By the mid-second month of their detainment, the humans had finally become compliant and useful in their entirety.

The few weeks of rockiness and teaching had finally bore fruit through building their hierarchy outward.

Above and at the center of it was Baik himself: as the sole prince and the "Master of the Tower", his word was final in all matters. His strength was greater than Ango or the two male humans, which meant he was also the one in charge of leading any fights against wolves or the other beasts of the forest.

Beneath him, in a ring of equal power, were Ango, Hanaya, and Nehlka. Although the squabbled and sometimes found reasons to annoy him, the trio's differences meant they often weighed as a balance to his more objective mindset. Ango's feelings on humans was purely objective: the women are useful in emergencies and the men could be used for labor. On the other hand, Hanaya was skeptical and constantly diligent of them, despite herself being weak enough that all of the humans save Celinus would easily beat her in a one-on-one fight. Nehlka, in contrast to the two, had grown used to them and saw them similarly to his idealized views: they could serve as a lower caste but as part of their society once adapted.

And although it had little true meaning, that was who lay at the bottom: the slaves. Above them was Renia who had so far been of use, but all of them were ultimately separated solely by their abilities. Learning magic from Artherias, whom the group called Art in spoken tongue from difficulty of his name for a kobold, was simply out the window so he was in charge of basic labor. Virm's health and strength had made him their powerhouse, responsible for anything Baik needed to do in his absence. And, of course, Renia and Celinus were in charge of teaching the four kobolds of human society and helping with basic chores.

But most shocking had been the use of Celinus a week prior when they captured the wolf: she was able to make the beast abide her will and, through Baik's intimidation, now used it to keep watch over the camp. The magic responsible for it isn't something that had been explained to Baik yet in a way he could grasp, but the results were palpable when it spotted multiple wolves sneaking too close during the night. Their tower had never felt more secure and all it took was Baik keeping the fearful woman wrapped up in his palm and waiting on his every word.

As time went on, of course, they had to remodel the tower that had become their home: dugout cellars that doubled as slave quarters would let them easily hide their human chattel among their exploding stockpiles. Two of them had been dug out by Baik and Virm in record time and split between the girls and the men.

The exception, of course, had been for Celinus.

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Baik entered his section of the tower with Celinus at his flank. She had become a shadow of his overtime with Hanaya constantly lurking to terrorize her. Ango may not have liked her, but it was only Hanaya now that truly despised the humans.

The kobold prince moves to his desk, the cut-lumber and stone-leveled surface littered with various bone-crafts and barkslate. The prior primarily consisted of traps and tools for hunting like bone caltrops and knives, while the latter was piles of words he was still trying to learn.

Oddly, he felt more able in Human tongue the more he learned. It almost felt like a native language lay dormant in him, despite the fact that the kobold language felt as natural as the blurs of his prior life's speaking. It had reached a point now that he was the sole kobold able to carry a conversation.

"Celinus," he started, emphasizing the L on his tongue a bit harder than necessary. He sits down and turns, pointing to the second stool nearby. "Sit here."

"O-Of course, Prince!"

Despite being the owner of a wolf, she still lacked courage. Celinus sits down and immediately takes on her usual meek signs: hunching over and avoiding eye contact. The short time they had all lived together had done little for her overall, with much of her short hair now messy and mostly kept so it doesn't get in her face. Even Art had somewhat rebounded physically with the therapy and help of Renia, yet Celinus had kept mostly the same with disheveling hair and the first specks of blemishing freckles appearing on her face. Perhaps they had always been there and she had simply been able to keep them hidden with what little make-up she had on under that mask.

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Now, however, Baik found her far better in her natural looks.

"With how things have gone, I feel... it is right to reward your loyalty, even if it's coerced."

Celinus raises her head and looks toward him, but still avoids meeting his gaze. The kobold prince takes a moment to let his words sink in and assure himself that he spoke them all correctly, particularly the last one.

