FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

(( Yup you read that right. Pride is coming back to be finished up. No smut in this one, but if you haven't read the start there's plenty found throughout the start and some more coming up.))

The jungle is never silent. Particularly in the dead of night. The skies were splashed over with so dark a blue it was nearly black illuminated only by the diamond brightness of the star. The noises of the jungle created an orchestra of whooping monkeys and chattering night time birds and insects. In the distance a jaguar screamed on its violent quest for love while the crunching noise of hooves hit against the ground as herds of small nervous deer braved the unknown on the search for water. It was a land untouched by the encroachment of most of mankind that had attacked the cooler and milder northern countries. The only true tracery of man's hand found here could be seen in the way that the trees were cast to either side in a sinuous pattern that was what was left of a road that had in older days allowed those who had lived here to travel easily and seek out trade.

No men dwelled here any longer. The foreign men that had once claimed this place had found themselves driven out by the violence of the land. The heavy rains and constant changes in climate, as well as the rapid growth of the plants had forced the would be conquerors to pull back. The government that had ordered them forth had all patted themselves on the back for a job well done. The savages had been tamed and they had destroyed those cities they worshiped or were able to gather when attempting rebellion. They did not come away empty handed. No army would conquer what was worthless and they hadn't truly set their sights on the lush jungles with an aim to turning it to farmland or filling it with cities. They had tried only as an attempt to increase what they had already gained and given up when it became too hard and too many lives were lost.

The true wealth of this land was in the twisting paths of a road far to the eastern edge of the jungle. It was so near the ocean that the jungle was cast back by the sandy ground and led towards the one part of the country that was only a few miles wide. That one patch of land had been the source of the bloody battles and mass graves that spread over the land. The land separated two oceans and the road that had been pain stakingly built connected two continents. The riches of two lands came together in a great cross roads that linked the ocean and land. The lands to the far south and cities shipped their spices and exotic goods while the cities of the north shipped down rich pelts and heavy sacks of grains. It worked out for both continents as the road joined the small piece of land dividing them to ship them far and wide. Only a few outposts were left along the twisting road to provide food and water to the caravans and it was a commission that few soldiers cherished.

It was within this realm of life and darkness that a small mound that had been created from the rubble of a destroyed temple. The rocks had fallen in a haphazard way that created a cave where a pack of creatures was stirring for their evening. The first to exit the mound was a blue scaled female that glittered like the evening sky itself and pale copper eyes that flickered through the night searching for danger or easy prey. Behind her the males stirred and hissed to each other as they started to rouse themselves from sleep. Last year's whelps had grown old enough that the pair of young bumbling males had been driven off as was customary. Lathera settled down on her haunches and curled her tail around her front legs rather primly as she licked one of her shoulders with long strokes of her purple tongue. Her dreams had been harried and that had led to her spending most of the day barely getting the rest her body so craved.

The dreams had been strange. Her dreams had always been strange. They were a mixture of old nightmares that it seemed she had always had. She dreamed of a massive blue-green serpent that had golden spiraling eyes. She dreamt of fear and terror, but also of despair so deep that she had felt as if she were choking on it. In her dream she watched two legged creatures mock her and speak to her in tongues she understood, but at the same time sounded foreign as they lashed around her. Brown dark skinned people and light skinned people walked around her and the streets ran red with blood. She was left drifting in and out of her dreams as she constantly tried to pull herself out of the terrifying world only to be sucked back under again. The entire time she heard something whispering into her mind, wicked words that made her finally give up on any attempt to sleep.

She lifted her wedge shaped head to look out over the edge of the jungle to see the way the shadows shifted beneath the pushes and flared her slotted nostrils to taste the air. It had rained earlier, the taste of it had lingered upon the ground where the soil had soaked it up. It rained nearly every day here and the hot mugginess of the southern jungles was never dry. The sleek looking dracine seemed an unholy mingling of canine and dragon. The broad head was fringed with small spikes and her hard plated scales ensured no matter how wet it became it wouldn't bother her or her small pack. They had eaten well yesterday and normally they wouldn't have to hunt again for several days, but she needed to eat often. Her stomach was no longer lithe and curved tight, instead it bulged with a heavy clutch that held the promise of producing more of their line. Furthermore, the promise of perhaps breeding one of the rare females to carry on after her as the last clutch had failed to do.

