It was dusk, orange sunlight filtered through the tall windows in the Acanthe family mansion, setting the gilt frames of large portraits aglow. Faces filled with self-importance and nobility stared down from the walls of the large drawing room, the collective gaze of Mirk's ancestors boring down upon him, as if to judge how their latest heir was fairing. Mirk was used to their silent scrutiny and sat as still as a statue on a couch in the chamber, his black-clad form reflected dimly in the pale marble floor.

He was waiting. This latest acquisition promised to be a handful, and he had entertained thoughts of selling it to an inexperienced buyer first, it would make quite a profit when buyers sold these slaves off at a loss, and they usually found their way back to him to be retrained, having earned him several times their initial worth already. Yet... he pursed his lips thoughtfully. The photos he had received never did the slaves justice, and this one he may play with for a while.

"Sir," the voice that interrupted his thoughts was soft, brushing just against the consciousness, lifting him out of his contemplative daze. His personal slave stood waiting near the door, dressed in simple black jeans and a shirt to match. Mirk knew what this meant, the new slave has arrived.

The young Master rose from his chair in one fluid motion, his long black hair falling behind him in a cascade of shadows. "You may go, Luan." The slave bowed and left, his bare feet making barely a sound on the marble floor.

Two delivery men wheeled in a large crate. It was a good thing the drawing room had large double doors, like the rest of the public spaces in the mansion. The wooden box was unstrapped from its trolley and set carefully onto the floor. Mirk did not move from his position, letting his weight rest on one foot as he watched the unwrapping.

The crate was prised open, revealing a cage inside that fitted the wooden box snugly. A set of three chains was brought down from a hidden spot in the ceiling, then connected to the cage. Without any visual signal from Mirk, the pulleys above worked to pull the cage away from its container, revealing the prize hidden within.

Mirk liked his slaves bound, especially when they first arrived at the mansion. He was not particularly fussed if the slave was happy, unhappy, bored or frustrated by the result of his specific preferences, he enjoyed it, and that was what was important. He watched as the delivery men moved away, exposing the full sight of what he had bought. Luan appeared briefly, taking the men away to be paid.

Dark was bound first in a set of clothes that resembled a body-bag with limbs, each limb had its own straps that wound around the body and hooked into other straps. The overall effect was of Dark's limbs being wrapped in leather and strapped to himself, until he was bent in a fetal position but set on his knees.

A head harness had also been locked into place, though it did not prevent speech, it kept the youth's head down the way Mirk liked to see them first. He did not speak, and waited to see what Dark would do instead.  

--Last edited by Ein on 2009-07-30 09:07:43 --

The slavers were very tired looking, having made deliveries in the early morning and this wasn’t their last stop. They followed Luan to get paid and made their leave, after giving the copy of the owner’s document.

From the cage, snoring was heard, Dark being fast asleep and cute yawns flowing out every now and then. Dark found the way he was positioned very comfy and hugging himself was always a plus. It was almost luxury to be able to sleep in a cage without bumping your head around until your head was only a bump.

The snoring stopped and he shuddered, before it resumed again. There was no way he’d wake up without something breaking him apart from his slumber.

Mirk raised a single delicate eyebrow at the sounds of slumber, then his lips curled up in genuine amusement. Again without any visible remote, the chains moved across the floor until the cage dangled out of the container. The slaver stepped back a little, then raised his hand.

The air rippled, then the top of the cage was sliced off neatly by nothing but a blade of wind that dissipated before it hit the far wall. The cage fell heavily, taking the prisoner it held inside with it, but the bars were cut at the top, and Dark's prison was opened like a box of chocolates.

Mirk stepped a little closer, pulling a thin, coiled whip from his belt. It wasn't for show, but he rarely ever used it as a means of actual domination, he merely enjoyed the image of slave and whip. He slid the handle under Dark's chin and lifted. "Hello, pet."

Dark's snoring at stopped as he tumbled onto his side
'Ughh~ ... 5 more minutes~!' He whined, squirming a bit and rolled over in his fetal position, resuming his slumber. Though his binds came off and he clutched a knife in his hands, he stretched out tapping Mirk's foot as if it was an alarm clock.

'I am up...' He said lazily, taking off the head harness and showed he was suckling on a lollipop. He ran his hands through his hair to make it appear less messy and more organized in front of his eyes.

