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Her own bark startled her awake. Snapping up, Nova glanced around with a growl quickly dying in her throat since there was no one to be growling at. The room was empty. With a big breath, she lay back down, curling into a ball. Anubis must have left awhile ago for his scent had faded.

It had been 3 days since the feast. Late each morning she had woken to his touch and served him as he wanted. With ease he would turn her into a puddle, pointing out that her own submission aroused her, and she made a perfect pet because she so easily climaxed for him. Nuzzling her sweetly after ravaging her, he would have her brush him before he would leave her to care for Veka. He told her it was so he could gain more rank, to bring a voice of concern to the way things were. It made sense to him that if the slaves were filthy and got sick, it could make the rest of them sick, yet late every night when he would return it was always with some other horrors he had witnessed and tried to lose himself in either his paintings or sex.

Yesterday, however, she had hardly seen him. When he had finally returned near dawn, tense and morose, he dragged himself to bed without calling for her. She had gone to him on her own, laying beside him as he stared silently at the ceiling until he breathed "I should never've come back here. I don't know what I was thinking." She snuggled closer, drowsily whimpering as she tried to stay awake in case he wanted to talk, but he had laid there quietly until she fell asleep without meaning to.

The front door opened and she hopped up, hurrying down the hall. Turning the corner, she was surprised to find it was not who she thought. Three slaves had come in with food, all wearing muzzles so tight that it bit into their skin. One of them had been shaved to the skin, her fur at perhaps a week's worth of growth, showing off every rib, scar and bruise. After putting the food they carried on the table, they glanced at Nova with shy curiosity before glancing about and sniffing the air. As 2 started to dust with rags they held, the one that was shaved slumped before the fire, shuddering with relief.

Nova didn't know what to say or do, or if she was supposed to say or do anything. She wanted to rip the muzzles off these women, to hug them and give them all the food that would be wasted, but she knew doing so could get all of them in trouble. Slipping back around the corner, she hurried to tell Veka.

"Gwen," the mother whispered. "She... she made the Warden angry."

The pup began to squeal. Like magic, one of the women, a dingy white with silver highlights, appeared at the doorway and silently reached for him. The mother did not speak and did not resist. The white one sat and let the pup suckle from her own breast, staring blankly off into space. The other woman, many shades of brown, glanced at Nova again as she entered. Going to Veka's side, she began to tenderly feel her belly. She sucked in her breath and laid back her ears when a light press caused Veka to groan. She had not stopped bleeding profusely and was growing weaker by the day.

There was another soft whimper from the main room. Both muzzled slaves jumped to their paws, the white one holding the pup close as he still suckled. The reason was apparent when Nova heard Anubis' voice telling Gwen to stay where she was and go back to sleep. He was heavy footed in the hallway, filling the doorway like a great void. The slaves greeted him as they were supposed to, but they did not tremble and cower before him. Glancing between all the women, he first addressed the nursing slave.

"Lilly, you may sit. Wind, will Veka be alright?"

The brown woman whimpered softly and lowered her head further. With a growl that made all the slaves cower, he turned away. "I'll get Jun. You are all free to sleep and use the hole as you need. I will return shortly."

As he padded away, Nova hurried after him. "M-Master!" she gasped. "Ye-yer bleeding!"

Pausing, Anubis gently checked his arm and shoulder. "Yes. It was a... disagreement with the Warden. But my bleeding will stop, unlike Veka's. I'll be back with Jun. She knows a lot about herbs, and she is not muzzled to prevent me from talking with her." He then fixed her with a stern glare. "Do not touch their muzzles, pet." Turning away, he stared bitterly at the door before he started walking towards it. "The Warden will know and they will be punished for it."

Gwen's shuddering breath was enough confirmation for Nova. Unsure of what else to do, she returned to the room to let the naked woman sleep curled up under a thick pelt on top of a thick pelt. Lilly was still nursing, having switched to another breast. Wind had returned from the latrine and was laying with Veka, gently stroking her. When she approached, the women glanced at her again before staring off to someplace far away.

