[-][L-A][P-1x1] Unbreak me

[Alikia Tsuki]

"Both of us?" Kail questioned following Vlad, it had been awhile since he had had a proper bath. It was something he was quickly looking forward to, that was until his new master told him to not forget the sword. Kail halted in his step suddenly fearful. He was the master of the weapon, how could he master the weapon that caused him so much anguish and was bound to cause him more. As his master explained quickly what he could do with it Kail knew he would not pass the sword to anyone else. It would not be used in such a way as it had been before.

He snatched the sword up giving an uncharacteristic growl that was something that his training was supposed to have beaten out of him long ago. He strapped the sword to his pants and quickly followed Vlad. While still very nervous of the sword belted to his side he was beginning to look forward to a proper bath once more if he was truly going to get one. Kail continued to follow Vlad into the bath but stood off to one side as the attendant dealt with his master and ignored him like many others.

Kail stripped off his clothes as he was motioned to join in the bath. The dark bruise where he had been hit in the chest was very evident along with a couple other injuries along his body. The scars inflicted by the sword were far more evident now and when Kail turned his back to Vlad to hand the attendant his clothing a large scar reaching down from Kail's left shoulder to his right hip.

Emerging himself into the water was seemingly bliss to Kail. Although the water burned some of his open wounds it was soothing to the bruise on his chest. Kail worked quickly on washing himself not knowing how long he would be allowed to stay in the water since slaves did not get long baths normally.  

[CoyoteXendo]

Vlad used the few seconds he had to examine Kail's body before it was mostly submerged in the tub. Without the filthy clothes it was now evident that the man hadn't lost as much of his fitness as the warrior had previously thought. Of course the man was much slimmer, but now his body was sinewy and compact. The muscles no longer bulged as they once had; instead they were lean and strong. Vlad tried to remember his impressions of the other from their fight. He could picture Kail, but the memory concentrated on the fire and forcefulness of his once formidable opponent. While only a fraction of what the other once was, the potential was obvious. The only question was how to make the man embrace it once more.

Then of course there were the scars. Without closer examination it was hard to deduce anything from them. Kail would have collected his share from his warrior training and subsequent fights. But it could safely be assumed that the freshest scars were from his time as a slave. The most prominent of which was the huge scar running down his back from shoulder to hip. Such a wound could easily kill a man, and slaves weren't usually afforded extensive medical treatment. The former warrior was lucky to be alive; the fact that he was spoke volumes to his will to survive. Vlad was reassured by the fact; even if Kail himself did not realize it yet he obviously still contained some of that fire he had before.

"Relax," the warrior said languidly after watching the other scrub furiously for a minute. "There's no rush," he added lazily. He planned on taking his time regardless of his urge to get out of this pathetic town. This was a luxury he had not taken in a long time and he was going to enjoy it to the fullest. Vlad splashed a leg up onto the side of the tub and scrubbed it slowly before repeating the procedure on the other. He rubbed the soap bar rhythmically up and down his limbs one at a time. Dunking his head again, he soaped up his hair. It felt so good to scrub the road out of his scalp. The warrior massaged his neck as he soaked in the steamy bath.

After a time of quiet relaxation, he motioned at Kail, spinning his finger in the air. "I'll scrub you back then you can do mine," he offered with a smile as he scooted next to his companion. The bath had him in a good mood. He hadn't been this relaxed in ages it seemed. Vlad took up the soap bar and rubber it over the other's back vigorously. He took care to be gentler around the freshest wounds however. "Tell me," he began softly, "Do you remember anything before your capture? I know you remember your sister and you remembered my scar, but is there anything else at all? Your family or village? Your childhood or training as a warrior?"  

[Alikia Tsuki]

Kail looked back at Vlad a bit confused as he felt the others eyes on him. He wondered what his new master was looking at, evaluating. Maybe he was going to decide to sell him once he had him clean. Or was the man looking at the scars admiring the ones others had put on him and thinking of how to out do his previous masters, some had done that. However none had done what the sword he now kept had done. It was the cause for the long scar that slid diagonally down his back. Kail knew very well that the wound that had caused the scar should have killed him, however at the time he had a much stronger will to live. He had been more determined to fight than anything then, to remove himself from the enslavement.

