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The sun rose over the compound and the beam of light spilled through the windows that had been placed high up on the walls. For the first time since Lathera arrived she was awake and eager for the day. The stiffness that had assaulted her muscles after her ordeal was being worked out as she padded back and forth in the generously sized cage. The old straw was kicked up beneath her forepaws as she kept her head level with her shoulders. Her entire body vibrated with contained energy from the knowledge she clutched to herself. She was not alone. There was another here. Another that would help her and ensure that she could escape this place. Escape! The word was rolled through her mind until she felt nearly giddy. She had forgotten how the simple act of having hope could raise her up past the darkness and fear of her entrapment and lead her thoughts to ones of almost cheerfulness.

The gryphon had roused shortly after dawn and she paused at times to find herself fixed with the pale amber eyes. The alien thoughts that passed behind them made her instinctively want to push back, but after a time she dismissed them. She kept one eye on the creature as she paced and marveled at the rich golden color of the feathers. The heavy beak was curved down towards a deadly point and when it parted she realized it could easily grip her entire torso and have room to spare. The thick cream colored feathers along the chest and stomach were segmented by black barring. It seemed mildly interested in her presence, but after the sun started to rise higher and she still continued to pace, the gryphon dismissed her.

The beast settled down and she could see that the leading edge of the primaries had been clipped so that the wings were strangely shortened. Where had they managed to capture the creature? The gryphons were barely considered historical fact, most assumed they were myths and legends. Had they been breeding them here? Or was it simply an anomaly? She gave her wedge shaped head a shake so that the scales along her neck resettled and ignored her own musings. What mattered was that somewhere in the compound one of her kind existed. One of her kind that wanted to help her. There was a mingling of pleasure at that thought and apprehension at what it could mean. Her last run in with another shapeshifter had not ended well for her.

"Still goin', eh Sapphire?" The man's voice shocked her and she covered her surprise by dropping down onto the old musty hay. Her sharp eyes turned to watch the old groom coming into the room. The gryphon let out a sharp hiss of warning from its cage. "Easy on, Ruffio, you're not takin' no hurt from her."

Nat's creased face looked older then it had yesterday. His clothing was wrinkled as if he had slept in it and the scent of him was sharp with the lingering scent of alcohol. She wrinkled her lips back slightly in distaste at the latter scent. His hand rested on the top of the cage as he crouched down close enough that she could have easily swiped out with a forepaw to catch him with her claws. Lathera resisted the urge. The man wasn't bad, he had done his best to care for her. That thought made her flinch in embarrassment. Once she had been courted by men of wealth, now she felt gratitude to her groom for cleaning her scales and bringing her food.

"So, our prize has lasted the night." The voice was smooth and almost genial, but it still made her bristle and lurch up onto all four paws. A soft vibrating snarl spilled from between her jaws as she watched the man stride into the room.

"Yessir, she's doin' just fine. Was awake before I arrived even." Nat's head bobbed deferentially.

Lathera had to tilt her head upwards to watch him. He was tall and handsome in a foppish sort of way. His hair was brushed back to a tail at the back of his neck and his eyes were locked on her. He didn't look at her as if he were glancing at a hound, instead he seemed to study her. The intense scrutiny made her want to pull back towards the back of the cage. She struggled against the urge and instead tilted her head so that she could focus one of her eyes right back. She knew his face and nothing about it made her feel easy. Instead it made her increasingly aware of her awkward situation. Her broad paws scraped against the ground and she drew her talons back before her head turned away from him. She could almost feel him still regarding her before the scrape of his heels signaled that he had moved. When she glanced up she found him facing Nat with his back to her.

"Ishtar seems to have enjoyed his time with her. First one he hasn't killed outright." Her tail curled around her feet as the man spoke in a casual way. Ishtar? The strange draconic creature?

"Yessir, we're lucky with that, M'lord Rogeth." Nat's voice was neutral, but she could hear the disapproval beneath the tone.

"I want you to keep her caged up here instead of returning her to the kennels. We'll be watching her to see if the mating caught." Lathera turned her head as she heard the slight creak of leather. She found herself staring less than a foot away from the intense eyes. "I have high hopes for her. After all, if this generation is successful we'll have our own mounted force. Especially if they prove more docile then that damned drapen."

The dracine ground her teeth together at that. Her stomach clenched up almost painfully at the calm talk. She was more than simple breeding stock! She was more than a creature that they had captured and mastered. The anger rested in her stomach as she turned her shoulder to both of them and faced the back of her cage. She retreated to the only solace she could find by closing her eyes and attempting to sleep. The uneasy thoughts continued to hound her even then.