:Is that all you wish.....?: The voice whispered lightly through her mind and she froze at the sound of the words.

The voice was harsh as it whispered through her mind, it taunted her and she tried to grasp over the reasons for them. The sound of them brushed against some part of her that stirred uncomfortably in her mind. It wasn't the tone, it were the words themselves that agitated her until she stood up and gave herself a shake from her nose to her tail. She tried to shake the words from her even as they reawakened the visions from her dream. She turned her head to see the emerald green male padding out with a hiss of annoyance followed by the pale white male. Their eyes flared green in the star light as they stretched and limbered themselves up. She concentrated on the rippling of the scales and the sharp reptilian musk to drive away the stirring within her own mind. There was a restlessness that made her finally leap up and snap her jaws irritably at the pack before leaping from the rocks.

+++++

Sean perched on the edge of a tree with his eyes lidded as he let his mind drift through the forest. The trees were so old that they seemed almost alive to the touch of his magic. The hunter had set his men behind him where they would be safely out of his way. He could feel them in his mind's eye as clearly as he could feel the deer next to him. When he had been a young boy his household had sent him to a mage to apprentice with to learn the art of his powers. He had gone with high hopes for becoming a might sorcerer and one day take his own place and raise a noble flag of his own design. He had been returned home with a note stating his magic was Beast-magic. The tainted touch of a man who had a mind that was twined with the flora and fauna of the living world. He would never be able to touch the greater magic that Mage's wielded, he would never know what it was like to cast a true spell. He had returned from that place a humbled and shamed boy.

It had not always been so. He had only learned in later years that beast magic hadn't always been shunned. His teacher had sent him many old texts that spoke of his magic in a different light so that he could see he shouldn't feel ashamed of himself. There had been a time when those who harbored it were considered as desirable as a mage, though they had never reached the wealth of the magic workers. People with his power had often been the forerunners of any army. His magic allowed him to sense living creatures, both large and small. He could affect their minds to some extent, though the stories told him that the old workers had been able to command animals, he could only try to persuade them. The texts he had been given had been written before the exploration of the continent and they had often praised those workers that had been the savior of their command. For those that had scouts such as he would be alerted of any ambush far before it came and no predatory creature could touch them.

Sean had yearned for those days when he had been younger. When it was revealed he had a talent for beast magic his father had been livid. He had been too young to understand why, but he could vividly recall the man bellowing at him. His mother had attempted to shield him, but she could only do so much. Often, when she attempted to stand up to the man, he would turn on her and call her vile names. It had made the boy frightened and angry. Never in his life had he witnessed his father so much as raise his voice to his mother, but that had all changed. She began appearing at breakfast with strange bruises and haunted eyes. As he grew towards manhood he slowly understood the why and how of what had happened. It was a modern belief that those that dabbled in beast magic or had a talent for it either received it by copulating with animals themselves or were the product of such a union. His father blamed his mother and from that day on his house new no peace, only the unspoken anger that she had done such a perverse act.

When he grew into his teens he had felt doubt himself on if she had or not. Each year she became more withdrawn and silent. His teacher told him that systematic abuse from his father and shunning of her family had started to make her go mad. Sean had felt some doubt of that. His mother had become prone to strange beliefs and he had heard his sisters whisper of the things she taught them. She spoke of the old gods and old ways and attempted to lure them into the practice the pagan religions that been banished with the conquering of the people that had lived here. He had been ashamed that he had felt relief the day she had been found in her study with her hand grasping a poisoned cup. Although his reputation had never improved and all looked upon him with disgust, the indignity of his mother's ravings had been put to rest.

He pulled himself out of his own thoughts slowly and gave his head a swift shake. He was not going to dwell on the shame of his past. He had done well for the present. He had left home when he was finally of an age and struck out with the army. He had hoped he could make his mark as beast magickers of old had, but his hopes had been dashed. Not a single company would keep him for much longer then it took them to find out about his debase practices. He had finally gained some acceptance as a freelance scout and hunter. He never worked for the same person twice and he was able to make a comfortable living at it. Even now he could feel his coin purse hanging heavy with a mixture of silver, gold and copper. It was a reminder that no matter how filthy the practice was, it could also be a bitter blessing to him. He turned his mind out into the jungle.