His memory had lapsed since then, many blows to the head had banished his memory somewhere beyond his consciousness. It still came in the night as many terrors that plagued his sleep. Or sometimes Kail would think he saw something that upon a further look was not actually there. The young used to be warrior passed it off as delusions from being malnourished. However many things concerned him with the unseen things, there were times when he knew where things came from but he could not remember where he had learned such a thing. It was much like the old scar he knew he had given his new master.

“I apologize, I shall take my time to wash myself thoroughly.” Kail answered misjudging what Vlad had meant when he told Kail to relax and that there was no rush. Instead of scrubbing his skin raw however he made sure he was gentle but thorough in washing himself. Kail was glad for the time to be able to wash himself properly without self inflicted injury from scrubbing his skin to raw trying to get as much grim off as he could. The only downside was that he could now see more and more of the scars on his body, his chest showed the most as it was the easiest to hit when he had been tied to a post.

Kail looked up as Vlad motioned to him. He followed the instruction to turn around. While his back was being bathed Kail only winced twice when Vlad brushed across a dirt covered wound or one that was particularly tender. “I’m afraid not, I barely remember my capture, I know they used my sister to force my cooperation. My village is to the north somewhere, in the mountains. It snowed there from time to time, I asked my master many times to play but I was always studying. I do not remember training to be a warrior, but I will not doubt that it was such by your word, sir.” Kail answered carefully.  

[CoyoteXendo]

Vlad tried not to wince at Kail's submissive demeanor. He was disappointed at the lack of memory in the other. Had his head been damaged so that he truly could not remember no matter what, or was it all just deeply repressed due to his captivity? Well, there were ways to test that. The strongest trigger, if there was any memory left to trigger, would be to visit Kail's home village, but it would take several weeks journey to reach it. However, there was something Vlad could try now. He reached around to push the soap into the other's hand, "Your back's good; my turn."

The warrior turned around so the other could scrub his back. He rested his elbows on the edge of the tub as he thought about what he would say. Taking a deep breath, Vlad began to remember aloud, "You are Kail of the Onomori clan. Your lands lay several weeks north of this town. Your father was the village's butcher and your mother was known for her singing. When you were but a very small child, your master saw your destiny written in the sky. He came and took you from your family to live with him just up the mountain, about a half day's walk from your village, so that you could both dedicate your every moment to your training."

Vlad paused to glance over his shoulder ever so slightly before continuing, "My clan is your eastern neighbor, the Naduks. Our clans have long been friendly if extremely competitive. When I was very young, I too was chosen by our clan master to become my clan's future head warrior. Like you, I spent my life training to fulfill my duty... And to one day defeat you. For generations the greatest warriors from each of our clans would compete in single combat. To the victor went the honor of being known as the best. He earned rights and privileges above and beyond the loser in both clans."

"Every day I would train. My master would hound me with your vision. As I worked he would beat me about the head screaming 'do you think you will beat Kail like this? do you know he can fell young trees with only one strike from the edge of his hand? did you know he can run to the top of his mountain and back over and over again for three days without resting? work harder!'" Vlad suddenly laughed. "And this was only when we were twelve!" he shook his head. "I grew up constantly challenged to top your feats of strength and courage. Of course each of our clans taunted the other with tales of our respective deeds, but it was always clear to me that you were the favorite to win our future match. No one had anything to say against me, but it was obvious where the exceptional talent lay," Vlad allowed a small sigh to escape him as he recalled his youth.