~*~

:I don't see what you want me to do!: Sean tried to keep his words measured as he leaned against the bars of Ishtar's cage.

It had taken every ounce of strength in his body to get out of his sick bed. His skin was wasted against his form as the fever the venom caused in him. He had woken up in the morning able to fully wake up rather than sink into the dreams that had threatened to overcome him. He had barely been able stumble to the bowl of water to wash his face and then Ishtar had started to call for him. The thoughts hadn't tried to probe further then his surface thoughts, but they were imperious and insistent. He'd tried to ignore him, but it wasn't like a regular voice. He couldn't just move away and avoid them by distance, or even cover his ears. The voice was in his mind.

:I heard her! She is here.: The drapen's head tilted to one side as the strange feather like scales roused up along his head. The brilliant eyes were lost in the dark spread of his pupil as he half reared up against the front of his cage. :You must find her. Now. Today!:

:Where? I have no idea where to look even if she does exist. How are you so sure?: Sean let his hands grip a bit more firmly at the bars.

His legs felt weak and the bright sunlight was irritating his sensitive eyes. What's more, he was aware that he hadn't had a decent bath since he'd been bitten and gotten ill. He finally let his knees give out so he could sink down into a sitting position. The last thing he wanted was to fall down on the hard cobblestones and possibly hurt himself. The drapen seemed to be half mad with the demands to find another creature like himself. It was barely making sense and the fact that the creature lunged at the cage bars and paced made him dizzy. The metallic feathers caught the light with a dazzling effect. Sean finally closed his eyes so that he wasn't watching them shift and move with each of the creature's steps.

:I spoke to her! More clearly than I am speaking with you. She is trapped in a cage and alone. You need to find her and help her. They won't know that she is anything other than an animal.: The drake finally stopped so that the beak was just in front of his face. He could see the sharp edge in detail all the way to the striations along the edges.

:I don't know where she's kept or even how to ask.: He lifted his head up and the beak pushed right up against the bars.

The large golden eyes watched him closely. He had once thought they reflected an intelligent and alert beast. Something that was smarter then a hound, but still simply an animal. Now he saw the depth of the personality that burned behind the orbs. It wasn't simply the personality, he could feel the presence that came from the creature. The fact that it was in a four legged body didn't take away from the fact that Ishtar had his own mind. It was doubly so when coupled with the fact that he had been in control of that body briefly. He winced away from that memory and how he had treated the body when he had been in control of it.

:You can find her. You can speak with me, just call for her. Follow the call as it grows stronger.: The magnificently scaled head lifted upwards a touch. :You owe me this much. Find her and make sure she is not ill treated.:

:Why can't you call for her? You can talk with her and tell me where she is.: Sean did not want another one of these creatures in his mind. Ishtar seemed to think that boundaries meant nothing and the drapen freely made use of his memories and thoughts.

Ishtar gave a snort of undisguised disgust. :What would she tell you? I couldn't tell you how to get here past the few places I have been. You will have to find out on your own, then you will take me to her.:

"Oh, brilliant idea! I'll just unlock the door and take you prancing through the manor." Sean's voice croaked and felt the dryness of his own throat as he spoke without thinking.

:Would you want to be locked in here?: The drapen clacked his beak against one of the bars. :Surely you don't agree that I should be left here. You've been close enough to me to know I'm not an animal. Yes?:

Sean's eyes snapped open at the last word. The voice came with a soft hint of a threat and controlled anger. It was a hint that Ishtar wasn't as sure of him as the man had assumed. The fact the beast hadn't gotten as far into his mind as he had feared made him perk up slightly. Free the creature? He was already a prisoner here himself. All it would take was for one of them to let his secret slip and he wasn't going to be a prisoner. He would be dead. If they found out he was actually able to speak to one of these animals and he had no idea what the reaction would be. He moved his hand up to rub the bridge of his nose.

"I know you're not an animal, but I have to think about this. It's not like I'm a free person myself you know." He moved his head to rest against the cool bars. It helped clear his mind a bit more as a headache was forming just behind his eyes.

:We could free each other. Once I am free and we have freed the little one, I would be able to protect you. We could flee this place and the humans. :Ishtar's voice dropped slightly in his mind and he could feel the slight press of excited emotions.

"It's not as easy as you think it is..." Sean trailed off and looked up at the great scaled drapen. The beak clacked together a few times as Ishtar gave him a sideways look. "It's not! We could all be killed!"

:Better to all be dead, then to never really live.: One of the wings stretched outwards in a flip so that he saw the scaled primaries flash in the sunlight.

