jato with a hint of encouragement. He knew this would be hard for the male--he might even reject such a notion if the lifestyle was too far embedded--and Marzell wanted to make sure Jato was at least stable before searching for the other black female. Her scent hadn't been extremely strong when they'd entered the lands, and a trickle of fear was beginning to prick uncomfortably in his belly at the thought of her whereabouts.

Marzell turned his eyes back to the new member. His eyes were certainly something. It was something he'd definitely never seen before. What would Azrael think? Hmm. Good question. Pausing to allow the male a response, Marzell sat before Jato, licking his chest fur anxiously. Maybe Azrael would show up at the scent of a newcomer. He needed some patience.

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[Jato]

Jato

Speeding up his gait, Jato could sense the yearning in the black wolf, which unfortunately for him meant he didn't have much time to realise where exactly they were going. Not that it would help much though, he really had no idea what he was thinking when he decided to draw a mental map on the way here. It wasn't like he was thinking of escaping or anything it was just... Well, he wanted to take the sights in. There were things on that trip that he'd never seen before in his life, and that was from just one trip! He'd never seen grass so green before, so much wildlife and never had he seen such a lack of wolves before. The entire time it had been just the pair of them, no burly guards or browsing dominors or slaves getting their faces pushed in the mud. And when they finally crossed over the border, Jato understood immediately why he wanted to get back so quickly. 

The white male took a small step back as his master shook his fur, seizing that moment to have another quickly look around. He hadn't noticed it before but the air here was certainly fresher. He'd grown so accustomed to the scent of blood, urine, tears and rotting corpses. And he would've continued gazing, lost in thought of Marzell hadn't broken his concentration.

"So, all of that back there... was an act, if you can't tell. I'm not a dominor. I don't "own" sklavin. I'm a freior. And now you are too."

"..."

Had he heard that right? Maybe he was going deaf, his eyes were terrible enough but now Iudex was just messing with him. 

"I, I'm sorry... Sir. I don't quite understand," But if this is a joke, it's a pretty damn messed up one. This was a cruel joke wasn't it? A test to check his loyalty? Or a way of raising his hopes and then eventually crushing them between the jaws of cruelty. But the look on the Marzell's face said otherwise. He was dead serious. 

Jato instinctually recoiled back slightly when Marzell went to nudge him, mostly out of instinct but he was half expecting the grey wolf cross to turn around and shout "Hah! Just kidding you pathetic dog! You really fell for that, didn't ya'?". But that never came. He looked up at Marzell again, into those blue eyes of his as the black male waited for a response. How he envied those eyes. 

" Forgive me sir... But... Why?" The confusion in the wolf's voice was as clear as the scar on his face. Of all the sklavins, plenty worthy of being a strong, powerful pack member this guy chose an inexperienced, strangely coloured, pathetic excuse for a specimen who couldn't hold his own against a pup? 

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MARZELL

"I, I'm sorry... Sir. I don't quite understand,"

For a moment, as the silence fell over the two males, it seemed Jato's shock completely overwhelmed him. Time froze and the albino simply stared, dumbfounded. Marzell's black ears pulled back. He almost felt like he was intruding on Jato's emotions, as he shuffled between reactions. This wasn't ever something he had experienced for himself, Iudex to thank. Who was he to try and sympathize?

" Forgive me sir... But... Why?"

At this question, Marzell was genuinely caught off guard. I don't even know the answer to that. Why had he saved Jato? No answer. Why had he saved Azrael? Mm, that one was definitely easier to answer. She was pretty--no. She was gorgeous. She was fiery, she had wit, she was intelligent--and with striking looks to boot. She'd make any dominor jealous, that much was clear. But if that was his reason for claiming Azrael, why had he gone back in the first place?

Marzell shook his head in frustration. The answers were embedded too deeply. Too deep to dig out in one day. What he needed was sleep. Sigh. But just to pacify Jato's curiosity, Marzell tried to answer, if only half-heartedly.

"Because eventually, those brutes would have torn you to shreds if I'd left you there. Your rarity would have been your downfall. If not physically, then emotionally."

His voice was harsh, sparking angrily as he tried to understand his reasons. Marzell drew himself up and turned to move further into the lands. But after a moment of consideration, he added to his thoughts with a softer voice.

