Lone Adventurer

The world is a beautiful place, filled with wonders both natural and unnatural. Where magic is in and of itself a force of nature. The places where nature and magic are most potent are the rainforests and jungles of the world. This is where the greatest number of druids, standing stones and earthborn (anthro animals) can be found.

A place where civilization has no meaning. Where no metals can be found. Where great monuments have been erected by the hands of the inhabitants, monuments such as pyramids, ziggurats and carved temples.

A place where beasts of titanic proportions roam free. A place where the smaller creatures hunt for game bigger than the mountains, and use the bones as their best resource.

It is in this place, the place that swallows a full third of the known world, that our adventure begins.

But not all was well, of course there were those who were less fortunate than others. Those born to power, those who weren't. And still those born into bondage. Slaves were common across the world, and even more so in the rainforests. In particular, women. Not all women were slaves, not all slaves were women. But if you were a woman, you were born wealthy and powerful, or you were born as property to the wealthy and powerful. Nineteen out of every twenty women, were slaves.

Such was the case for Gaia. An earthborn leopard, or so most thought, who had been brought to the great city of Cu'uk'ir by a traveling merchant caravan. Slavers were unnecessary, as slaves were such a common commodity that they weren't much different than spices or textiles.

And do she was brought into the city, tethered to the wagon just like all those around her, also mostly women. And she'd be brought through the streets and she'd see much of the grand city. Her naked body not drawing too many eyes, such a sight being fairly common all across the rainforests.

Gaia was brought into the city, a place her former owners had brought her to many a time before but then, she knew where she belonged and how to behave. Now she was alone, with only the experiences she had with her previous master to live off of. Bright blue eyes curiously looked around as the cart drug them thru the city. Like the feline she was, everything was a new adventure to explore.

She wore a crimson metal collar now... something she'd never had to wear before. She was familiar with collars of course, but this metal one, this one was more like a torture device, preventing her from shifting to anything but this human form, whereas her previous Master's had allowed her the freedom to do anything she wanted as long as she finished her chores first.

Her relationship with her previous masters was one of comfort comfort respect, yes she was a slave, but she was also like their daughter and she did not want for much. Now though... she knew anything was possible

The city was built of mud brick and stone. And in its center were two grand buildings, a pyramid and a ziggurat. The pyramid was the palace, the home of the emperor and his family. The ziggurat was a temple, a place built for worship. Whereas the pyramid, (think south American not Egyptian), was grand and flamboyant, with intricate carvings of myths and stories of legend along its walls and pillars. It was also somewhat hollow, at least some of it was, it's walls were thick and a great deal of it was very much solid to provide support for the massive structure. But the ziggurat, the temple, was almost entirely solid, with many platforms for people to stand on, and one large pavilion reserved only for the archpriest so that he might serve whatever God was worshipped there, but there was no inside, it was in effect a mountain.

So she was brought to one particular area of what could only be the markets, and the place was filled with several rows of tall stone poles or small pillars, with chains running from the top to about midway down. She was shackled to one of these chains, her hands above her, and she was told to look enticing. To give her a jumpstart, her butt was smacked by the merchant's hand.

Sapphire eyes scanned the world as she was carted through it, a soft smile on her lips at all the sights to see. Once the cart stopped within the markets there were hundreds of other sights and smells to be had and she tried to take it all in. As the man who'd been driving the cart took her down and drug her to one of the stone poles she stopped a few times to see things which seemed to annoy him, though she didn't notice.

Her arms were chained above her head and the man grunted at her to look enticing. She rose a brow, not understanding what he meant by the statement so she paid him no mind. Then he slapped her ass, making her jump but it still didn't elicit enticing actions from her, she just stood there with her arms tied above her head, looking to everything curiously, smiling faintly.

The sun had yet to reach its zenith. Though midday was fast approaching. Which meant it would not be long before the vast crowds of people who had business in the markets arrived. Which meant that it would not be long before the slaves would start to be bought.

And bought they were. A number of customers came to walk amongst the pillars to which the merchandise was shackled. A number of women were sold, and lead away on chains linked to the collars that looped their necks. A few were made to crawl.