"Kail, you are known far and wide. Your deeds are legend. I could tell you a tale every day for half a year and not finish. You once defeated two dozen bandits single handed! You lead your clan warriors to victory over your western neighbors. But most of all, you were known as the most honorable warrior to lead your clan in generations. No one knew what to think when you disappeared. It seemed equally impossible that you had been defeated or that you had abandoned your clan. I came to find you for my own selfish reasons, but also because your clan is suffering without you. Your absence is a void in their spirit," Vlad finally fell silent and gazed out blankly across the wash room, half lost in the past.  

[Alikia Tsuki]

Kail looked back to Vlad expectantly when the man stopped cleaning his back. He was confused when he wasn’t handed the soap immediately. Vlad seemed lost in his thoughts once more trying to figure out something. Kail did not try to figure out what the man was thinking about this time. He was already too paranoid about being sold and if he was to be sold he was sure his new master would tell him in time. If not the case he was sure he would find out either way. Kail took the soap when it was pressed into his hand and went to work meticulously washing his new masters back. Kail looked a bit surprised as Vlad began to speak about what he knew of his past.

Kail listened closely sucking up all the information he could forcing it to meld with his memories that were so buried. Kail only hesitated in washing Vlad for a moment as partial memories surfaced. Kail could remember people as Vlad spoke of them, he could remember his mother’s voice as she sung to him as a child. He remembered his master’s face and strangely enough he recognized it. The man had been the same one who had been around during his capture.

Kail remembered visiting the neighboring clan of the Naduks and meeting Vlad as a young child. Kail had been quite shy then and the child Vlad had teased him for it. Flashes of different ways of training bombarded Kail as Vlad told him about everything. “I never did any of those things.” Kail protested when Vlad continued to tell him what Vlad’s master had told Vlad he had done during his training. It seemed to Kail that Vlad’s master felt it was more important to win the challenge than prepare the other for what was ahead for him in the world after the challenge.

Kail continued to listen, with the stories more and more memories surfaced. What had started out as a slight headache when the first memories appeared suddenly became a debilitating pain in Kail’s mind as more memories than he could handle tried to surface. The small warrior collapsed fully into the water clutching at his head trying to will away the pain he felt. His mind felt very conflicted with what he was seeing and what he had been conditioned to think with his training as a slave.

Kail knew he, knew he was supposed to do, he was to lead his clan protect them from all dangers. If that was the case though why was he so far away, why had he been captured and sold if he were a warrior. Another portion of his mind told him he couldn’t protect anyone, he was weak and only useful for few things. It told him if he fought it would be very painful, or that he would die. It was much like the pain he was feeling now underneath the water as he struggled with himself.
 

[CoyoteXendo]

Vlad noticed that the scrubbing had stopped, but hadn't heard Kail slip under the water. Thus he had waited a moment for the scrubbing to resume, assuming and hoping that the other had become lost in his memories. The once warrior had done exactly that of course, but not in the manner that his "master" had hoped. When Vlad looked over his shoulder he saw nothing. For a fleeting instant he thought that Kail had suddenly remembered everything and up and ninja'd out of the joint like a true warrior. But he quickly realized where the man had went when his foot bumped something under the water as he turned around.

Plunging his arms into the water, Vlad grabber whatever his fingers touched and hauled Kail to the surface. He had the man by an arm and a hip. Kail's face was contorted with pain. The warrior didn't know if the other had inhaled any water, so he quickly turned the man around and embraced him from behind. Vlad wrapped his arms around the other's torso and gave two precise thrusts into Kail's diaphragm using the side of his fist. He didn't immediately release his companion as he wasn't sure if the other's legs were steady.

Suddenly, a certain something twitched and rose down between his legs. Vlad had been pressing up against Kail's backside and apparently that was more than enough to cause a reaction. The warrior froze, he didn't know if the man had noticed or how he would react if he did. He wanted to let go and retreat to the other side of the tub, but still hadn't been assured that Kail was good to stand or sit on his own yet. Vlad finagled a compromise by by awkwardly pushing his hips back and away from the other's body while still holding him up. He also couldn't turn the "slave" around to look and see if he was ok because then his condition would be in full view. Instead he just asked Kail, "Are you alright?" As soon as he got the ok Vlad was going to sink into the water to hide himself.  

