Bird of a Nest - Chapter 30: Chapter 30

Cai'ress walked into the middle of the stand off. Ryraso wasn't about the back down and show weakness here. The goddess had forced him into a corner but this pimp was no where near as powerful as he thought he was. Ryraso knew the nobles enjoyed their pets but slavery was illegal here. Om'hat may have deluded himself into thinking he was the lord and master of his whores, but he wasn't.
"You are far too headstrong," Om'hat snorted. "I'm sure there are many who wish to have you knocked down a peg or two."
"And you are intending to be first in line," a Ryraso drawled as Cai'ress placed the kettle and two cups on the table. His hands were trembling. There were fresh lash marks across his palms and over his knuckles, not deep enough to draw blood but the bruises were definitely fresh. Ryraso's stomach twisted in disgust. This was so wrong. Some of the makeup of starting to peel off, tear tracks ruined the rouge and added to effect of a disgraced noble. Ryraso wanted to reach forward and wipe it off him, only he couldn't. Not with how Om'hat was looking at them.
"Certainly. I can work wonders with stubborn nobles," Om'hat grinned, his teeth too sharp, eyes too focused and talons gleaming. He clicked once, Cai'ress knelt again, forehead touching the mat. "I certainly made Cai'ress sweet for his clicks."
"Good thing I'm not a noble,"
"No, you're not but we both know that means little," Om'hat chuckled, a hand reaching down to tangle the into Cai'ress's hair and pet it. "Apply enough pain and humiliation," he hummed, gripping Cai'ress head and slamming it into table. Twice. Ryraso tried to jump to stop him but hands grabbed him, holding him in place painfully as Om'hat laughed darkly. "And you can break any spirit."
"Bastard," Ryraso growled through his teeth.
"What do you say, pet?" Om'hat asked, this eyes not leaving Ryraso's. The last time Ryraso had seen such sadistic glee in a man's eyes was when he'd been facing the Dmar torturer.
"Don't," Ryraso called but the look in Cai'ress's eyes told him everything. Blood dribbled down Cai'ress's face between his eyes. They were hazed over. The young noble who had comforted Aw'endo, who had dealt with nobles and who had gained the hearts of two of the nobles was gone. Left in his place was a broken thing. Ryraso was willing to bet Cai'ress was days away from losing his name. He struggled against the hands but the hands were too strong.
"Thank you Master for correcting your behaviour," Cai'ress said. Nothing, there was nothing in his voice. No fear, but no joy either. It was just empty. Ryraso wanted to throw up. Bile bubbled in the back of his throat painfully.
"Another few months and he'll be ripe for the picking," Om'hat purred, stroking Cai'ress's hair. His eyes were finally of Ryraso. Ryraso wasn't sure the new look in the, was any better. He looked almost fond of Cai'ress in that moment.
"You're sick," Ryraso hissed.
Those orange eyes snapped back to him and the mouth grinned. "You won't be trained for clicks. The lover of the
Winglord needs to be pure. You just need some behaviour adjustment," Oh'mat purred. Cai'ress leaned into the touches and closed his eyes, staying low beneath Om'hat eye line. His body stance was relaxed and calm. Cai'ress was sinking. "Shave of some of that independent streak and make you more mouldable. You'll never be as pretty as this one, but I'm sure I can make your eyes shine," Om'hat said.
"Just how you planning to do that?" Ryraso challenged, trying to put the full force of his glare in the man. Hands let go of him but talons and wings were close. If he tried to fight or run and he would be pinned again. His skin itched at the sight of Cai'ress acting in such a manner. Om'hat wanted Ryraso to act like this. Worse, Om'hat wanted to make Ryraso to act like this.
"You'll see," Oh'mat promised. "Pet, pour the tea," he ordered. Cai'ress froze. The relaxed stance fled. Cai'ress was awake again. He shook his head. "Pet?" Om'hat said. His fingers stopped petting Cai'ress hair. "Pour the tea." Ryraso's mouth dried and he went cold. He was no fool. He could guess what was in that tea. The fact Om'hat wanted Cai'ress to be the one to pour it. Om'hat wanted his hands clean.
"No, I won't," Cai'ress said yanking himself from Om'hat's grip. He didn't get far. Om'hat clucked his tongue. Cai'ress froze again, half twisted to get away. He yelled as Om'hat talons pierced through his clothes and into his skin of his arm. Some of the flimsy material floated down to the floor. Heat from hands hovering surrounded Ryraso ready to stop him.
"You are going to pour the tea and you are going to do so now before I make your punishment far worse than it is going to be," Om'hat growled pulling out a dagger and slamming it into the table.
"I..." Cai'ress wheezed. He gasped as Om'hat talons dug deeper again.
"Cai'ress, just pour the tea," Ryraso rumbled. "It's fine."
"It's ..."
"I can guess, pour the tea," Ryraso ordered calmly, eyes focuses on Om'hat's eyes. He would play this game. He was going to have to play the game but there was a difference between playing and being played.
Om'hat smiled and let go of Cai'ress. "Listen to the Consort, pet," he warned.
Cai'ress sat up slowly, shoulders hunched and leaned on the table. He looked at Ryraso but Ryraso was too busy playing the staring game to meet Cai'ress eyes. Ryraso pushed the cup closer to him and Cai'ress whimpered. Cai'ress leaned forward and picked up the kettle. Pain moved over his face as he held the handle. It pressed directly onto the cane marks. He poured the tea into both cups and moved them back to Ryraso and Om'hat. He backed away but Om'hat clicked his fingers and Cai'ress back into his position.