But not all slaves there were being sold, frequently they were sent to the market in their masters' stead, and given the money to pay for what it was their master required.

But there was also something interesting that day in the markets. A large group of people, all mounted on what appeared to be Mountain Tigers (think tigers as big as destriers), and all of them clad in white armour. Upon inspection this armour would appear to be crafted from bone, and all carried weapons, a number of swords, also shaped from bone, could be seen resting in leather sheaths, bows resting in quivers were also present. All wore what appeared to be cloaks of animal skin, with the animals head as hoods, a mix of bear, tiger, leopard and panther skins.

The group of newcomers rode almost leisurely through the market, looking at various goods. One of them spied Gaia on her pillar, the armoured warrior dismounted and came close. He seemed a tad smaller than most but not overly so, and he stood a little taller than Gaia. The black paint on his face coupled with the shadow of his hood prevented any details from being noticed save the fact that he appeared to be clean shaven.

He gave her a quick, but thorough and silent inspection, and afterwards he approached the merchant, who appeared to be almost honoured that he was inspecting his merchandise, and before a minute had passed a pouch was dropped into the merchants hand. He opened the pouch and inspected what could only be small cubes of onyx.

See metal wasn't terribly common, it was frequently very expensive and was almost exclusively used for anti-magic collars such as the one that now looped Gaia's neck to keep her from shifting. Since outside of precious stones such as gems, onyx, marble and other such materials, metal was very easy to enchant. So outside of suppressing a slave's magic, it can be found in objects belonging to the higher classes as items of magical use, scrying and other such things.

Gaia's hands were freed and a chain was linked to her collar, and she was tugged away from the pillars and onto the back of the now still Mountain tiger, which also wore armour crafted from bone wrapped around its chest and protecting its head. This also included a saddle, which allowed for Gaia and her new owner to ride comfortably.

They caught up with the group, and continued on their way.

Gaia tensed a bit as the large man came towards her, not saying anything to her, just scanning her with his eyes closely. She smiled faintly, lifting her head a little to scent the air, taking in this man's smell curiously. He walked off, heading for the man selling her and handed her seller a pouch.

She watched the interaction quietly, watching the man as he watched her being freed from her arm bindings. A leash was clipped to her collar and she was lead to one of the massive tigers. As she was brought to the cat she reached out a tentative hand and touched its flank gently, letting her pale skinned hand touch the smooth fur. Her bright eyes turned to her apparent new owner, glistening with excitement at the tiger, though he made no real sign that he noticed not cared.

She was lifted into the saddle with relative ease and they headed off. The saddle wasn't very comfortable, being nnude and all, but she did not complain, she'd learned long ago that complaining only got you in trouble.

(is she in anthro or human form?)

Her new owner and her rode through the city with his comrades, but after a while they left again and headed off into the rainforest's dense underbrush. And a long trip it was. The sun was lowering on the horizon when they slowed to a stop in front of what appeared to be a cave. But once they entered it would be revealed to be an underground settlement of sorts, a small one, with all of its walls intricately carved with depictions of stories of beasts and Humans and gods

The warriors removed their hoods, and when her owner removed hers it would be revealed that her owner was in fact a woman, with long black hair in a braid running down her back.

And Gaia would be brought to what could only be her mistress's chamber. A stone bed laden with furs was set into one wall, and furs lined the floor too. A small firepit for cooking was in the furthest corner and a leather bag was beside it, presumably filled with cooking and eating utensils. She was pulled off the saddle, and her hands were released.

"There's meat stored in the wall beside the firepit. Start cooking."

<human >

Gaia rather quite enjoyed the ride, her sapphire eyes never leaving the lands as they travelled, watching everything with the innocence of a kitten. She pressed softly against her "owner" on occasion, when the trail became somewhat questionable to her mind and she got unnerved, but she never made any action to get away, assuming her master would protect her as her previous always had.

When they came upon the cave she was slightly confused how they would all fit, animals included in such a meager hole on the wall but when they went in she noted that it's appearance outside was far different than the inside. As they headed inside the warriors all removed their hoods, the one she rode with had long ebony hair which was braided, tumbling down her back.