[Alikia Tsuki]

Kail was trying to piece together hid thoughts once more when suddenly something grabbed his arm and a hip. Kail had fleeting thoughts of struggling but his body protested the mere thought. Kail allowed himself to be pulled up pain still quite evident on his face despite the fact that he had gotten some of it under control. The young warrior turned slave was unaware of his surroundings until he felt a sharp pressure in his chest, then another. Unsure of when it had happened Kail watched as water escaped his lungs and back into the bath. He could feel himself choking on the little remaining that would disappear in time but had no control.

When Kail finally got his body back under control he fought to quell the shaking it was doing. He was glad for the hands keeping him above the water and steady because he was unsure whether he was able to stand on his own. Confusion was evident on his face when he felt something bump against his backside. Suddenly whatever he had felt was gone replaced with his new master’s voice. “I think I’ll be alright, just a little weak, I hadn’t realized I swallowed water when I went under.” Kail admitted softly. “I’m sorry for causing you trouble.” He apologized. Kail found his feet finally and stood, “I can finish washing your back now if you want?” Kail offered moving to turn around.
 

[CoyoteXendo]

As Kail began to turn Vlad let go of him and quickly backed up to the edge of the tub so he could sit back down on the submerged seat. He thought he was submerged before the other was able to see anything though he couldn't be one hundred percent sure. His current embarrassment was a direct contrast to the easy way he had carried his naked body through the bath house before. The warrior was confused and distressed by what had just happened. Not only for himself but for Kail. The bodily reaction was normal given the circumstances, he hadn't been with a man since before the start of his search for Kail, and a naked body rubbing up against his in this tub would easily cause a reaction. But Vlad was still getting used to his role as Kail's supposed better. Before the other's fall into dishonor and slavery, it would have been totally inappropriate for Vlad to express any kind of attraction. Of course, once Kail had defeated him in battle it would have been perfectly permissible for Kail to proposition Vlad, but never the other way around. The warrior's body had just taken a liberty for which a year ago he could have been beaten bloody. But now? With Kail being so meek and subservient? What were the possibilities?

It was too much to think about at the moment. Vlad wasn't sure he even wanted to pursue the train of thought in the first place. More pressing than the demands his lower regions were screaming at him right now was how Kail had ended up under the water. Everything prior had gone through the warrior's mind in an instant and he responded to Kail quickly, "No, my back is fine. I think we should both just sit and regain ourselves for a moment. And stop apologizing for everything." He quickly added with a smile, "And don't apologize for that either." To be perfectly honest Vlad was still waiting for his condition to subside and having the other come in such close contact to finish scrubbing his back would not help at all. He tried to let his concern for Kail's dunking override his body. Why had he gone under? And stayed under? They had just been sitting there, so slipping wasn't reasonable, and even if he did slip he should had popped right back up. Again Vlad felt the fear that the slavers may have damaged Kail in some way. But sitting here wondering wasn't going to do anything about it, so instead he asked, "Kail, what happened there?" He couldn't imagine that hearing about his past could have upset the other so much. It just didn't cross his mind.  

[Alikia Tsuki]

Kail looked a bit surprised as Vlad suddenly and kind of awkwardly backed away from him. He looked to the other quickly enough to see him sit down and he saw something he hadn’t expected. Kail was unsure what to do, he was also unsure of whether the other had actively tried to hide his predicament or not. If he had then Kail figured he should leave him alone but if he hadn’t then wasn’t it his job to relieve his master. Kail gave a nod when Vlad told him his back was washed, he had opened his mouth to apologize when told not to but Vlad beat him to the punch silencing him once more. This however left Kail to his own thoughts and he began once more to try and decipher Vlad’s words. Did his back being washed mean Kail needed to do something else like take care of what he had seen.