"Where are you?" He whispered softly into the night air and lidded his eyes again. His mind spread out over the jungle searching.

He could feel her. He could feel the bright spark of her spirit as it passed through the jungle. It was as out of place as the carefully cobbled road and almost as foreign. She, for undoubtedly he could feel the subtle leaning towards that sex, was something that was unique and at the same time common place. The handsome young man swung down from his spot on the tree and left the bleating deer tied to the top of it in plain sight. His clothing was perfectly designed to withstand the wet of the jungle as well as the sharp thorns and hazards that were hidden in the undergrowth. He wore only one color on his body that didn't blend in, a simple scrape of crimson clothe wrapped around his upper arm. The crest of the house he 'served' was marked upon it in the form of a dancing ermine over a setting sun. His patron for this hunt and one that he had charged nearly triple his normal rate for what she desired.

Mistress Tintalia had bespoken the wish for a hunter that would serve her in the far northern parts of the untamed jungle. It wasn't an uncommon request, but it was one that had made him pause slightly when he heard rumors about her and the details of the hunt. Tintalia was a new noble that had been risen to that rank due to some nebulous service to the government that remained a source of scandal. She made no comment on those that thought her unmarried status as well as her wild parties and hobbies were unbecoming of a man, let alone a woman. Even in the outposts along the Great Road were whispered about, though Sean had his doubts that they were true. Even when he had appeared at her door in answer to her ad he had doubted them, but her house had set his hackles up. The walls seemed to flicker with a sense of life about them that made his interview with her uncomfortable and slightly frightening. The lady herself had picked at his mind and skills with an intensity of the hound on the chase before throwing the bag of money on the desk and giving him his commands. He had nearly walked out without it.

The Dracine were long since used as beasts to guard merchant houses. They were prized for their size, ferocity as well as their exotic appearance. Since the Great Road had been built there had been rumors that several nobles were establishing breeding lines that would do well in the colder northern climate. If they succeeded he had no doubt they would be wealthy. Mistress Tintalia didn't wish to have tame dracine, she wished that he set out after them for her. She didn't simply want a few females and males, instead she commanded he bring back packs. When he had inquired about age, for few wished to deal with a wild bred adult, she had dismissed the whelps entirely. Her vague answer had been to dispose of those too young to survive the trip easily and to send her only the healthy and grown. Few things could have irritated him more than the calm cruelty that she spoke of killing the young and went against every part of being. Even if he had been deaf to his beast magic and their pain he would have been outraged.

As it was the summer had been leaner then he had planned and if he wished to spend the winter and the hard rains decently he would need the money. He had made no comment about his own plans, instead he had simply accepted the terms and left. With a portion of the money he had hired several soldiers that were too injured to be in a company, but not so injured that they couldn't serve as hunters. From there he had set about to do her work in his own style. He didn't seek out family groups, instead he sought out bachelor packs and small family groups who had yet to whelp. He had never been so grateful for his own magic as he had been on this hunt. Nearly twenty of the beasts had been sent to her lands and as the summer closed this would be the last hunt. Yet something about the bright touch of the female both drew him and repulsed him. If he had had time he would have drawn back to find other prey. It was too late for that now.

+++++

Lathera stalked through the undergrowth with the dreams of the night before and the strange whispered words still heavy upon her mind. Often it felt as if something was tearing at her mind trying to get her attention and at other times she thought she heard mumbling within her own head. It made her more snappish then normal. Today the males jostled and shoved against her in a way that made her feel claustrophobic. Always she was forced to run in the midst of them as if they were afraid she was going to make a bolt from them. As if she could with her stomach strained tight over a clutch of eggs and hunger gnawing at her. They had barely gone more then half a mile from the den when their constant snaps and strange hiss yelps had managed to make every hint of prey go running. It was as if they were whelps themselves. She only allowed herself to feel soothed when she stopped to suck down some warm water from a stream.