They headed to what Gaia would assume was her new Mistresses room. She looked around quietly before her mistress lifted her out of the saddle, settling her on her feet before undoing her wrists. Gaia smiled faintly as her eyes wandered curiously.

"Thank you" she said softly rubbing her wrists lightly as her mistress told her to start cooking. Gaia nodded softly and moved to the fire, opening the wall, after a few moments of figuring out how to, and grabbing some meat to settle upon the fire. She rested on her knees, sitting back on her heels as she cooked, rummaging through the bag for cooking utensils and the likes.

Her eyes wandered still around the room, taking her new home in. She was herself a slight being, she would fit in anywhere quite easily, her long blond hair hanging in a loose tail along her back, brushing against the ground behind her as her head turned this way and that while she looked around.

It was a stone panel that could be lifted via handles carved like lions heads. It was a somewhat small space, at least so far as width and height went, but deep. Almost all of what was inside was meat. There were a few herbs for spicing the food but other than that, her mistress appeared to be carnivorous.

Her mistress had taken to tending her tiger, removing its armour of bones and its saddle and setting them aside. The beast laid down beside the bed, and using a comb carved from, guess what, bone, she began to tend her tiger's fur.

These minutes were spent in silence, until finally her mistress asked, "what's your name?"

"Gaia, mistress" she said softly as she shifted how she sat so that she could watch the woman with the tiger, and watch the meat cook as well. She'd noticed the herbs in the cupboard and she grabbed some salt, pepper and others that she recognized, grabbing a mortar and pestle to grind the herbs.

Once the meat was done on one side she grabbed a fork like tool, turning it and spreading the herb, salt and pepper over the cooked side so it would soak into the meat while the other side cooked. Her stomach lurched hungrily but she ignored it, she did not know when she would be allowed to eat so she did not stress herself over it.

She continued watching the woman and tiger with a gentle smile.

Her mistress never looked at her, but knew that Gaia was watching her. And at once said, "if you have questions ask them. You don't need permission to speak unless otherwise directed."

Once she was done with her tiger she began to remove her own armour and her cloak. Until she was clad only in this (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f6/89/3f/f6893fe4ac300ba067f870d1ffff89fe.jpg)
With only a bone dagger at her side. And she let her hair down so that it fell naturally down her back.

"Yes Mistress" she said softly, smiling and looking back to the meat.

"How do you want your meat cooked mistress?" She asked softly, watching as her mistress undressed, leaving herself in just some light furs. She smiled softly at her beauty before looking down to the meat as it sizzles. She didn't have much to ask yet, with time things would come but now she was just listening and learning as she went.

"Whichever way you know best." Was the answer. "I have no real preference."

She sat down facing Gaia, a lot of her exposed skin bearing black tattoos in a tribal design going across her abdomen and along her right arm and left leg. She further observed her new slave, taking in her details. Any piercings or markings she had on her aside from her collar. And how exactly she was built and just what her skin and hair color was.

She needed to make sure this slave was onyx well-spent.

Gaia

She smiled softly as the plated the food, lifting herself to her feet and walking to her mistress quietly. She felt the woman's eyes crawling over her skin but she said nothing and simply smiled as she brought the plate to her and some utensils. The meat was medium rare... still pink on the inside and Gaia hoped she'd like it.

Gaia stood roughly 5'7 and was around 115lbs, thin with long blond hair that cascaded down past her butt. She smiled softly as she stood near her mistress, her blue eyes once again gazing to the tiger curiously.

"May I?" She asked softly as she looked to the feline

Her mistress nodded, non-verbally saying "go ahead". The tiger was friendly enough. Sniffing her hand and giving it a friendly lick. Meanwhile her mistress ate the meat she'd cooked. Once she was done she set the plate aside and said, "you cook well. You should eat too. Go ahead and make a second batch for yourself."

Most slaves ate off the floor, whether it was from a bowl or plate or not was up to the owner, but her mistress didn't want the furs on the rooms floor to be ruined, so she'd allow the use of a plate.

Thunder could be heard outside. And rain started falling, hard. Lucky she wasn't still in the markets.