"And, if I'm being completely transparent here, something inside me couldn't leave without trying to change someone else's life."

Look how soft you've gone. What would Kasimira say? Marzell recoiled at the thought before pulling himself forward. He kept his eyes away from Jato, unwilling to let the other male see the tangle of emotions that wrestled inside of him. Maybe he was over thinking all of this. Maybe it wasn't that big of a deal. Dominors claimed sklavins every day and they were no different because of the affair. But I'm not really a dominor.

"You should be. You're Kasimira's son."

Marzell flinched as an imitation of Adelina's voice sounded besides him. What the--? Frantically, Marzell spun around, his blue eyes flashing surprise as he stared out to the treeline. Carefully, he ran his gaze over the land without finding so much as a moving reed. His heart beat unevenly in his chest and his breathing came slightly more ragged. What was he thinking? He must have imagined it. She was dead; there wasn't a prayer to Iudex or any other god that could bring her back.

But then again, he hadn't heard her voice in so long... As if to answer her, he responded silently in his mind. No, Adelina. I'm not Kasimira's son.

And then, the male remembered Jato. If the white male didn't think him crazy, Marzell knew it would be too good to be true. Jumping at imaginary intruders. Awesome. The black wolf began to feel the heat rise to his fur, embarrassment overcoming him as he tried to find the words to explain himself.

"Sorry, I'm not exactly used to the place yet. Can't be too careful, right?"

His ears twitched uncomfortably as he spoke, and he tried, maybe a little too obviously, to change the topic.

"So before we get too deep into introductions, this is Norden. It's just us and another wolf named Azrael who live here. I'm sure you'll meet her soon enough. Our own little paradise, I suppose."

Marzell paused to look over the land. It wasn't much, being roughly a third of what Irrsin was. But to Marzell, it was all the freedom in the world. He could do whatever he wanted here. There were no rules, no Alphas to submit to. He was his own heir. There were some days when he missed the larger pack ranks and orders. But today, he missed nothing of that place.

"Any other questions, Jato?"

As he waited for the albino male's response, his mind wandered again to Adelina and what she'd told him.

I'm not sure I even know who I am anymore.

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[Jato]

Jato

He waited, head still low in his usual stance but for once in his life he didn't break eye contact. Not this time.

"Because eventually, those brutes would have torn you to shreds if I'd left you there. Your rarity would have been your downfall. If not physically, then emotionally."

Don't you think it's a bit late for that? So was that what it all boiled down to? That significant trait of his? The one which every wolf labelled him as, 'the red-eyed one'. 

"And, if I'm being completely transparent here, something inside me couldn't leave without trying to change someone else's life." 

The look on Marzell's face when he first claimed the white wolf flashed in Jato's mind. No that first line, it had to be a lie. He really had no idea when he first claimed the albino male. This domin- no, freior really did choose him randomly, his peculiar trait had nothing to do with it. 

Well... Don't look a gift-horse in the mouth you idiot. This was really it, the life that he had once known was being ripped away, for better or for worse. And from his initial impressions of this place, he had been living at rock bottom, the only way from here was up. 

Jato jumped up as Marzell spun around, his feet preparing themselves to bolt. His eyes turned in the direction of Marzell's gaze, scanning the clearing for any sign of tooth or fur. His ears pricked forward, trying to hone in on whatever sound had caught the black wolf's attention. Whatever scent had reached his nose, whatever sight had flickered in the corner of his eyes... Nothing. No, there was nothing, he was sure of it. Sure, Jato's senses weren't top notch but even he could tell this place was just as peaceful as ever. He had learnt to read the reactions of others by now and trust their own (after all, his were notoriously unreliable) but in this case he had to be wrong. 

Jato glanced back at Marzell, trying to figure out what exactly was going on in the strange wolf's head. Had the black male really heard something or maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. His sudden reaction was enough to startle the white wolf but maybe he should be more worried about his mental state.

"Sorry, I'm not exactly used to the place yet. Can't be too careful, right?"

True. But that doesn't mean you have to scare the hell out of me as well. The awkward and nervous tone of his voice pretty much confirmed to Jato that he was definitely new to this. 

"So before we get too deep into introductions, this is Norden. It's just us and another wolf named Azrael who live here. I'm sure you'll meet her soon enough. Our own little paradise, I suppose."