"Drink, Royal Consort," Oh'mat ordered. "Things are about to get a little hot in here," he promised his grin not dropping. One of the hands laughed and Oh'mat clicked again. The laughing stopped. Ryraso's heart fluttered and he reached down to take the cup. The was silence in the room was really getting to overpower anything else.
"Now why would I do that?" Ryraso asked, looking at the liquid momentarily before looking back up at Oh'mat. It looked normal. Just a blood red swirl of hot water with a sweet smell. It was not normal.
"You will," Oh'mat shrugged. "Arm on the table," he barked. Ryraso felt himself jolt. He pulled his own arm closer to himself but it was Cai'ress who placed his arm on the table. Oh'mat sounded a bell. The door opened and a pot was carried out. It was placed on the floor next to Oh'mat. Black cast pot with heat radiated from it harshly. Steam burst from it as Oh'mat opened it. With a harsh yank, the dagger left the table and Oh'mat placed it into the hot ashes. The metal hissed angrily. Cai'ress didn't move. His hand in his lap clenched and clutched to the little fabric in had left on.
"This seems a little extreme," Ryraso commented, forcing the words out.
"It's not. Was quite common to mark whores this way. Best to make it clear that they are damaged goods," Oh'mat explained, patting Cai'ress head. "We don't do it at first. It's a good way to seal the deal on stubborner ones. You used to try to heal them from time to time. Sometimes you even succeeded. I imagine the reason you didn't always is the same reason that you haven't tried to remove the ones on your son. Another pretty little flirt."
The air shifted. The growl that burst from Ryraso came from somewhere deep inside. "Try to touch any of my sons and you'll watch everything you ever made crumble," he promised.
Oh'mat snorted. Clearly he didn't believe Ryraso was any danger to him or his business. Ryraso's itch narrowed down to under his fingernails. Hell was going to be nothing compared to what Ryraso was going to rain down on him. "Relax. Your boy is polite and well refined. One of them could use a little work but he's too young. We won't be bothering him for a while yet. Still, care to share why you weren't successful with removing scars?" He asked, checking the dagger. It glowed red.
Ryraso looked at him and then at Cai'ress. The man was still. Tears were beginning to roll down his face. Oh'mat coughed. Ryraso looked back at him. "Trauma. The gods allow me to heal injuries to the flesh but mental ones can't be resolved so quickly."
"That would be correct," Oh'mat nodded. He grasped Cai'ress arm and pressed the tip to the clear skin. The scream hurt Ryraso's chest. He lunged but was restrained. He kicked, punched and bit as hands pressed him down. His arms were twisted behind his back and held. His muscles cried out at the position. He still fought but limb by limb he was being restrained. His head was yanked upwards. Cai'ress gritted his teeth as Oh'mat continued to carve into his arm. "So dramatic," Oh'mat chuckled. The amusement in his voice made Ryraso's blood boil. "You'd think I was removing your wings the way he is acting, Pet."
"You're a bastard," Ryraso hissed, dropping back into human tongue.
"I believe most k'nairi are by human definition," Oh'mat noted.
Ryraso's shoulder digged into the ground at a painful angle. Someone was pressing on his thighs to keep him prone on the ground. The smell of burning flesh filled his nose and burned his nose hair. Cai'ress stopped screaming, leaving only the sizzle of the skin and Ryraso's grunts of struggling. He yelled in frustration but it was any use. He was outnumbered. Without the link, it was hopeless. He tried reaching for it but it was still out of reach, just beyond his mental fingertips. He slumped, but the hands in his hair kept his head up and watching the two men.
Eventually, Ryraso was hauled back up and forced back into the seat. Om'hat put the knife back in the pot. It clattered loudly. Ryraso wanted to wipe the smug look of Om'hat's face.
"Unless you want me to mark pet's face up, I think its time you drank your tea." Om'hat patted Cai'ress's cheek. Cai'ress's face was blank again. His eyes unfocused. His arm was a mess. The burn was still fresh and the smell was undeniable. There was no blood from the cautryarizing effect. That made it worse somehow. There was no doubt in Ryraso's mind that Oh'mat would do it as. Oh'mat would ruin Cai'ress too deeply to ever truly heal. He couldn't let that happen. He was already useless in this situation.
Ryraso drank the tea.
"How long until I cough up my lungs and die?" Ryraso asked, throwing the cup away from him with a grimace on his face. The cup shattered to pieces on the matted floor. The last traces of the tea dripping away. Already he was beginning to feel jittery but he knew that wasn't the poison. It would take longer for the poison to work.
Om'hat sighed, shaking his head in disapproval. "One of the first things to fix when you are in training," he noted. "Being overdramatic is not becoming of a consort."
"Since when?" Ryraso retorted.
"True, but that's the wrong type," Om'hat smiled, sounding genuinely amused by this. "We'll start simple, don't worry. We aren't going to kill you, Royal Consort. Just give you a training session. After this, you will come back willingly. Or Cai'ress will be very pretty by the time we are finished him. Or you know, anyone I care to pick up to decorate."
"You won't get away with this," Ryraso warned as this situation settled in deeper. They had drugged him to make a point. They were going too expect him to come back willingly or they were going to ruin people to punish him. "They will notice if you hurt me? Or keep me for too long,"
"You're a clever man, Ryraso. Do you really think that means anything to me?"