'... Yo... Sir?' He looked up, just now only having spotted Mirk, snickering lightly as he looked him over.

Mirk watched as the youth rolled, showing his form neatly before his bonds came away. He noted the glint of a knife without comment, and did not move his foot away when tapped. He waited for the slave to get himself organized and to notice his presence, the very image of patience throughout the entire process.

"Mirk," he said, his voice was soft and low, and contained a sensual quality that promised a good time in bed, but that particular piece of furniture wasn't in the slaver's mind as he returned the snickering with a smile.

The smile did not fade as he raised a hand, lifting it to about Dark's eye level so he can see the glowing runes that appeared on it, a small circle that glowed bright white for one moment as he closed his hand.

A cracked sounded loudly in the marble drawing room as one of Dark's finger bones snapped under the pressure of Mirk's sorcery. "For now, call me Master. Dark."

Dark looked down at his hands and lifted them, biting down on his broken fingers 'Ohlala~ They're really broken~ Impressive...' He complimented, waving his hands like a penguin.

'Yeah yeah Master Dark, gotcha...' His brains still asleep to process that properly. He shifted a bit on this tush and yawned 'Oh... I should get to sleep again... You look sexy when you sleep, interesting dreams too.' ;D He winked with a huge smile, his lollipop happily suckling in his mouth.

~Dark's Mind~
Just wait, you human bench... I'll let this slide, but I will take over your mind and get you to bow for me, or fear me. Or both.

What the heck is that smell? What? Ugh, he needs to change his shower gel, disgusting smell. Scorching my nose and I need to smell with that thing. I wonder if he likes electricity. I should  ttry it while he sleeps, would be interesting.

Mirk tilted his head to one side, raven hair brushing over his shoulder to pool at one side of his face. It made his skin seem deathly pale, and his white eyes looked more striking than ever. His expression had not changed, it was still the slightly lazy smile of someone taking time to understand a new puppy that was not doing quite what he wanted.

He turned and nodded to Luan, who had materialized unobtrusively at the door. The slave bowed politely and backed out of the room again. Mirk turned and took a glass from a nearby table, it was half-filled with red wine, and he took a slow sip, watching his new acquisition as his mind turned.

His slave returned a few moments later with a collar and leash. The collar was made in wrought-iron and inlaid with silver and human hair, the leash was braided hair and linen sash, dyed black to match. Mirk took the items from Luan's hands and dismissed the slave who left the room without a second glance.

The slaver approached Dark slowly, then nudged a foot between the youth's thighs, holding the collar out to the boy in his free hand. "Put this on." He pushed in with his boot to make a point.

Dark's eyes had been practically scanning Luan over, marking him as his next toy for no reason at all, then he shook his head. He took the collar however and put it around his upper arm '... Doesn't match my outfit really. Hello...' Dark's head shot to the left.

He kept on snickering and moving his hands and then burst out in a laughter 'A WET DREAM~!!! AHAHAHA A WET DREAM SHE HAS~!!! AHAHAHA...' He rolled over the floor practically then stood up and stretched 'Too bad sex can kill you...' Wherever he gotten those cigarettes from, it kept his nerves down.

Mirk stared, then threw his head back and broke into a loud laugh, he shook his head and let the laughter fade into a low chuckle. Then the slaver leaned over the youth, unclasped the collar from his arm and put it over the young man's neck. He moved his foot away and looked at his personal slave.

Luan held another packet out to the tall slaver, and Mirk took it with a smile. He sat down next to Dark, and held out a small block of chocolate fudge.

"Eat." He commanded, his voice smooth and low, but contained no hint of emotion.

Dark had the cig clenched in between those perfect lips of his (oh god before I start rambling bout that stop me now xD) He turned a bit to look at the fudge.

Slowly he blew out the smoke, eyeing it peculiarly like it was trying to figure out what to do first with the prey. He took the fudge and ate it, chewing happily on it.

He did, however, wonder what the reason for that chocoly was. Not that he minded if it was poisoned. He'd die with a piece of chocoly in his stomach.