Azrael? That would mean this wasn't the first time Marzell had released a slave. Huh, you'd think the guards wouldn't repeat the same mistake. Jato thought. The fact that Marzell had managed to make it past the guards was an incredible feat, this was no normal wolf.

"Any other questions, Jato?"

Where's Azrael? Isn't it a bit unsafe for a female Freior to be wandering around in a new territory? So what now, do you really think I'll adjust that well to pack life? Have you really thought this through?

Jato shook his head in reply. The simple thought of lying to another wolf was enough to make a shiver run down his spine... but one lie in his lifetime couldn't hurt. He'd repent for it, one way or another. In the meantime, now wasn't the time for more questions. The scars along his throat weren't agreeing with the (even if very little) amount of talking he had to do. Marzell probably didn't want to be pestered anymore either, it was obvious he wanted sleep.

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MARZELL

No response. Well, at least he understands everything. Or maybe he's too shy to ask questions. It was almost frustrating, sitting there and being unable to understand the male before him. What should he say now? Something within him wanted to dash into the woods nearby and search for any trace of Azrael--any lingering scent or pressed prints in a splotch of mud, anything--but he wasn't sure leaving Jato to his own musings was the best idea with the current situation.

"We can hunt later, if you're hungry. I'm not sure how well they treated you at the Auktion Rock," Marzell started, his eyes wandering to the scars on Jato's neck and face, "Norden provides us plenty of prey."

The black wolf, his neck fur ruffled, felt slightly awkward as he tried to pacify the male in some way. What could he say? He'd never been a sklavin--never even came close to that rank, with a mother like Kasimira. Kasimira. There he was, thinking about his mother again. Sigh. He'd have to go back to Irrsin at some point, if only to curb the dreaming. Maybe he could get Dresna alone, talk to her. She'd understand his need to move away, to find himself. She'd help him grieve for Adelina. She would be her natural, comforting, motherly self. Would she understand that one of the reasons behind him leaving had been fueled by sibling jealously? Probably not. Psh, what in Iudex's name was he thinking? Maybe, at least for the time being, he would stay away from his family.

As for the problem of Jato...

"Ask him about himself. Get to know him."

Adelina's voice rang softly in his head, nudging him to look the albino male in the eyes. It wasn't a bad idea. The poor male was probably overrun with information, especially being thrown into freedom that quickly. It wasn't much of a transition, that was for sure. Settling down into a more comfortable position, Marzell tried, a little more politely, to strike up a conversation.

"How did you become a sklavin, if you don't mind my asking?"

Once Jato had settled in, then he could deal with Azrael. She was strong enough to take care of herself. Besides, she'd snapped at him before for being too domineering and protective. She definitely wouldn't take to being searched for like a lone pup after only a short departure well. She was fiery, that was for sure.

Sighing inwardly, Marzell waited for the white male's response. How different they looked. How different their lives had been. What had he been thinking, claiming a male like this? What had he gotten himself into?

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[Jato]

Jato

"How did you become a sklavin, if you don't mind my asking?"

Go ahead, what's the harm in answering truthfully...

"Well I wasn't exactly born into slavery... Well actually I er, can't be too sure of that either... I mean I heard that my parents weren't sklavins but I can't confirm that...

Ehh... Get a hold of yourself you idiot, stop muttering.

Lowering down to his haunches, he sat, hunched over slightly, head lowered and looking up at the dark male. This really was the best he could do at 'relaxing', it just wasn't in his personality to not be constantly on edge. Besides, this posture just felt more natural, afterall it had been beaten into him for the past two years.

"This life's the only one I've known. But I assume my parents gave me up for... Obvious reasons. From what I can assume, they were quite the superstitious pair and assumed it was a 'bad omen'. I do at least know they're from a mountainous region."

Jato attempted to look Marzell in the eyes for the next part. The moment he made eye contact though he found his red gaze darting away like a rabbit running from a predator.

"This coat is really all that defines me. I'm sorry to say sir, but you've chosen a pretty useless animal.  I've never killed a thing in my life, my fighting ability's nonexistent, I can't howl and my senses are ruined so I doubt I can even make a decent scout... If you want a quiet doll that can stand there and look pretty though I'm apparently quite fit for the 'job'," Jato finally added, turning his head towards the setting sun. The white wolf wasn't even attempting to beat himself up (well, maybe a little), he just told the honest truth. His seemingly whispering voice asked for no sympathy (not that he ever got it), he stated everything matter-of-factly as if he were simply describing the weather or saying what happened a few moments ago. A fact. That's all it was.