“Do you mean with me going under the water?” Kail questioned. “I…I was listening to you tell me parts of my past. Then I could see things, things that might have happened or I could have imagined them I’m not sure. When I did there was some pain in my head and as more and more things appeared in my mind the pain got worse until I suddenly felt you pulling me up out of the water.” Kail explained slowly making his way over to Vlad.

While the warrior turned slave had no actual experience in what he was about to attempt he had seen other slaves do what he was to try. “I thank you once more for saving me, maybe as….” Kail couldn’t say it as he stood in front of Vlad. “I can help, I’ve never done anything before but I could learn….” Kail continued a blush evident on his face.
 

[CoyoteXendo]

Concern blanketed Vlad's face as Kail described what happened. He hoped desperately that the incident wasn't indicative of a greater harm done. Perhaps the he had said too much, perhaps it was simply overwhelming, after all the man must have been put through unthinkable tortures to break him down to a slave. Thinking that Kail might be as worried about his head pain as he was, Vlad was about to say as much to reassure the other. He was abruptly cut off when the warrior/slave stood and crossed the tub towards him. Kail was standing there exposed and it really wasn't helping the warrior douse his arousal.

And now, what in the world was happening? What was Kail saying? Though the man couldn't seem to get the exact words out, the blush and the direction he was staring made it all too clear. Vlad was caught. And now what was he supposed to do? The normally always collected and in control warrior was sputtering, unable to form a cohesive thought as he stared up at Kail. Though his body was all for the proposition, something in the back of his mind told him this would not be right. How could he say no to a superior? But Kail wasn't his superior anymore was he. But why was the man offering to "help" him? Was it obligation or desire?

Vlad glanced around wildly, his eyes finally landed on the other groups of men who occupied the other tubs. His eyes shot back to Kail and he quickly said, "No, don't worry about it. Besides, this is neither the time nor place, don't you think?" The warrior managed a quick smile before he had to look away again. He suddenly realized that he probably wouldn't get anywhere with his "condition" while they were both still naked. Abruptly the warrior stood up, not caring anymore since he had already been seen. "If your head is alright, I think we should get going. We have a lot of preparations to make before we head north."  

[Alikia Tsuki]

Kail watched a bit apprehensive as Vlad seemed to be trying to find a way around his offer. Was it possible that his master did not wish to relieve himself or was he embarrassed because Kail had found out. Kail suddenly felt quite apprehensive about bringing up his offer, had he been out of line in asking about it. Kail looked up as Vlad spoke telling him not to worry about it and that it wasn’t the time or place for it because of the other people. Kail gave a quick glance to the other men in the tub, it wasn’t uncommon for others to do things with their slaves in the bath he knew but he would not make anymore comments if his master did not wish it.

“I can continue past it.” Kail informed as he watching Vlad exit the tub. Quickly he followed his master when he felt others eyes on him. “What sort of preparations do we need to make?” Kail asked as he quickly dried himself off. Grabbing his clothes he quickly adorned those too. He then belted the sword to his waist like he had done before. “I can show you any place in town that you might wish to visit and obtain items from. There are also some shops that cater to warriors.” Kail explained softly as he watched his master dress.
 

[CoyoteXendo]

"If you're sure it's fine then. We won't be doing anything strenuous anyway," Vlad replied to Kail's statement that he could push past any discomfort. They returned to the front desk and exchanged the tokens for their clothes and Vlad's pack. With them being so much cleaner and fresher now it was a real shame to see Kail put his dirty rags back on. Vlad decided that that would be the first thing to address. The warrior nodded at his companion's words as they stepped back out onto the street. It was much busier than it had been an hour ago when they entered, but as this was a small town it could never be described as more than bustling. Some children were playing with a rangy dog and shoppers were moving in and out of shops. The sun was bright overhead and it promised to be a clear day. Perfect for travel. Vlad's boots itched to get moving.