With her head down so close to the ground she smelled a sharp almost nauseating scent that was at once completely familiar, but at the same time entirely foreign. She pawed at her nose and let out a snarling hiss as she tried to get the scent away and went to back up. The moment she back peddled she bumped directly into the emerald green scaled body of the male behind her. His teeth snapped at her haunch so that she was forced forward which put her on the breaking point. She went to whirl around to snap back at him when the vaguely distressing scent from the forest floor was overrun with something far far sweeter. She lifted her head up and tested the air by both her nostrils and by extending her dark purple tongue. It was rich and sweet, and smelled deliciously of fear and prey. She could see the males freezing and tasting the air as well as the mimicked her.

:Are you ruled by your stomach, Lathera?: The voice sighed through her mind so that the scales along her back shuddered.

That name. Almost she could remember what that name meant. Almost she could remember what she was supposed to do, but the moment she fumbled after it teeth sank into her haunch. Emerald's snarl drove her forward as she shied away from the strange words that spilled into her mind and launched herself into the forest. Only when she ran did her mind feel fully at peace. Each time she was quiet or still she felt a strange restlessness overcome here. When her legs stretched beneath her and the forest floor flashed beneath her stomach she was fully dracine. The otherness that threatened to overcome her thoughts was forced back into nothing more than a bad dream. She heard the voice hissing wordlessly through her mind as if trying to gain her attention, but she could shrug it away.

She was a creature of the night and jungle. Her paws dug into the earth and her claws tore it up. She followed the sweet scent of something soft and fearful so that she could feel her muzzle starting to salivate slightly. Her body craved not just rich red meat, but the calcium rich bones that could be pulverized and turned into thicker shells for her young. What did she care for whispered voices in the dark? The males ringed her, but they were faster and so they drove her on with them in a tidal wave. When the voice started to whisper again it was pushed away by the vivid image of a helpless bound deer bleating in panic. It couldn't get away, what did she care for the scents beneath it when such an easy prey animal lurked ahead of them. She drove herself on with great pushes of her hind legs to leap over a downed trunk to spy the mental image in truth.

The deer was small, but glossy and fat. A buck in his first year and he yanked back on a vine that was wrapped around his neck until he half fell from the tree trunk. His panicked bleats and the sweet fear musk erased the first edges of doubt in her mind. The pack didn't stop to stalk the beast, there was no need to stalk a beast already caught. Instead they lunged as one unit past the growth of leaves and jungle loam only to hear a sudden metallic snap. The earth beneath her paws heaved as she tried to scrabble for a hold against it. Her head was jerked back as a wall of earth erupted in front of her and she was sent crashing into the ivory drake with a yelp hiss of panic. Bodies roiled and pushed around her as the entire world swayed and the excited sound of foreign animals erupted into her ears. She snapped and twisted as she tried to free herself only to smell something foul rush into her muzzle and flood her senses. She hissed out as her eyes watered at the foul odor.

Lathera could feel one of the drakes bucking beneath her as she tried to set her teeth against the material that held her. The woven vines ensnared her muzzle as she strained to push her way free from their hold. The acrid scent grew heavier and heavier so that the breaths she took were labored and wheezed out. She gaped her jaws open wide in an attempt to draw in a full breath, but she couldn't. Panic flooded her even as she felt her limbs starting to grow heavier and stopped obeying her entirely. She felt one of the drakes start to go still as he shoved against her back and his weight felt as if it were about to crush her. Her jaws gaped open wide and her tongue lolled out as she tried to keep her hold on consciousness. The foul scent wouldn't allow her to filter it out until her eyes rolled up into her skull and her head dropped down. The last thing she heard was a foreign voice brushing across her mind.

:Welcome to your tale, Lathera, let us hope you chose well...: It wasn't so much the words as the tone that sent a final rush of blind rage through her. It was mocking and paternal. Then there was only darkness.

++++

"Are you sure?" The hired soldier frowned at the net that creaked back and forth from the heavy tree branch. "We should wait 'til we're sure."

"Brash, we're not going to sit here all day while the bugs eat us and risk the dracine waking up too soon and not in cages." Sean let his irritation at his act lash out at the scarred man. "Bring them down and get those cages up here. And for the love of god take that deer away from here!"