Jato flicked an ear forward slightly, still staring at the sun as it painted pinkish hues across the darkening sky. He awaited a reaction. Not a response, a reaction; he predicted an unamused or disappointed sigh, maybe followed by an awkward silence. Silence seemed to be a constant companion of his and always made sure to make itself known during any form of conversation Jato ever attempted. He probably should've been thankful for his scarred throat, it gave him an excuse not to talk and emphasize his lack of social skills. Although Jato being the shy creature he was, he never had the gall to play the throat card.

Hey, if you're lucky maybe the sun'll burn your eyes out. At times  like this he did wish he could shut off his mind. The thoughts in his head didn't even give him time to enjoy a sunset. If the black wolf could read his mind right not... No, if the guards had heard his musings and realised he still had some form of a conscience he probably would've become more of an outcast than he already was.

"... Ah, but I digress, that didn't really answer the question. To sum it up, I was dropped off at Auktion Rock as a pup and lived there ever since. I'm not sure if my parents were Sklavins too but it's doubtful so I wouldn't say I was born into it," Jato quickly added, having decided he wanted to kill the silence before it sets. The albino male finished with a small clearing of his throat. He could feel the soreness welling up a bit, it wasn't too bad but he hadn't spoken for a good while, let alone this much. He was kind of hoping for Marzell to suggest something else, maybe decide "Hey, we're going to go find Azrael before it gets dark, we can stop for a drink on the way," or something along those lines. He hadn't yet gathered up the nerve to ask where the river was. Or ask anything else for that matter.

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MARZELL

"Well I wasn't exactly born into slavery... Well actually I er, can't be too sure of that either... I mean I heard that my parents weren't sklavins but I can't confirm that..."

As Jato spoke, or rather stumbled over his words, he moved his posture lower beneath Marzell, looking respectfully up at the cinder-coated male. Something inside Marzell flared, a sense of dominance that sat warm in his stomach as Norden's newest member continued to explain himself.

"This life's the only one I've known. But I assume my parents gave me up for... Obvious reasons. From what I can assume, they were quite the superstitious pair and assumed it was a 'bad omen'. I do at least know they're from a mountainous region."

This wasn't so bad. Jato knew his place. The albino's red eyes met his blue only for a moment before dashing away. The feeling flickered again, but this time it was a strange lightness in his chest. Was this what it was to be a dominor?

"This coat is really all that defines me. I'm sorry to say sir, but you've chosen a pretty useless animal. I've never killed a thing in my life, my fighting ability's nonexistent, I can't howl and my senses are ruined so I doubt I can even make a decent scout... If you want a quiet doll that can stand there and look pretty though I'm apparently quite fit for the 'job',"

Well, that was certainly unexpected. He doesn't even know how to hunt. With the lead balloon of the conversation sinking rapidly, Marzell's inflated ego was pushed to the side as he tried to look at least somewhat sympathetic to the new freior's plight. What could he say? He would be a bold faced liar if he said he hadn't--and still didn't--didn't define Jato by his abnormal coat color. His behavior and upbringing was too distant to be relatable, and too few personable connections had been made to change his thoughts on the subject, at least for the time being. In truth, it was a sad fact, and Marzell said nothing, as he could find nothing that would fall under the category of either "appropriate" or "kind". What else could he really do?

"... Ah, but I digress, that didn't really answer the question. To sum it up, I was dropped off at Auktion Rock as a pup and lived there ever since. I'm not sure if my parents were Sklavins too but it's doubtful so I wouldn't say I was born into it,"

That was it then. He'd just have to spend more time training Jato to be more self-sufficient and a contributor to the pack. Norden was small enough as it was, and it certainly didn't need an extra mouth to feed that wasn't able to fend for itself at times. Sighing inwardly at the work ahead of him, Marzell noticed, if only briefly, the half-expectant look on Jato's face as he watched the male out of the corner of his eye. He seemed to be waiting for something. A response? Quite possibly.