Since they were silent, she waited with them quietly. It felt like it took forever. The pup had fallen asleep, blissfully full at last. Laying him down beside his mother, Lily glanced at Nova again before looking to the ground and hurrying past her to the bathing room. Just as she returned, the front door opened. Nova could hear Gwen whimper drowsily and 2 deep, gravelly voices telling her to stay and go back to sleep. As they came down the hall, she could hear the familiar voice more clearly. "The next time you make me bare my teeth for you in public like that, you're gonna get me in trouble. You can't keep openly challenging him and expect to get away with it."

Anubis bared his teeth with a growl. "You didn't have to stop him. I could've gotten to his throat."

"It would help nothing. Uncle wouldn't make you Warden. He'd pick Gray before you, and worse, he'd probably pick Ivan."

The other women were already standing when the two came in. Anubis dismissed them to sleep, and they eagerly hurried out of the room to obey.

Caesar was taller and thicker than Anubis. The swirl of white on his chest was the first thing the eyes were drawn to. He wore a leather vest and kilt, and his bushy tail swished right up close to Nova's nose, making her back further against the corner as he turned to let another slave pass. She also wore an elegant golden collar, stunning against her black face, throat, body and hair. Her limbs all faded gradually to white tips and silver accents ran throughout her silky, clean fur. She appeared older than the rest of the slaves Nova had seen, and she was very pregnant. Waddling after her Master, she stopped so Caesar could remove her muzzle and leash. Veka roused to let the woman check her.

As she did that, Caesar grabbed his brother's arm to check it. It made Anubis growl at him. "Dick!"

"Oh, shut up, you pussy. It's not that bad. I hope you learned your lesson. Uncle made him the Warden for a reason."

"Arrogant prick," he growled. "If I had to beat them to keep them submissive, why does my pet submit without the need? I've not had to lay a hand on her from the start."

Caesar suddenly perked up. Sniffing the air loudly with his sharply pointed nose, he turned and noticed Nova behind him. Her ears shot back and she lowered herself, shrinking deeper into the corner as if she could hope to melt through.

"Oh, yes! I had forgotten all about your little 'experiment.' My, but she's so cute. She seems... different than the others. Come here, pet. You don't need to cower. I'm not going to hurt you. That's it, come closer. Ah, she's adorable. No scars or brands. So soft. She doesn't have any muzzle lines."

"She'll hold a conversation, too," Anubis responded, then grinned and chuckled. "She told me I was full of myself. She even growled at Rasha!"

"Oh, you're lucky that didn't get you both in trouble. Ha, but I would've liked to see the look on her face!" He smiled down at Nova but she was too intent on staring at his paws. "I think I'd like to get to know her a little better. But first, you brought me here because of Veka."

Much to her relief, they turned their attention back to the other slaves. "Jun, what can we do for her?"

"she... she is torn inside, Master," she replied in a voice that strained to be louder than the slaves were usually allowed. "Blood Bells and Pup's Ear can help. She shouldn't nurse. She needs all her strength."

Caesar growled quietly but it still made the slaves cringe. "I left for only two hours while she was in heat. Two blasted hours! This is why I never leave!"

"Who's the sire?"

Caesar slowly turned his head and stared at him. "Who else sneaks into our rooms and disobeys our rules and gets away with it?"

Anubis made a sound of disgust, muttering his other brother's name under his breath. "I had the chance to kill him. I had him pinned...."

"And you're smart you didn't. It would only piss off Mother and you know what she does when she's mad. Now, Blood Bells and Pup's Ear? Can get Blood Bells down by the river."

"I've seen Pup's Ear by the south yard. I'll go get...."

Caesar grabbed his brother and jerked him back in the room by his scruff. "Oh no you don't! You're going to stay right here and let Jun tend to your bites unless you intend to get a lot more. The Warden is sour, and he'll bite you again if he sees you now. I will go and get the herbs. It'll look a lot less suspicious if I do it as I have business by the south yard anyways. You don't need to be in Mother's bad graces right now. I'll be back as quickly as I can. Jun, take good care of him."

