"Hey, darky!... I would like to thank you for saving my life. If it weren't for your spell I would have died," The wolfkin said as she bowed her head. Rya looked at the wolfkin and saw that she had a bracelet on her left arm that glowed red.
"You're welcome. I guess I couldn’t bear to see you die when I could do something about it... Even if it puts a bigger target on me," Rya said as she looked over at Quinus and gave him a wink.
"Ha! They would have to go through me, darky! I won't let any bastard touch her! You got that human," The wolfkin growled as she looked at Quinus.
"Oh!? Um... Prince Quinus is a good human, you don't need to worry about him," Rya said with a laugh as she took a sip of water from her water skin.
"B-But you have a slaver collar just like me! We have to run, darky!" The wolfkin said as she glared at Quinus.
"Our Lord Would Never Force Lady Rya or Anyone Else Into Slavery!!!" Sir George yelled out while he slammed his foot to the ground.
The wolfkin scowled at Sir George and turned to look at the other human standing next to him, which was Percy who looked uncomfortable for some reason while moving both his hands in front of his crotch. He seemed to be blushing when he locked eyes with the wolfkin.
"Oh! You're talking about my necklace? Yeah, this is an artifact given to me by the Dark Elven Goddess, Nils... By the way, my name is Rya. And the human you were glaring at is Prince Quinus of the Kingdom of Fiafyr. The other two are his retainers, Sir George and Percy," Rya said as she pointed to Quinus and Sir George.
"Kingdom of Fiafyr? I guess they're better than most but you should be more wary of these humans, darky. They have their cunning tongues to trick us," The wolf-kin growled as she glared at Quinus.
"It's Rya, not darky. And can you tell me your name?" Rya said as she folded her arms over her chest with a glare.
The wolfkin became panicked when her alpha was displeased with her and her ears drooped down.
"I-I'm sorry darky~ I mean Alpha. The name I give from my pack leader is Dalia Nightshade. I'm a stalker-brawler for my pack," She said as she lowered her head with a frown.
'Huh? Did she call me Alpha?... Haah... I guess it's a beastkin thing so I'll let it slide. Plus, she's been through enough as is. There's no point in chastising her over something so simple," Rya thought.
"Well then, Dalia. I'm glad to have rescued you. I can't imagine what you're going through... How were you captured in the first place, if you don't mind me asking?" Rya wondered with a sad smile.
"For my Alpha, I'll tell her anything!" Dalia said as her tail started to wag in excitement and her ears perked up upon getting some positive attention from her new alpha. "My bastard of a human slave master ran away like a coward when his bodyguards started dying from the horde. So he decided to leave his 'property' to distract the horde."
"And you weren't able to fight back? Did he leave you chained up or something?" Rya asked as she frowned.
"No, it's more complicated than that, Rya. I'm assuming you haven't dealt with slavers before, right?... Dalia wasn't chained up. She has a Slaver Bracelet, also known as being collared, that encumbers a slave," Quinus answered Rya while Dalia tried to cover the glowing red bracelet with her other hand.
"See that bracelet is enchanted with a magic that grants a slave master control over his or her body. The cheaper collars, which are very common, usually just weaken a slave until they need to be unburdened for fighting or physical labor. The master can remove the burden placed on a slave with a controller. The most expensive and rarest collars are called the Eldritch Bond Collars. These collars allow the slave master to have complete control over a slave's will. Luckily they are extremely rare and I think there are one or two demons in the world that know how to create them... Anyway, Lady Dalia's collar looks more like a common version, called the Laborer's Latch. It's the worst type of collar that has little control over a slave... Were you a part of the battle arena, Lady Dalia?" Quinus asked as he glanced at Dalia's wrist.
Dalia squirmed as she listened to Quinus. She shook her head and furrowed her brow.
"N-no, sir. My owner had me hide away, for I was weak and useless in fighting. U-Um... H-He used me as a servant slave? YEAH! A servant slave," Dalia tried to lie as she wasn't good at coming up with a story off the top of her head.
"Dalia, you don't need to be afraid of Quinus. Plus you said you were a stalker-brawler, and I don't think that's a servant's job description. Just be honest and tell us what happened, okay?" Rya said with a reassuring smile.
Dalia lowered her head in defeat. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes as her ears dropped.
"F-Fine! Y-yes I am a battle slave... I've won all my battles for my stupid master," Dalia said as she glanced at Quinus with a worried look. She thought that this human would become her new master and make her fight in the arena again. It was a life that she hated.
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"She's a funny one isn't she." Quinus chuckled, "Lady Dalia, can you come over to me for a moment, please."
Rya looked at Quinus with a confused look but she trusted him, and the others didn't seem concerned so she nodded at Dalia to get up. Dalia hesitantly walked over to Quinus and stopped a few feet away from him. She felt uncomfortable around him as he was of the same species as her owner.
"You can trust him, Dalia," Rya said as she gave Dalia a reassuring smile.
"I-If Alpha says so," Dalia said as she hesitated for a moment to approach the prince.
He leaned forward and outstretched his hand, "May I see the collar, Lady Dalia?"