Sometimes he hated his job. The dracine's rage had been immediate and he had felt their fear and suffocation as the smoke bomb had leaked into the net. There was more than one reason he refused to lead hunters into the forest and participate in their hunts. He could feel their life force from afar, but up close he felt as if he were about to drown in their emotions. The creatures he had caught before had been bad, but for some reason the moment he had watched the jeweled creatures erupt into the clearing he had felt something more. It was almost as if he were viewing from one of their eyes and when the net came up it had taken all his will power not to leap forward to cut them free. It would have been suicide, he knew it would, but for some reason he felt a pang of guilt at his own failure. The fact the deer was still in a blind panic only made his senses feel more raw and abraded.

"Alright.. Alright.. you're the boss." Brash glared at him for a moment and the resentment was plain in the man's eyes.

"That's right. Get them in cages, I'm going to go send the rest back here to carry them back to the Road." Sean gave the command tersely and turned on one foot to go back into the forest.

He hated himself for it. He was a coward. It would have been better if he had truly been avoiding the hard work of heaving the limp large forms into cages and securing muzzles on them. Instead he was running from uncomfortable sensations that the scene still left in him. He didn't need a guide to reach the camp, he only followed his own senses to feel the horses and oxen as well as the men. Sean rubbed his hands over his arms as he felt an almost lingering sensation of being somehow unclean as he came towards the clearing. Yet how else was he to make his way in the world when he was cursed with this talent? It was a relief when all he felt was the mild annoyance of the beasts at the flies and hot weather rather then terror, anger or pain. Anger. That's what it was, he realized with a start. The bulk of animalistic emotions had been fear and panic and even some pain as the ropes had dug in against their scales. Yet one emotion had been a sudden wash of red hot rage. He knew about anger and he knew animals felt it, but he had never in his life felt something so keenly and so oddly intelligent as that anger. Whatever had felt it knew that it was trapped and it wasn't by any natural force. He gave his orders briefly to his men as he settled down on one of the stumps near the fire and tried to order his thoughts. Many of the natives that still made their lives living on the edge of these lands spoke about the creatures that lived here. He was positive none of them spoke of the dracine as anything more than animals though, instead they spoke of legendary creatures that even the history books doubted the reality of.

"There's more things between heaven and earth..." The voice made him startle and he swung around to find a fair haired young man stirring a pot of stew. He frowned at the man and for a moment felt a rush of annoyance.

"What was that?" He snapped finally and straightened up. He pushed the memories of what had just happened aside.

"Just saying, you looked like you were about to blow the top of your head off thinking that hard." The man set the lid on the pot and straightened up with a guileless smile on his face. His words still held a Northern accent to them, faded, but still there.

"I'm sure. Don't you have duties you should be seeing too?" Sean gave his head a shake and stood up as well. The fair haired man tilted his head to one side and gave another sly smile.

"That's just what I was thinking." Without another word he turned and went off into the supplies tent leaving Sean glaring at his back. He still had no idea why he'd agreed to let that man come along on the hunt.

++++

Lathera felt as if her head were filled with a fog that wouldn't quite fade away. She knew dimly that her body was being handled roughly and something shoved over her muzzle, but she couldn't find the will to open her eyes. She hovered between an area of sleep and wakefulness that left her feeling strangely giddy. Her mind rolled through thoughts that were foreign and strange as she listened to voices that lapped towards her ears like waves hitting the shore. Shore? The word evoked a myriad of images that rolled up beneath her consciousness providing her with a view of an endless blue-green expanse of water and the white shore. White winged ships floated over the surface sailed by the leaping and agile crew that ran along the rigging. She had watched in delight as they scaled up and down along the ropes nearly falling, but always somehow catching themselves. The Captain had been furious that they had taken such risks, she had felt flattered that they gamboled for her.

Her mind swelled with memories that breached the surface before gliding below again. Words. Humans. There were humans working around her and speaking over her head. Her mind didn't quite want to bring her images that made sense or followed any set pattern, but they came steadily. She could no longer keep control over her dampened spirit, no not just her spirit, her mind. She could feel layer over shameful layer as she had buried herself beneath what she had become. Each passing season and each day she had packed herself down further. Why should she remember what she had been when she could so easily bury it away in disgrace. Yes, disgrace. She was in disgrace. She was not disgraced by any ruling body or even her teacher, but by her own doing that she had fallen so far. She was supposed to change the world by her very being and she had failed and fought against each successive change until she had been little more than a beast.