Mirk watched the youth eat, his white eyes revealed nothing of why he suddenly felt like feeding his new slave. He swept back his raven hair and took a morsel of fudge himself, chewing on the block without much sign of enjoyment. It was the same way he did everything, with a practical, half-amused method that drove lesser people insane. He had a slight urge to be cruel to the youth, and to ravish him in one of his dungeons, but... he had plenty of time.

He rose to his feet and held out another piece of fudge to Dark's lips as with his other hand, he snatched away the cigarette. The slaver moved the stick to his own lips and took a long drag, breathing out a tendril of thick smoke after a while. The smoke curled around Dark like a snake, then slithered around the piece of fudge still held near his mouth. "Luan will heal your hand, but I doubt you'd actually want him to. Open your mouth, I like to feed my slaves."

As mirk toyed with dark a seconed identical create was brought in by the two workers  that had deliverd darks create and set it down beside him "sorry about this sir but it looks like this one was ment for you aswell"

the two men set about prissing open the top of the create and hooked the lowering chains onto the roof of his other cage and lifetd it out. inside it a smaller man than dark was bound in the same manner as him tho unlike dark this slave was moving and squirming as the cage moved.  

Dark made a small sound as his cig was taken, his eyes narrowing, while his mouth stood like he was interested in the chocoly more though.

He opened his mouth slowly, his eyes eyeing the cage however. Remembering the name Luan for later use. He was eager to harass that person with everything that would creep a normal person out and would mark him as a stalker.

Mirk raised an eyebrow at the intruding workmen, but seeing as Luan was occupied, made a note to talk to the house slaves about keeping up the chestnut haired man's duties while he was busy. He paused in delivering the fudge to Dark's lips, but did not remove his hand as he watched the procession, taking an occasional drag on the stolen cigarette, his white eyes  never wavering from the scene.

After a while, Luan moved towards the workmen and led them out, explaining how the funds would be transferred as well as signing for the slaves. Since he was owned by Mirk, this was a common process. Mirk waited until they had all left the drawing room before continuing, his gaze returning to Dark as he pushed the candy into his mouth just a little deeper than necessary before he removed his fingers.

The slaver rose in one smooth movement, his tall form unfurling like a predator. He walked towards the caged slave, he threw the cigarette end away, it sizzled and vanished into thin air. Then from his own vest coat, he pulled out another packet and held it at his side, flicking it open with one finger as he stood before the cage.

"Take one," he said to Dark, without turning around. He lifted his free hand and gestured. With a loud crash, the cage blew apart outwards, bars and planking flew in all directions, but exploded further into shards that faded into nothing as they traveled. With another small flick of his wrist, the bindings that prevented the new slave from moving were removed, leaving straps and chains hanging from the leather sleeves on his arms and legs.

"Name." Mirk said simply, cold eyes taking in the small form in front of him as if to calculate its worth. It was not clear what he was thinking, but being surprised by an addition to the shipment was not apparent on his face.

victor yelped in terror as he heard the loud crash which emenated from all around him then shudderd as he heard more going off but just further away. he felt the straps that had constrained his arms fall loose and the same for the head straps aswell.

he stood up slowly, a crack came from his back with a slight sigh of relif from him as it did. he looked up as he heard a powerful and forcful voice asking him his name. he moved some of his long light blue hair that cover some of his face away, he looked up into the mans eye's then looked down before he replied "v-victor sir"  his voice convaying that he was slightly scared and frightened

Dark swallowed the fudge in it's whole, almost choking on it. 'Goddammit...' He cursed, wiping his mouth clean and then looked up at the offered cigarettes.

Gratefully he took one and lit it up, one leg pulling up as he leaned back to steady on one hand, slightly looking past Mirk's leg and eyed the new toy.

He blew the smoke out slowly as it stood up. Then turned his head to sense where the heck Luan was, finding Victor a waste of his time. No, he wanted the gorgeous taller boy, keep himself busy with testing the boy's limits.

Dark's comment elicited a slight smirk from the slaver, then his attention was back on Victor. Mirk did not bother using the whip with this one, he strode forward and lifted the boy's chin roughly with one hand, examining the frightened face for imperfections and marks. Satisfied, he lowered his hand again and went to one of the ornate couches placed carefully in the high-ceilinged drawing room. The marble chamber was practically a hall, with tall windows and large paintings that were taller than a man.