Grumbling bitterly after him, Anubis sat on a stool to let Jun gently clean, stitch, and wrap his wounds after instructing Nova to get water and bandages so the heavily pregnant slave didn't have to. When she was finished, he rolled his shoulder with a pained grumble. "As usual, a better job than our doctor. He can't even stay standing long enough, always so drunk."

Gently he stroked her and she nuzzled into his hand. He smiled and placed his hand on the bulge of a pup's foot or perhaps elbow that pushed against the confines of her body. "I'm glad to see Caesar's litter finally took. I'm sure they'll be beautiful." He indicated Nova. "I'm hoping my pet won't be far behind. It would be nice for all the pups to play together."

Sighing softly, he glanced back at Veka before standing to stride out of the room. "Keep her company until Caesar returns."

Glancing at the others, Nova slipped out of the room after him, finding him in the courtyard. Staring at the beam overhead, his expression was distant. They stood there quietly for what seemed to be forever. Touching his wrapped shoulder, he let out a very long sigh. "Coming back here was the biggest mistake I've ever made. I thought I could make a difference. I thought I could change things. But for all my strength, I'm more powerless here than I ever realized. Before I joined the war, I... I could just keep my head down and my eyes adverted and all of this was normal."

"There's nothin' normal 'bout any of this," Nova whispered sadly.

Swallowing hard, Anubis shook his head. "I wish I could be upset about you saying that, but since I met you, I realize Veka was once like you, a whole person, and the only thing wrong with her is what Uncle's done to her. It would be normal for her to be like you. Instead, she's going to die here, and she'll be just another in the long line of slaves I've had to watch slip away while I was not allowed to help them." It was his turn for the forlorn whisper. "No matter what I've done, they always die." Fur bristling with a shudder, his eyes turned away from the beam as he shook his head again.

Caesar had entered so quietly that he managed to not disturb Gwen still soundly asleep. His sudden presence behind Nova made her yelp in terror that a giant shadow with very bright, sharp teeth had appeared looming over her. She grabbed her muzzle, tucking her tail submissively when the Dire blinked in surprise and then smiled with amusement. "She made a sound!" he exclaimed with glee. "What a cutie! I wish Jun could be so lively."

Peering at Anubis' tense back, Caesar brushed past her to stand beside his brother. "Anu," he started softly. "You couldn't've stopped her..."

Shaking his head violently, Anubis bared his teeth. "Don't. Don't say it. Don't tell me it wasn't my fault. Just tell me you got the plants. Tell me uncle's dropped dead." He muttered the last part under his breath.

Sighing heavily, Caesar opened a pouch on the belt that held his kilt up. "Well, I can only tell you one of those things and be telling the truth. C'mon. And you, too, pet."

She was made to fetch water and help Jun make a tea and a poultice. Jun was gentle to insert the gooey bunch of fluffy leaves, but Veka still trembled in pain. All the while the brothers stood outside and spoke quietly about members of the family Nova did not know. She had a bad feeling about what was to come when she was complete with her duties here.

Her bad feeling was confirmed when her Master called her over, leaving Jun to keep Veka company, and had her follow him to the room where they slept. Caesar was sitting on the bed. He smiled at her. "Come here, pet," he cooed sweetly, but Nova whimpered, eyes, ears and shoulders as lowered as possible and tail pressed to her leg. Looking at the size of him, if he were equally endowed then it would not be a pleasant experience. Anubis was already as big as she could take.

Another whine escaped her when her Master's hand was heavy on her shoulder, pushing her forward. So hard did she tremble standing before the Dire who was still taller than her while seated that Anubis stroked her head and tried to ruffle her tight ears. "There's no reason to be afraid, pet. He won't hurt you."

"P-please, M-Master," she whimpered. "I-I don't want to."

Caesar's ears perked and he tilted his head. "She speaks out of turn. Can she get any better?"

Her heart raced in her throat, and she shrank even further into herself when Anubis growled with disappointment. "Not exactly something I'm encouraging." His hand caressed down her hair until it rested heavily at the base of her neck over the collar. "You want to be a good girl for Master, don't you, pet?" he purred sweetly, trying a different approach.