The patina of the creature she had allowed herself to become did not so easily fall away. It was not another persona, but another part of her own mind. It was still her, and as she came to that realization she tried to wince aside and bury herself again into the darkness recesses of her own mind. The animalistic and strange. She had delved into a savagery that had left nothing more of herself behind then the base desires to survive. Well did she know that many shape shifters had fallen into more beastial habits as they grew older and more tired. It was considered an honorable end to a well lived life, but not for the students and never for the young. She was supposed to step out of the shadows and into the world to allow changes to fall around her. To enable heroes and bring about great acts in men and women to better the world, instead she had failed.

:Failure is only failure, if one ceases to struggle..: The voice that whispered in her mind made her stop her own angry and self pitying thoughts.

:Salina?: She ventured softly, oh so very softly as she spoke her teachers name. Had she been watching? Did her teacher still hope that she could redeem herself? Even speaking with her mind felt wrong and strange after so many days of knowing only the beastial communications of the body and snarling voices.

Lathera received only silence as her answer as whatever she was in creaked slightly and she felt the world heave around her. She opened one of her eyes and fought the urge to retreat back into the recesses of her mind and allow a more primordial part of her to regain control. She would not fall back again, she couldn't. She refused to end up a twisted and embittered creature like Jathos who had gleefully stolen her magic from her to regain his human shape. Even that memory brought bile up along her tongue. What had become of him? What had become of her? What would become of her? The thoughts tried to fight for an answer, but she couldn't find one she could offer. Was fate trying to give her another chance or had she been drug from her own pit of darkness only to see her own death? She stared at the men carrying her cage and fought the urge to give a bitter laugh. How ironic, killed like a beast without even being allowed the comfort to be one in her own mind.

++++

Sean watched as the creatures woke up from the drug slowly. He was pleased with the group, though he felt a bit annoyed that he had only managed to capture one female. Due to his own practices he had skewed the number to males drastically, but as he'd had no complaint, then he could hardly worry about it too much. Darkness had started to lift on the camp as the sky lightened to a grey and the morning birds starting to sing their greeting to the sun. The men looked as tired as he felt, but he made himself look alert. He didn't trust two of the men he'd chosen to come out this far and he didn't intend to allow them to find any weakness they could exploit. The moment they did he'd find himself without a command and likely abandoned in the jungle. Instead he spent his time studying one of the dracine in particular.

The female was the most glorious shade of midnight blue and ebony black that he had seen so far. All dracine were lovely when it came to colors, but there were a few rare colors that seemed to only come up once or twice in a generation. Most of the beasts tended to be white, black, green or red, but some were brilliant shades of copper, silver, midnight blue and gleaming gold. He'd caught a prize with her. If he were simply hunting for a more normal case he would have been able to ask whatever he wanted. Not only because she was a rare color, but because her stomach was gravid with a clutch. Any noble would leap at the chance to take a gravid female in the hopes that her young would pass on her genes. As it was he was faced with a problem that weighed heavily on him and had him staring directly into her glazed copper eyes.

Tintalia wouldn't care about the eggs. She only cared about the adult beasts and for what reason he had yet to puzzle out. This was his last big run of the summer months and he knew he'd brought back more males then females. He could feasibly release her and take the males back to the Lady, but he doubted the men with him would keep their mouths shut. If she learned that he was allowing himself to be swayed by sentimentalities she'd be sure to spread the word to future employers. She could also take the coin from his pocket with the assumption he had been doing this all along. He could take her as she was and not do a damn thing about the eggs, but they wouldn't survive the journey any how. She was likely to clutch any day and then he'd have to discard the eggs and likely risk h is men getting her away from them. They would also lose time if she started to clutch, time that would turn towards the winter storms that would make it near impossible to travel.

"Damn, big mother ain't she?" Brash walked up with a lazy smile on his face as he looked over at the female. "Pretty color too."

"Yes." Sean kept his words clipped as he watched the copper eyes shift slightly and try to focus. The drug would be wearing off within another hour.

"Never seen a blue like that." The man rubbed one finger against his nose, "Belly full of eggs too."

"Obviously." Sean tried not to allow anger to flavor his tone as the man called attention to the very problem he was mulling about. He could simply weaken the bars after the men had gone to bed and set her free.