"Yes, your knowledge in this matter is very much appreciated," he said as he turned to the man. "First, we need to get you a couple sets of suitable traveling clothes from a clothier. Next we should go to a trading post to get you equipped for the trip as we will be traveling off the road and not spending time in towns. I have no need to visit a warrior's shop, and you already have a weapon, but if you want to trade it in for something different we can stop there. Our last bit of business will be to purchase a horse for you, so we will need a quality stable. When you choose which establishments we will visit I want you to keep the quality of the goods foremost in your considerations. An honest shopkeeper helps, but if the dishonest shopkeeper is the one with the best goods we should go there," Vlad explained. "I can deal with a tricky merchant," he added brightly, cracking his knuckles and grinning. The warrior was very pleased with Kail stepping up as a guide. The local knowledge would be invaluable and it would be good practice for the once warrior to make some decisions and lead a bit.  

[Alikia Tsuki]

Kail stayed close to Vlad as they stepped back out onto the street. He didn’t even recognize the fact of his dirty clothes against his newly cleaned body. While it was ingrained in his mind to stay near his master Kail did so because of his fear of what other people would do to him should he wander to far from the man. “Clothes, sir?” Kail questioned curiously. Why would his new master see fit to clothe him in different wears? Was what he was wearing not enough, it was then he looked down at his clothing and realized how dirty they were. “I know where we can find both those places.” Kail informed softly. He had been about to lead his master through the crowd when Vlad had mentioned buying him a horse.

“I know many honest shop keepers with quality goods, but they are more expensive.” Kail informed. “I do not have a need to give this sword away.” Kail said before softly finishing with the whisper “I don’t wish anymore harm from it to anyone.” Kail’s thoughts turned to the fact that he may get a horse. The animals were big and very majestic each in their own right a warrior like his new master. They were captured and broken like him however and he seemed to understand them better than any other person he had met. “Do you still wish to go to the shop keep?” Kail questioned.
 

[CoyoteXendo]

"Yes yes yes, clothes, supplies, horse, quality first, let's go!" Vlad replied bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Don't concern yourself with price Kail, it's my money and my business, and crappy equipment ends up costing more in the long run anyway. Besides, there are more ways than cash to pay for goods. Might run into somebody that owes me a favor or I might be able to do one. You just don't worry about it and make sure we get the good stuff. Lead on!" the warrior waved a hand to get the former slave to move ahead. "Oh, and if you think of anything I should know about any of the shop keepers we'll be visiting today speak up," he added as he fell into step beside Kail.

The warrior did wonder if he was going to have enough cash to cover everything, much less have anything worthwhile leftover. As a warrior he had often performed service for people or villages in return for reasonable compensation in goods or coin. He wondered what he might be called to do here if it came down to it. Vlad thought of the brute from last night. Men like that weren't a problem for just one person- they were a plague on the town. Somebody might want him taught a lesson, or maybe he owes someone money. Vlad allowed a grim smile as he thought of confronting the man once again. Last night had been all too quick. He had been concentrating on getting Kail out of there, not making sure the man knew to never try and bully anyone again as long as Vlad was around or could be summoned to deal with him. His eyes darted up and down the street as they walked; he was almost eager to run into the bully again.  

[Alikia Tsuki]

(Sorry for the wait everything should return to normal now)

At Vlad’s words Kail got moving taking the man’s words as an order it seemed to fit his mind better to just go with what he knew for the moment instead of causing himself more of a headache. “There are lots of people that have concerns here, I hear them talk to my masters whenever I was taken somewhere. Kail led Vlad to the first shop and stopped just outside. “This shop has the best quality goods in town, the shop keep is said to drive a hard bargain, and lately the word has been out that bandits have been attacking his shipments of goods to other places. I will wait out here sir, slaves are not allowed inside.” Kail informed.

“Good day sir, how can I help the man that bought the once warrior. You know his first master is quite upset with what you did interfering as he said like you did. I also see you gave the boy the man’s old sword, I wondered why he wanted a new one. You do know that sword your slave carries is the same one that nearly killed him.” The shopkeeper greeted Vlad.