Swallowing hard again, she said the first thing she could think of to appease him. "I-I only want you, Master."

It made Caesar grin ear to ear. "Ha! She's adorable!" She cringed from his enormous hand, but he was gentle as he followed the curve of her body. "I won't force you, little pet. It's no fun when you're scared. I can't even get hard when you cower like that. I don't know how the others do it. I can wait for you to like me as much as I'm already liking you. In fact, I might have to go get me one like you."

"It was not nearly as easy as I thought it'd be," Anubis admitted, patting her head fondly while relief flooded through her, slowly relaxing. "She put up a fight that I was not expecting. Kicked me in the head- twice, in fact! And nearly blew me to bits. Most exciting hunt I've ever had."

"Are you serious? Did you really?" When she nervously nodded, another amused grin stretched across his snout, his tail even wagging. "Ah, little Aroogar, I've never met one like you. They're all broken here. It's all I've ever known. Maybe I'll leave Jun with you and you can help her be a person again. I've only ever wanted to see her wag her tail. Can you wag your tail?"

Blinking a few times, she licked her nose and willed her tail to waggle half-heartedly. It was enough to satisfy him. "well, that's better than I've seen the others do. Tell me, do you live underground?"

With a puzzled frown, she shook her head. "N-No, uh, Master, sir. We bury our barns in the ground to store things, an' our sleeping halls are partly buried, s-since it stays warmer in winter. But, uh, we... don't live there."

Eagerly Caesar leaned closer with his elbow on his knee. "Really? What beautiful lies I've been fed. We're told your people are practically ground dwellers and we're doing you a favor pulling you from the mud. Do your people even hunt, or do you only eat leaves and grass like the daaveer?"

Anubis rolled his eyes. "Only you would be given a bitch to fuck and talk her ears off instead."

Caesar glared up at him. "Shush, you. I can bark and have any of a dozen bitches to fuck at any time. None of them talk. They give me that ridiculous line 'there is no life before the Maker' like the breathing dead." He looked back at her. "Jun hasn't had a drop of Sap in 2 years. I've not once harmed her. Still, our conversations are decidedly one sided. The slaves raised me, but I know nothing about them. We're taught only what Mother's posse wants us to think. Thankfully, my brother's had enough sense to see it my way, though he's gotta learn to be less open about it, lest he gets bitten again."

Once more he rolled his eyes. "It's entirely your fault. I blame you."

"What!?" Caesar barked, brow furrowed. "How did I get you bitten? I walked in on that whole affair!"

"I would prefer to be fucking, but I listened to you and it got me bitten."

Caesar looked wounded, putting his hand on his chest. "Now hold on. I've told you to stay out of the whole family business. You're the one putting yourself right in the middle of all of that. I won't tell you to stop, but if you really hear me at all, you'll stay right here and enjoy your prize until this all blows over." Looking down at Nova, his face lit up at the sight of her tiny, amused smirk. "You're smiling! What was that? What was funny to you? I have to try so hard to amuse Jun."

"Oh, uh, it... it's just, ye reminded me o' my brothers. Fern an' White Toe argue all the time, but they don't mean it." A deep, soul wrenching sadness made her heart feel tight and heavy. "I... I really miss 'em," she whimpered, eyes, ears, and shoulders falling to the ground.

Caesar's deep inhale was like the bellows sucking in at the tinkerer's shop. Before either of them could respond, however, the sound of the door horn resonated through the rooms. Caesar's head snapped up and the rest of him followed. "Unexpected company is never good news around here," he muttered as he strode past her to follow after his brother.

By the time she had pulled herself from her melancholy and grew curious enough to find out who was there, the brothers were gone, and so were the other slaves. With nothing else to do, she wandered through the halls and peeked in on Veka and Jun. The pregnant pet sat with Veka, holding her hand and gently stroking her between her sunken eyes as she twitched in some fevered nightmare. There was such a melancholy to the scene that it made Nova whine to herself, but it was enough to gain Jun's attention and she looked up.

