Letra stared through the wooden bars at the furless daeman that had just freed her friends, although 'freed', might be much as they are still in chains, but a bath and food accompanied with it, doesn't seem like the way to treat most prisoners.

She waited and waited, feeling frustration build up inside her which got expressed in the form of cackles and growls. "Why is it not letting me out?! Why am I the only one to sit in here?!" She said with a snarl.

Vodra who had just finished her food entirely and has been slowly nursing it with gulps of water, looked towards Letra in the cage. "Well... you have been a difficult bitch to deal with. You tried to push your snout out as they were takin' us out. I don't think it has to understand you to know you might mean trouble."

Nushii who was about halfway done, looked up from her wooden platter of food as she gave her own snout a lick. "Hmm... might be. He or it seems to be thinking on it..."

"Well it better think quicker, I am starving in here... I deserve this food just as much as you two." Letra groaned annoyed.

"I would like to call bettledung on that. We co-operated. You are just getting left out, because you're being difficult." Vodra added between sips of water.

"Grrr-... if I could I would rip its throat out and put their heads on pikes. Every last dung eating tuskir child, man and woman and then his." Letra snarled as she stepped left and right on the inside of the cage.

The daeman seemed to quiet down in movements and reactions after that, his expression not changing like before, even though they couldn't understand how its face structure moved exactly to convey what emotions or reactions.

"Hmm... well... if it wants all of us back in the cage, it's gonna have to make a decision at some point." Nushii added as she seemed content to just sit back. 'We've just been given food that is slightly better than what we get at home. If all I gotta do is not 'cause trouble to get more, I am not getting my snout in trouble.'

"Do you really want to starve yourself in there? Curb your pride and show it ye can cooperate. Show some submission or somethin', like... showin' your belly. How males do for us." Vodra added as she sighed tired. 'The food and wash was fine, but I would really like to lay back down now.' She groaned mentally.

"I am not going to show a daeman no submiss-..." Letra cackled angrily as she then stopped mid sentence and seemed to let out a laugh. "Yeah... sure. Hah. That should do it." The Hay-yen woman said as she showed clearly how she stepped to the back of the cage and laid back onto the dirt and sleeping bags.

"Oh... oh." Vodra said slightly before stopping herself. 'That bitch is going to try a back forward pounce? Well... for her I hope it works.' She thought as she stood silent on her stool.

"Uhm... Letra... are you sure it is a good idea? If it doesn't work and we all get punished 'cause of you... I will be honest, but... by The Devourer... I will be really tempted to kick you in the shins while you sleep." Nushii said with a raw honesty and a sort of innocence in her tone.

"Ah, shut your yapper. I am doing this for all of us to escape. Once I am done with this daeman, I'll make my way to a roof top and vault out. I'll get reinforcements to consume them in The Devourer's name." Letra added with a supressed cackle after.

'So the plan changed from all escaping to her escaping and saving us. Ho. That'll go well.' Vodra thought to herself, rolling her eyes silently.

The daeman stopped being silent and still, it began to move towards the cage's door, clearly with intent to open it.

'There we go. Come to momma. Going to love rippin' yer throat out.' Letra thought to herself as she could hear the door getting unlocked.

The wooden door then got, pulled open and out of reflex or due to training, Letra used her strong legs and arms to flip herself forward and immediately head into a leaping bite, but there was nobody at the door's opening to leap onto.

As she was mid leap, the door quickly closed on her, which made the Hay-yen slam face first into it with a pained yelp. As she leaned against the door, it opened with a creak once more. She fell forward in a daze, the door had smashed right against her nose and she could feel warm blood drip from it.

The door then suddenly slammed on her throat, trapping her head outside between the frame and the door's edge. She growled chocking as her eyes managed to focus again, she could look up at the daeman and she saw it staring down at her as it leaned against the wooden door.

"Put the heads of every tuskir child, man and woman here on pikes... and then mine?" He said with an eerie calmness.

"H-huh?" Is all that came out of Letra as her eyes widened while staring at him.

\++++

"Didn't you just say, you'd like to do that?" Michael said in a calm tone, although it was the type of calmness that you felt when you were too tired to consume yourself with anger.

Vodra and Nushii stood up straighter, taken by surprise, feeling knots build up in their throats.

"You... can understand us?" Nushii said after coughing out some water she was drinking.

"Yes. For a bit now." Michael stated plainly while still staring back down at Letra.

Vodra looked confused for a bit until, things got clear in her head. "And you didn't say anything nor react to what we spoke so we would keep talking about... anything."

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"Yeah. Although I wasn't expecting you to casually speak of sensitive information. But knowing who you see as a God... knowing your conditions back home and knowing that you think you have enough people to swarm this place... I thought that was plenty enough to know." Michael said with an eerie casualness to his affirmations.

"I- agh... knew you were a daeman full of tricks." Letra snarled slightly choked, which got followed by a shallow gasped yelp as Michael slammed his boot down on her face.

"Listening also let me gauge you three a bit. You two I am quite content to treat well, despite nearly dying at your hands, because you seem to understand your predicament. But you..." Michael said looking Letra in the one visible eye, not covered by his boot.

"Now with you... I am not having a good time, because now I don't feel like anything I will do... I won't be able to trust you. 'Put the heads of children on pikes...' huh..." The young man says with a dry chuckle.

Vodra looked at Michael with fear at first, up until he mentioned that Letra's behaviour hasn't earned her his ire. "... before we headed out to ambush you we heard the scouts hurt you and the other one that was there... one of them was missing. I remember seeing him move where you were hiding." Vodra said openly as she stood relaxed on her stool.