"I see. To put it bluntly, you won't be any use to Norden until you've at least learned how to scout. I can go over the basics tomorrow. I'm not sure how different your senses are from mine, but I'm sure we can figure something out that will work, Iudex willing."

Marzell sat up, licking his chest as he considered how to proceed. The more decisions he made, the more respect he had for his parents and how effortlessly they ran Irrsin.

"For starters, we should probably look for Azrael."

Glancing uneasily at the woods surrounding them, Marzell realized how dark the land had gotten upon their arrival to the Norden lands. Azrael, pride blazing within her or not, should have been back by now. She may not like it, but it would not only give him a peace of mind tonight as he slept to have her back in the main clearing, but it might give him a better insight on Jato's real abilities. Marzell switched his gaze from the treeline to the white male, looking him over once more before speaking.

"Let's start by finding the last remainder of her scent here in camp. That way, we might be able to find the trail that leads into the forest."

Marzell raised himself off the ground and waved his tail for Jato to follow. And then, thinking over his earlier thoughts of ascendancy, Marzell added another comment for his new pupil.

"And straighten up. Don't ever let me catch you slinking around like that again. It's not natural."

Trotting, Marzell skirted a few bushes before the clearing fully opened up, the only obvious signs of a wolf pack being the two dens that were carved rather openly below a large rock at the most northern side. If she had been anywhere, it would have been in the dens. Marzell moved cautiously towards them, flicking his muzzle in the general direction of where the dens lay.

"Tell me what you smell."

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[Jato]

Jato

"I see. To put it bluntly, you won't be any use to Norden until you've at least learned how to scout. I can go over the basics tomorrow. I'm not sure how different your senses are from mine, but I'm sure we can figure something out that will work, Iudex willing."

So even now you still wanna go through with this. Marzell seemed to be a persistent wolf. Well on the bright side, Jato was a fairly fast learner, it was kind of a necessity to survive as a Sklavin. He'd picked up information from the other guards and slaves, learnt to disappear amongst the lighter coloured rocks to avoid attention. And there were some things he never forgot. The question was though, would he forget how to be slave?

"For starters, we should probably look for Azrael."

Huh, maybe he is a mind reader.   Jato followed the black furred male's anxious gaze towards the now dark woods. It seemed the day was already ending, his first night at his new home. He almost breathed a small sigh of relief, the young albino much preferred night to day, it was much easier on his eyes and most simply mistook his hauntingly red eyes for a pair of fireflies in the night, depending on how dark it was of course. Sure, white wasn't the best fur colour in the dark but when it was pitch black even he didn't stand out. 

"Let's start by finding the last remainder of her scent here in camp. That way, we might be able to find the trail that leads into the forest."

Quickly rising to his paws he padded over to Marzell and followed after him close behind, pricking his ears forward as he further took in the sights and sounds around him. Norden was just as beautiful at night... No, even more so. Oh how much he preferred the night! The darkness was way more comfortable, darkness was his domain. 

"And straighten up. Don't ever let me catch you slinking around like that again. It's not natural."

Huh? Not natural? Well that's easy for you to say... Jato immediately raised his head. He hadn't noticed his slouched gait and tried relaxing a bit. Watching Marzell's movement for a moment, he quickened his pace slightly and lifted his neck a bit, trying to imitate Marzell's motion a bit (although he tried to come off as relaxed as opposed to Marzell's confident). His quick trot slowed to a walk as they came upon a clearing. He spotted two dens below a large rock towards the northern end of the clearing, still rather new looking and the land between the two wolves and the dens was yet to be flattened out by paw prints. Marzell wasn't lying when he said he was still new to this territory.

"Tell me what you smell."

"What I smell? Umm..." taking in a big breath through his noise, he stood, staring at the two little dark crevices in the dirt. Wow, the air really is clearer here! he thought. Every scent was strong yet not overwhelming. 

"From what I can smell, I recognize your scent and someone else's. Yours are pretty recent but-" he took another inhale to confirm his suspicions, the black wolf would be displeased if he got the next part wrong, "But the other wolf's is fairly old. If you don't mind me concluding, both dens are empty..."

He was fairly certain, but then again his noise was stuffed up from being exposed to the air at Auktion Rock. Yep, there was no one in those dens, well no wolves at least.