"I am... learning. Faster than any. Unlike Renia, you are just trying to survive. It is... much like our Kobold Laws. Bailaka will be difficult for you. That's why, today, I want to impart our laws to you so you may tell me your thoughts on them."

She remains silent even whilst Baik grabs one of the few bark pieces. Renia had a better grasp of their language already and had helped get him the right words to write, yet it had been up to him to translate it. The slate with his people's words carved into it was surreal... but he laid it on the desk near her and waited.

Much to her credit, Celinus read over it more than once. It was a shocking sight to see her double-back to the top not out of misunderstanding but apparant curiousity. She particularly stopped at the middle three laws. The first and fifth were laws, after all, that made sense to most races: following a king is normal to most human societies and even humans have to replenish their numbers in their wars with demons. Daesal lacked the kindness of his prior world and generations of battle had been common in his prior life, so it was only logical humans underwent rise and falls in population here, too.

"... Have you eaten another kobold?

"No."

Baik's honesty didn't do well enough to hide that he had come close. The memories of Leik and his hesitation at upholding the second law or not had left him pained; it was the only law he had "broken" despite his logic. No kobold would have burned him to then use him to get more food, yet the prince had and at the same time. After everything he had been through, he thought it was the right call... but it was a challenge to his culture.

"And... do you plan to lead, Prince?"

He nods, Celinus' face flushing red. She sets her hands in her lap and tries once more to muster the courage to face him, only raising her head enough to gaze at his chest.

"Then... did you call me here... because we are thriving?"

Humans and sex. Even the meek ones don't stray far from it.

When he had captured them, Celinus had offered her body knowing fully well the tales of kobolds and humans. It was a status symbol for kobold males, whether normal kobolds or royalty, to mate with other species. The larger tribes no doubt carried out traditions like that before being wiped out, but those days had long passed his species up with the disappearance of Kobold Kings. Breeding between kobolds and most races produced either a half-breed or a kobold and was interpreted like a stain to the point other races that came in constant contact hunted them to the last, like elves.

So her asking such a question, knowing full well she had offered herself, was pitiful. She either had family or was born from such a family "stained" by kobold blood, or she was a deviant grasping at the only powerful figure that could keep her safe.

"I told you, I called you here to show you these rules. The reward is telling you first, so you may memorize them before the others. If in the future I do desire... mating with you, then I will take it you have no problems asking me now."

Her red eyes finally look up at him and for the first time he feels the spark of defiance, quickly extinguished with him reaching over and touching her cheek. The instant meek shiver and turn from his touch does little to dissuade him, though, his palm chasing her the short distance and caressing her. It was a small gesture that he remembered from his short time among his tribe that even his prior life shared.

"I do not want to take any partners from other races until I am certain it is the right move. Fearing me for the reputation of my kind... that is why the masked ones lost to me. Prejudice. I plan to uphold the kobold laws... and spare those who will follow them too."

Baik lets the short touch end and turns back to his desk, sorting through his things and finally pulling out the last of the treasures he had obtained from fighting the humans: a rudimentary, landmarked map.

Although the landmarks had yet to be seen, he recognized his tower as an unknown ruin within the forest. It was impossible to tell where everything was without a map scale, but local maps like this weren't generally useful. With Celinus' help over the last week, he had been carefully gaining his bearings and adding new ones that his group knew, establishing the first true means of navigation beyond basic direction over the course of the last two nights. He had more to learn from his human captives but using each of them in isolation with the map had given him the one thing he desired. She continues reading, ignorant of him until she sees a piece of bark set beside one of the map's drawn lines.

"Prince, what are you... erm... doing with that?"

He sets his charcoal against the bark, etching a loose copy of the map with the tower vaguely marked on it to obscure its meaning. Baik takes a few seconds before finally sighing.

"Planning how I'm going to recruit more kobolds. If you learn the laws, you'll be able to be better bait. All the more reason you learn them to heart and can speak them in our language."