Not knowing what else to do, Nova introduced herself awkwardly. "I... I'm Nova. Um, a Radkial, from... from the prairie."

Jun peered at her in surprise, then looked back at Veka as some realization dawned on her. "You... weren't touched by the Maker," she whispered matter-of-factly.

Gulping with a shudder, recalling her time there and knowing there was no way to compare, she looked at her paws and muttered, "n-no, not... not really."

Jun glanced up at her and seemed to understand. Veka barked weakly in her sleep, drawing their attention for a moment. It caused the pup to squirm, but he was finally full and nothing would break his happy slumber. Jun swallowed hard, her voice still a whisper. "She was once Master Anubis' pet. I... did not think he would take another after Ivy."

"Uh," Nova gulped again, pretty sure she would regret her curiosity. And she did. Her eyes widened as the conversation the brothers had shared in the courtyard made sense.

Panting as she tried to hold in her tears, she shook her head. "I... I don't know how to feel any sadder," she admitted in the same whisper as the slave. "I don't know how many more pieces I can break in to."

Jun looked up at her in surprise. Her eyes darted about, even glancing out the window, and shook her head. Taking a few breaths to try and calm down, she whimpered "I'm sorry," and hurried away to curl up in a corner to cry herself to exhaustion.

She had no idea how long she had been out, leaned up against the wall, but she noticed it was night when the door was thrown open, startling her to her paws. Anubis came rushing in with a hand on his face and Caesar was not far behind him.

"Anu! Anu, wait! She was my sister, too!" A pit even heavier than she thought possible churned her stomach while Caesar shut the door and put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Mother is a soulless witch that makes deals with Devils and puts all our souls up as the collateral. To them, she's just another sacrifice. But you're not alone. Don't you dare compare me to any of them. My heart..." his voice cracked and he had to gather his strength to keep speaking like grinding stones. "My heart is in pieces, but I can't show that out there."

Turning his head, Anubis panted for air as he shook. "I... I'm sorry. I just... I can't think right now."

"I know," Caesar responded softly, his head down. "I felt the same when my sister died and mother didn't even whimper. That General Khade'grr had more emotion for our fallen than mother's ever shown."

Nova perked up. She had met the general only once when she had arrived at the base. Well, not exactly met, more like stood in the same room and felt incredibly intimidated and inspired by his mere presence. He was known as a Supreme Alpha, ruling over several packs in what was as close to a nation as her people had.

Shaking his head, Anubis rubbed his eyes with one hand, his voice like the gravelly pit of grief he was in. "I... I just need some time."

Patting his shoulder, Caesar nodded. "Fine. That's fine. I'll leave you to grieve. Just don't wallow too long, Anu. I... I have a bad feeling about what's coming. Jun! Come along, Jun!"

After the 2 had left, Anubis retreated to his reading room where most of the paintings of his sister were. Following after him cautiously, Nova stood in the doorway and waited as he seethed and shook and panted. Finally, just as her paws were growing tired of standing there, he sucked in a breath and tried his best to keep his voice level. "A general of your people came to us. Showed up at the front door with a dozen guards in our own suits. He... was like no one I've ever seen before. He looked Mother in the eyes and called her 'The Bitch of the Mountains.'" He almost smirked as he said it. "Then he... he gave us the casualty list. Ter... her name... was the first one."

She stepped closer and reached out to take his hand as his voice faltered. Recoiling, he bared a fang, but did not look at her. His voice was dark and bitter. "I should have left you alone. She's dead because I thought you were cute, and I wanted to prove something. I should've stayed with her. This is my fault."

"I'm so sorry, Master," she said softly, stepping back.

He shook his head vigorously. "Leave me. Go comfort Veka. She'll not be far behind, especially now." Again his voice faltered.

Slowly she obeyed, glancing back at him several times. In silence she changed Veka's rags and fed her infant with some kind of milk that Caesar had brought in a waterskin. When both had fallen back asleep, she stood in the hall for awhile, waiting to see if Anubis would leave the room but he had closed the door. After yawning multiple times and swaying on her paws, she crawled into bed and hoped that she would dream of home.