She smiled brightly as she was allowed to go to the tiger. She let it sniff her first and once it licked her she pounced it, nothing fast or crazy, just moved to wrap her arms around it and bury her face in its fur with a kitten like innocence.

When her mistress ate and then addressed her once again she regretfully let the tiger go. She gave a soft " thanks" for the compliment before moving to the fire again. She could sleep curled up with the feline and never be happier. She cut off a small chunk of meat, cooking it quickly without the extras, leaving it nearly rare. She only used the cooking utensil, the piece of meat she ate was small enough to only be a bite or two so she did not need to use a plate.

Thunder roared outside and Gaia got excited, aching to go play in the storm but knowing better. Her bright eyes turned to her mistress as she smiled.

"I love storms!" She exclaimed softly, walking to her mistress to take her plate, looking for where she should wash it.

Her mistress cocked an eyebrow. "Really? That's rather unusual. Maybe I'll let you out sometime in the future, after I know you won't run away. You were expensive, and I'd rather not have to hunt you down again."

There was a knock at the doorway, and standing there was a man clad only in a fur loincloth, his body covered in muscle and decorated all over with a full body tattoo of a similar design to the one on her mistress.

"Kira. Luro wants to speak with you." The man said.

She looked to Gaia. "Stay here. If you try to leave Kronus will pounce you, and I would be more than happy to let him have you as a toy for the night."

And so she left.

She smiled brightly at her mistresses surprise at her love of the rain. She shrugged "I've been told more than once that I am an odd bean." She giggled slightly as she finished the slight chunk of meat she ate.

She tilted her head at the concern of her running away.. Why would she leave? She was bought and paid for... this was her life and thus far she'd been treated well. She shrugged and was about to slip out the door to use the rain to wash the dish when a massive man appeared in front of her and she skittered backwards landing on her butt and looking up to him.

Kira was her mistresses name, good to know, not that she'd ever call her that unless she was told to. When Kira left Gaia moved back to the tiger and curled up against him gently with a soft feline like huff, purring slightly, best she could in this form. Her eyes fell closed as she rested against the large feline, and she started to fall asleep, dreaming slightly of her days as a cub.

The tiger was happy to snuggle with the newest addition to the family. And started purring right along with her. Her mistress would return a few hours after to see her sleeping, and after stripping naked she'd climb into her bed and take to the realms of sleep.

Gaia awoke upon a massive thunder clap, startled and noticed her Mistress was back. She slid from the tiger and scooted to her mistress and curled up near her protectively. She'd slept in feline form many years near her previous owners to protect them and when they had children she slept curled up with their daughter protectively, so she was content to sleep near Kira, though, she could not shift so it was somewhat more awkward for her to do so.

Kira awoke when she moved closer. She could sense the awkwardness. So she decided to throw her a bone and shift her way slightly closer. She had given the metal collar some thought, she could sell it and replace it with an equally efficient collar made of leather at much lower cost to her.

So Gaia might find that she'd be able to shift again soon. And probably surprise her mistress in the process.

Gaia curled closer as Kira moved, making it easier and less awkward and also making it so Gaia knew she was ok with it. She smiled softly as a soft almost purr like sound escaped her lips.

When morning came she yawned slightly, stretching and looking around. It took a few moments for her to remember where she was and she looked to Kira, then Kronus and smiled softly before moving to stand and ponder making her mistress something warm to drink and eat.

Such initiative would certainly produce rewards. If Kira woke to find breakfast ready she'd definitely would consider granting her a few freedoms.

Once she did wake up she'd forgo getting dressed, and simply take a few morning stretches.

Gaia made the same as she had last night, as there wasn't much else to make. Her mistress must love her meat. She smiled softly asnshe stoked the fire and cooked more meat for her mistress quietly. When her mistress awoke the meat was nearly done. She watched her mistress stretch, in awe of her beauty and freedom and strength . When the meat was cooked she plated it, standing to hand the food to her quietly with a smile.

"Breakfast mistress.." she said softly before moving to Kronus and grabbing his cheeks playfully,, rubbing her forehead against his before kissing his nose.