"Want me to gather a few men? We'll get 'em outta her so we can peel off come afternoon." Sean turned his eyes to look at the man and saw a cruel glint to his eyes that made him tense up. There was something about Brash that rubbed him the wrong way and that looked made him bristle. No man or woman who had a talent for beast magic could not know what that look meant.

In his time as an adult he had learned that many men didn't seem to care about animals at all. A horse was a horse, an ox an ox and that was the way of the world. They were never outwardly cruel, but they tended the animals only to ensure they got the maximum days work out of them and they were kept alive as long as they could serve. He'd never been able to see the world that way. An animal was a creature he felt connected with and it had taken him years to become used to the fact that they also suffered. It was there that he met those who savored their dominion over animal kind and enjoyed meting out brutal punishments. They were often lower class men who were forced to let others order them and in turn they took their frustrations out on beasts. And some few of them enjoyed it with a pleasure that made his skin crawl.

"I doubt that's needed." Sean answered firmly and narrowed his eyes slightly to see Brash give a grin that showed uneven teeth.

"We'll make slower time waiting for her to clutch and then we'll have to get the eggs from her while she's awake." The former soldier glanced over at cage and the dazed creature. "I suppose we could do that, but it would be a shame if she were broken trying it."

Sean heard the relish in the man's voice as he spoke of forcing the eggs away from her. If they were forced to do that he had little doubt that Brash would make sure that it hurt. He glanced over at the others he had hired. They were good men in their own right, but they were weak in others. They wanted a leader to follow and Brash was setting himself up to be that leader. He may have been the one paying them, but they also had bigger dreams. He suspected that the hired hand had been telling them of all the money they could get selling the creatures on their own or perhaps he was whispering to them about setting themselves up as thieves. Those did quite well on the Great Road no matter how well the guards patrolled. He could tell them he wanted the female left alone, but harsher now meant gentler later.

"Gather three of the larger men then, I'll hold her head and I'll dock silvers from your pay if a scale is harmed on her." Sean snarled the words out sharply as he tried to back his threat up with the tone of his voice. "She's valuable property."

"'Course, wouldn't dream of hurting a pretty critter like that." Brash spoke the words as if such a thought hadn't occurred to him, but the glance he gave the dracine made the hair on the back of his neck rise slightly.

Sean stepped forward and felt the back of his neck prickle. He half expected the former soldier to strike out at him, but all he heard was the dry crunch of leaves as he walked back to the camp fire. He hated this. He hated he'd taken money to do this. He'd have to make this last run and after that he'd find a quiet job. How hard could it be to use his talent at training horses or coursing hounds? It would be a far worthier use of his magic then this. As he advanced on the cage he saw the female's eyes had shut again and he felt a moment of relief. Let her sleep, perhaps the drugs would remain in effect long enough she wouldn't realize what was happening to her. He hoped so. It was a partially selfish wish. He didn't want to feel her fear and pain as they forcibly removed the eggs, but better he be here and controlling his men then away from it. They'd likely tear her apart if he wasn't commanding them. It was the lesser of two evils.

"Poor thing." The voice was soft and he turned to see the young man who had been tending the stew earlier regarding the cage. "You'd do better to break her cage and run away with her you know. Then neither of you would be stuck with all this guilt and pain."

"I don't know what you're talking about." He snapped. He didn't trust this man, he didn't trust anything that came out of that mouth for an instant. "Stop talking in riddles." The fair haired northerner shrugged one shoulder gracefully.

"I'm not talking in riddles. There's a bit of yourself in that cage and I think you know it. I know you can feel her." The last words were whispered out, but they made Sean feel a cold sensation in his stomach. "She's been waiting for you her entire life and even if you don't know it, you've been waiting for her."

"Damnit, Rogeth, get your ass back to the fire before I give your hide the tanning you've been waiting for!" Sean snarled the words, but the Rogeth only gave a swift grin and executed a mocking bow before sauntering back to the fire side. No, he didn't trust Brash or Rogeth, but for far different reasons. He glanced down at the drugged blue form as the first brush of morning illuminated her head. "Sorry, old girl, but it's better this way." He murmured softly even if she couldn't understand him.