"Come," Mirk beckoned to the newer slave, his face was passive, and the gesture he used to summon Victor was a small flick of one hand. The new boy was obviously less rebellious than Dark, and seemed half-trained already. The sorcerer was interested in seeing how much he would have to reverse in order to have a slave to his own whims, but for now, he would test the youth's obedience.

Luan appeared again at the door, this time holding a small wooden box ornately carved and decorated with a small gilded crucifix. He crossed the room on silent, unshod feet, his simple uniform of thin linen brushing against skin so pale and smooth it was like white marble. The slave knelt down as he approached Dark, and took the broken finger in one hand. His touch was surprisingly warm, but soothing. In comparison to Mirk's, Luan's fingers were gentle, and used the bare minimum amount of force necessary. For a keen observer, it would have been easy to see Luan's impressive self-control and training.

No sparkles or hymns appeared as the chestnut haired man poured healing power into the injury. His cobalt gaze remained steady and passive, receptive to Mirk's orders, but apparently disinterested in the other slaves. This often made newcomers feel a certain amount of resentment against Luan, but he was also patient. And though he looked human, it was apparent that it would be difficult to find his limits.

victor silently yelpet as his delicate chin was forced up so his master could see his face more clearly. as his master let his head go he looked back down to the ground.

from the cornier of his eye he could see another slave who was smoking calisly. he didnt like the look of him, tho anyone could of done that with victor. his head snapped up as he heard his master voice then his hand beconed him over. victor moved over to him as quickly as he could "y-yes sir?" he asked nervouisly  

Dark inched closer to Luan, his head moving sideways like he was a clock. He blew the smoke out in Luan's face. Finding him eerily irresistible '...Thank you...' He said properly, taking his hand back.

He moved his fingers a bit, clenched, then un-clenched the hand. 'Good as... ever.' He muttered, working on properly tying his boot's laces. 'Tch, damn delivery men and their need to touch my shoes.' He re-did his laces, making sure it didn't twist through the holes, Standing up, he stretched, shoes perfectly re-arranged.

He went to sit back down, then laid down, pulling one leg up and crossed the other one on the knee. He intended to take a small nap while smoking, nothing major.

"Not 'Sir'. Master. I only let Luan call me 'Sir' sometimes." Mirk let the smaller youth stand for a moment, his eyes unblinking and snake-like as he scrutinized the figure. Then he reached out and turned the slave in a circle, making mental notes as he took in each limb and the general bone structure. He was a practical slaver, and had breeding programs of his own for various types of merchandise, so although he did not often have needs to fulfill, he also did not let morals or human niceties get in the way of his work.

The tall man slid into the couch and pulled Victor down with him, resting the boy on the edge of the seat as he sat back, one hand wrapped around the arm of the long couch. The packet of cigarettes fell unheeded to the marble floor, and though Luan's eyes flickered to it, he did not move to retrieve it. He stroked the youth's spine with one long finger, his white eyes now regarding Dark and Luan with a certain bored interest. When he spoke again, his voice was slightly louder than before, and had the quality of someone repeating something they've said many times.

"You will find out the rules of my house as you live here. The most basic ones are..." And here he paused, staring at Dark for a few seconds before continuing. "You will address me as 'Master', and other free people as 'Sir' or 'Ma'am' as appropriate. You may not swear in my presence, and no yelling."

"Luan will show you where you're expected to sleep when I have not specified otherwise. As you're better trained, you will get better quarters and food. Meals are at set times during the day, if you miss it, you must come to me to ask for food. Luan will tell you your schedules."

The chestnut haired slave mentioned was still kneeling by the resting Dark. His expression had not changed in the slightest when Dark blew smoke into his face, and the tendrils of vapor themselves seemed to glide off his skin, as if the tarnish could not stick to him.

Luan opened the box that he had put down beside the wrapped fudge Mirk had put on the floor. The wooden container was comprised of many layers, and the slave picked the third drawer. It slid open to reveal a bracelet made of a similar design to the collar, silver entwined with human hair. He lifted it out and took Dark's hand again, intending to put it on the boy's wrist. He did not entirely understand Mirk's reasons for these, since he seemed to prefer overpowering slaves anyway, but perhaps Dark was more dangerous than the other demons they had in the house. It was none of Luan's concern, he just had to follow orders.