It wasn't until an angry growl startled her awake that Nova even realized she had fallen asleep. Anubis lay beside her, snarling in his slumber. His whole body twitched and convulsed as though he were fighting with something... or perhaps someone. This wasn't the first time he had growled and squirmed in his sleep only to gasp awake, clearly distraught while trying to play it off, but she had not seen it quite so bad before.

Propping herself up a little, she gently licked his muzzle. His eyes snapped open and she yelped in terror, finding herself pinned down, staring up at the sharp glittering line of death that was all she could see of him in the dark. Her tail glued itself to her belly. "M-Master!" she whimpered in terror. Her heart skipped a few beats when his jaws opened before snapping shut as recognition came over him, and his face softened.

"Oh, Nova," he mumbled drowsily, easing off her. "I'm sorry, pet. Just... just some bad dreams. It, uh, it's normal."

His entire body froze when he felt her fingers tenderly glide through his fur, bringing his head down to lay his muzzle alongside hers. "You've seen so many terrible things to have so many terrible dreams. None o' this is normal."

He gasped and his spine snapped up and he turned to lay facing away from her, panting erratically. "I-I've dealt with it my whole life."

Sitting up, she reached out bravely and stroked the ruffled fur on his shoulder. "I don't think ye've dealt with it, Master. I think yer just... tryin' to survive it... like the rest of us."

Unraveling, he shook violently as he struggled for air. "I have hated it here my whole life. She made it bearable. I should've never left her. I wanted to protect you, and I left her. I should've stayed with her. We left to get away from this place. I never should've come back. And now she... she's gone."

Nova had nothing to say. There was nothing she could say. Letting him talk was all she could do. However, he did not talk much more, staring off into nothing until his eyes could stay open no longer.

By the time she was roused by Veka's yowling pup, he was gone. Rubbing her eyes, she checked on the young mother. Not knowing what else to do, she shushed the baby for a long while until exhaustion came over him and she could lay him beside his mother.

Frustrated with her helplessness, Nova sat in the courtyard, staring at the fountain. Chewing aggressively at her lip, she looked around at the sad, abandoned garden. It was no wonder to her now, considering what had happened here, but it did no honor to the memory of one of her people to allow a garden to fall into such disrepair. Back home, the gardens of the fallen were tended by the pack, some gardens sculpted and cherished for generations. The least she could do was pull the weeds, and ripping the plants out of the ground gave her a savage outlet for her anger at the situation.

Her growls changed to a yelp of surprise and pain when an iron grip had her by her scruff, lifting her up as though she were a pup and turning her. The cruel yellow eyes that grinned back at her made her body go numb with dread.

"What a cute little ass you've got. I wonder if it feels as good as it looks. Now's my only chance to find out."

In a fit of self preservation, Nova's claws sliced Gray's muzzle. He grimaced, jerking his head to the side so that she only grazed him, but it was enough that he bared his teeth, and a wave of frigid terror crashed over her. "You dare scratch me? Seems my brother hasn't done a good job in training you." Tossing her like a doll onto the bench, he crushed her skull against the stone with his massive hand. "Guess I'll have to teach you some manners myself!"

"I-I-I belong to Anubis!" she desperately cried. She was shocked with pain when he jerked her tail out of his way and made it pop with the force he used.

"You are nothing more than a fuck hole with a pretty collar and don't you ever forget it!" he snarled dangerously. "Now shut the fuck up, dirt licker! I ain't got all day."

When she cried out, he changed his hand hold to crush her muzzle shut. His penetration brought tears to her eyes, but she was in such shock she could not cry. Hardly could she even breathe as he pushed himself deeper into her body. She felt frozen, unable to think. Forcing his way into her body, he was tearing her. Her bones ached under his weight. There was nothing she could do but go numb.

He let out such a yell that it startled Nova out of her state of repression. He was no longer on her, giving her the chance to turn and see what was happening.

Clutching his bloody shoulder, he was in as much shock as she had been a moment ago, eyes wide and mouth agape, looking up at a shadow at the edge of her limited view. His voice was a breathless whisper. "T-Terra?"