Dalia looks over to Rya before looking back to Quinus. After a few seconds, she reluctantly shows him her slave collar on her wrist. Quinus took a deep breath as he grabbed ahold of her bracelet. Then he closed his eyes as he was mumbling something under his breath. After a couple of seconds, the bracelet began to show cracks forming all over it as they grew longer and longer until finally, the bracelet shattered into pieces. Quinus placed the remains of the broken collar on the ground while he looked at Rya with a smirk.
"You're not the only one who has rare abilities," Quinus said as he winked at Rya, making her heart skip a beat.
'W-What else is Quin hiding from us? I wonder if he will tell me if I'm alone with him?' Rya thought to herself as she looked at Quinus in awe.
"So how do you feel now, Lady Dalia?" He said with a small smile as he looked at Dalia.
Dalia rubbed her wrist where her collar once was. She was in a state of shock and awe. When she looked back to Quinus, she only responded by wagging her tail.
"Good. I'm glad you're satisfied, Lady Dalia," Quinus said with a smile on his face.
"Huh?" Dalia had a confused look on her face before she looked behind herself to see her tail wagging.
"Eep!" Dalia moves both hands behind her back grabbing her tail to stop it from wagging as her cheeks blush from embarrassment. This caused her perky breasts to stick out more.
Percy's eyes almost became bloodshot and looked visibly uncomfortable when Dalia's breasts jiggled out in the open. He was starting to cross his legs and looked like he was trying to hold in his urethra from releasing his urine.
"Th-Thanks for removing the collar huma— I-I mean, Beta," Dalia said as she blushed even harder.
Quinus smiled and nodded to Dalia, "It's fine, to be honest, I just wish we had something for you to wear so you didn't have to be naked. I'm sure it's uncomfortable."
"Huh? Oh! Clothes get in the way of brawling... B-Beta!... I'm fine without them, to be honest," Dalia said as she stepped a few feet from Quinus.
"W-Well, we have some cloth bandages if you would like to have a minimal amount of clothing, L-Lady Dalia?" Percy chimed in as he awkwardly positioned himself like he didn't want to stand up straight, for some reason.
Dalia then sniffs the air and becomes alerted by a scent in the air. She jumps in front of Rya as quickly as possible. So she could shield Rya from Percy with her claws out ready to attack him, if need be.
"You! Young one! I will not let you mate with my Alpha!... BACK OFF, or you must DIE!" Dalia growled at Percy.
The young ranger was taken aback by Dalia's sudden reaction and became frozen in place. It took him a moment to respond, "I-I-It's not Lady Rya that has me in this state, Lady Dalia!.. Even though Lady Rya is one of the most stunning women I have ever seen," Percy said while trying to hide his many forms of embarrassment in front of the wolfkin.
"Huh?" Dalia loosened her fighting stance just a bit as she was confused by Percy's comment. That was until it hit her that he was interested in her instead of Rya.
"Eeck!" Dalia squeaked in a panic as she ran behind Rya for cover.
"That one young one is a deviant, Alpha! If we don't stop him or punish him, he will! He w-will!... Try and claim me!" Dalia exclaimed as she hid behind Rya.
"M-My sorry my ladies. I'm sure I'll become desensitized to Lady Dalia's beauty over time, I'm just going to go somewhere to take care of... something private... E-Excuse me, everyone," Percy said as he slowly shuffled away until he was out of sight.
"What? Why does the young one say I'm beauty? I don't understand?" Dalia asked Rya with a worried expression as she kept a close eye on Percy until he was out of sight.
"Sir George, you should be in close-ish proximity to Percy. Just in case of an ambush," Quinus asked George.
"Aye, I'll do that, my Lord," George said as he walked after Percy.
Dalia was able to relax after a moment. At this point, Rya decided to help Dalia with her confusion about Percy's statement. That's when Rya told her.
"Well, Dalia, all I can tell you is humans are creatures that like things that are visually pleasing to them, for the most part. And Percy seems to like you and might want to... mate with you in the future if you're interested... that is if you are interested," Rya said with a big grin.
"What? Don't human males take their mates by force? Like all males do?" Dalia asked with a very concerned face.
"Oh, he would never do that. He is the type that would like to court you with his words rather than force you. A true gentleman is always thinking about their mate's feelings and trying to make them happy. Plus, he should be there for his mate when need be," Rya said with a smile.
"S-So what does that mean? Does he want to... court me? I think I heard a human female ask that once?" Dalia asked Rya, still concerned.
"Maybe? He would most likely want to take you somewhere that serves food or take you somewhere to dance and have fun. Umm, we call it dating... It's like a... mating ritual," Rya explained with a curious look.
"...Fascinating! Humans are strange creatures." Dalia says with curiosity in her eyes.
"That we are, Lady Dalia," Quinus added with a smirk as he listened to the entire conversation.
"Mhm. But I think you should put on the cloth bandages Percy offered earlier, Dalia... Or at least cover up your chest and hips with something. For Percy's sake," Rya asked.
*Whine!* "I guess I’ll put them on... But I'm not going to like it," Dalia complained as Quinus handed her the cloth bandages to cover herself up.
“Come on, Dalia. I’ll help you,” Rya said as she stood up from the rock.
“I’ll give you two some space while I pack up our equipment,” Quinus said as he checked on their gear.