Michael looked back at her, while keepint his boot on Letra's face and the door pressed decently tight on her neck. "He was already dead. Killed him with... what was it called again... Death's Lover poison. I had it coated on a glove. I used some tricks to make him appear alive."

Vodra calmly nodded as she listened, while Nushii felt really awkward to say anything until a thought popped to her mind. "U-uhm... what are you gonna do with us? We have been fed and given water regularly... although not the best food up until now... you didn't starve us even slightly. I am... confused."

"Well... I had to beg the good people of the village to not do that to you and they were kind enough to listen." Michael said looking at Spek, who seemed quite upset when Michael quoted Letra, it seems he could at least understand his side of the conversation.

"Yeah, but I think Nushii means why? A weakened opponent is easier to handle." Vodra added into the conversation as her curiosity seemed to peak.

"Yeah. It is easier to do that, but... where I am from, my people like to think of... trying to treat people with a decency, even if they might be your enemy. Still... even I have a hard time to uphold my own people's values when I encounter more... unique specimens." He said looking down at Letra who has been only staring up at him.

"You're nothing, but a fowl creature, daeman. Bodyguard for a price. You speak of morals of which you don't believe in anyways. You're no better." She snarled as she glared at him.

"Hmm... yeah. Too bad I am not a daeman or whatever you have been calling me. I am just a person like Spek here is and like your two friends. You though... having a hard time of thinking of you as a person. And the less I think of you as a person, the less I have to be one when dealing with you." Michael said, making sure he has her locked down enough to where she can't wiggle her head free.

"So. You'll give us food and let us keep clean as long as we don't cause trouble?" Vodra asked plainly and simply.

"Yeah. That is the bare minimum. You don't cause trouble, you get food, you get to keep clean and nobody beats you. You want extra things... well... that is where we have to negociate." Michael said with a somewhat cheerful tone.

"Trade you what? We have nothing." Nushii said plainly.

"It means information. It wants to know what we know in exchange for things. But we could also lie..." Vodra said openly to see Michael's reaction.

"You could, true, but I am a believer in trading decently fairly. You want something. I want something. You trick me to get what you want? Well... I can get my dues back by not feeding you for the same amount I feel like your lie costed." The young man said openly and straight forward. "I don't want to make any of you suffer, if I don't have to, but when you act like... whoever this one is..." He says looking down at Letra. "I have a hard time thinking you are worth the trouble you could bring."

Letra snarled and attempted to push the door open using her arms and pushing into the ground with her legs, but Michael leaving his whole weight on the door made it quite difficult.

"Please stop or I will kick your teeth in. This is not a threat, it is a promise." The human said quite a bit annoyed as he huffed from the effort.

"You'll pay fo- Arghn!" Letra said strained, but her growled speaking got replaced with a yelp as the hill of Michael's boot smashed against her face.

"I won't pay for shit! We are the fucking victims here. You people assaulted us. I tried to not judge, tried to think you might have had a reason why. That is why I wanted to speak to you. But you. You make it so difficult. At the end of the day I have to wonder, why should I care about your situation? You were about to get me killed!" Michael yelled out in frustration as he stomped on Letra's face a few more times.

Vodra and Nushii stared at one another, clearly feeling uncomfortable by the whole situation.

"I'll make you a trade. I'll tell you why you were attacked if you stop hitting her." Vodra spoke up looking towards Michael.

The young man refrained from giving Letra another kick to the teeth, emboldened to accept the deal, especially once he saw she stopped pushing against the door. Slightly panting her looked back towards Vodra. "Alright. You get it. Done deal."

Nushii looked at Vodra with a 'Are you sure?' expression to which her stalk mate nodded certainly.

"The Devourer, our god, requires of us sacrifices to feed upon. If we deny Him His hunger, we end up having to sacrifice our own or face the entire Cackle's end. So we sacrifice to him others, to protect ourselves." Vodra states calmly.

Michael stared at her, trying to process the information he was given. "Alright... I still don't like it, but... I can understand how that would force your hands. Ok. That is a point to start from. Would you be willing to share more as time goes on, of course for equivalent compensation?" Michael inquired looking back to Vodra.

"I would." The Hay-yen in question said nodding before looking at Nushii.

"I-... I would, too..." Nushii added on with a bit of nervousness in her tone.

"Good... Great. I am Michael. And- huff... I think we will get along fine if you keep this up. Being a prisoner doesn't have to be all bad, if you at the bare minimum don't cause trouble. I won't ask you to say things you don't want, but... you'll be fine as long as you don't do what your friend did. Speaking of..." Michael says trailing off and looking down at Letra. "Yup. She's unconcious... I will have to ask you two to wash her. We'll... then clean up your cell and you can all rest. I got other things to do today so... once we're done making sure you are somewhat comfy we can have some proper introductions, too, does this sound good?"

"Yes... I... sorry... I am a bit lost. This is not how we imagined this going." Vodra added with a clear confused tone.

"Y-yeah... I thought this would be a lot more painful and include a lot more starving and begging for food..." Nushii added in as well with a nervous cackle.

"I get told often that I don't do things the... 'normal' way. But... I would imagine you are glad for that." The young man said with a slightly awkward laugh.

Vodra seeing a sort of feeling of awkwardness come over one of their captors makes her join in slightly laughing at the weirdness of the situation, Nushii joining in simply because she felt left out, a bit and not understanding exactly why. There is still an unease in the air, as this creature in front of them, seems to know kindness, yet it is not naive for it.

With a sort of ease washing over the situation, Michael let the unconcious Letra out of the door, for the chained Vodra and Nushii to wash up. The discussions had and promises made, keeping the other two quite peaceful, which surprised even Spek, the old boar witness to the whole situation.

And so, the day went on.