"That's not the point!" Sean sat back away from the bars and glared at the beast as the drapen regarded him with an arrogant look. "I'm not going to die for no reason!"

~*~

Tintalia watched the huddled beast minded man pressed against the front of the drapen's cage as he hoarsely talked to the pacing creature. Her elbows rested against the edge of the railing as she let her thoughts follow the scene below. Sean hadn't died from the bite, but it was obvious that he was no longer in his right mind. A pity, since the only thing that she wanted out of him was his mind. Perhaps not just his mind. He held the key to what she wanted to accomplish and even if the venom had stolen his mind his seed was still intact. She toyed with the edge of her hair as she entertained the idea of adding him to the breeding program. If he was mad, what other use would he possess for her? It might prove easy to lure him into one of her parties. He could be the main event.

She leaned back and let herself look out over the edge of her manor towards the town in the distance. Bulrush was as profitable and haphazard as always. Her mind drifted away from the problem of her prisoner and to the problem that she was facing. The thick marshes and natural swampy landscape stretched out all the way towards the darker green of where the jungles started. The nobles that ruled the city had dismissed her when she had deigned to turn over some of the intelligence she had concerning Jathos. They seemed to believe the swamps would protect them from the invasion. Their excuses had fallen flat when she had pointed out the roads that had been built, but they had still attempted to back away from direct confrontation.

Let them shrink away from what was coming. She knew that one victor would rise and that victor would control the entire King's Road and the water ways as well. All trade would move through whoever succeeded and they would be able to stand up above being a King or Queen and create a small Empire based on trade and mercantilism. Tintalia ran her fingers along the curve of her riding skirt and let herself toy with what sort of Empire she would build. She could protect it using the drapen if the next clutch could be properly trained, she had enough dracine that could easily be trained for war and most of all she was close to breeching the shape shifters.

A frown creased between her brows at the reminder of the shifters. They alone would try to find a way to stand up to her. They had always appeared at times of change and seemed to favor toppling those in power for their own agendas. She had yet to be successful in coming any closer to making their secret her own. She had spent days pouring over books that she had hoped would have the key, but in each case they had been shrouded with hints and riddles. It would only be a matter of time, but in that time she would risk one of them rising up with their chosen partner and trying to take down Jathos themselves. Would they fight another shape shifter? Even a rogue? She'd have to look further into the books to see if it was possible.

"I doubt there are enough shapeshifters in the world to fight back even if they could." Rogeth's voice intruded not only in her thoughts, but answered them. She turned her head slightly to narrow her eyes at the man. He seemed to grow more unsettling as the days passed.

"Perhaps, but that is not something I wish to bet on. Jathos marches ever closer to the primary trade routes and has even captured some of the smaller off branches. There is no word from any authority that they are moving against it." She folded her hands in her lap and continued to feel unsettled.

"The rest didn't agree with your plans?" The fair haired man turned and settled down on the seat across from her with a boneless grace she almost envied. "You have enough nobles to work with in the surrounding areas, you know."

"They are minor nobles and while they agree with turning him back, they don't believe in the way I plan to do it."

"The drapen successfully bred. Perhaps with the clutch you might be able to tame them down enough to be ridden. You were more concerned with Ishtar living more then you were with taming him." Rogeth leaned forward to get a view of the caged creature. "Though, how his blood will react mixed with a dracine is yet to be seen."

"It would be years before the pups are large enough to be of some use." Tintalia smoothed the frown that threatened to crease her brows. "Not that we have seen much success in either our attempts to rival the shifters or in our attempts to become like that beast minded creature. Though he seems to have lost his mind to his fever."

"I am doubtful of that, my lady. He shows all the signs of being quite alert." Rogeth leaned forward and peered over the edge of the balcony. "I suggest that we begin to use him less on the dracine, and more with the drapen and the female he bred. He could even watch over the hatchlings. With his ability to sense their minds he could find a way to ensure they were raised tame."

"Or he could be put to better work. I want our success and he may hold the key. I will introduce him at the next. . . party we have." She watched from the corner of her eye as the strange man started at the news. "I think that with time we could be able to use his abilities to ensure our success. He has the magic, we have the knowledge. It's time we combined the two."

"If that is, my lady's wish, then it shall be as you command." Rogeth gave her a long look. "I would be prepared to put him in irons then. He will not enjoy what you do."

"Leave that particular hurdle to myself. In the mean time I want you to take the men at arms and start to patrol the edges of Bulrush. Eventually Jathos will try to capture this place. It's inevitable. We hold the water trade he wants to possess." Tintalia stood up and brushed her hands down her skirts. "Take some of the drake dracine with you. We are overpopulated and with a firm hand they will make superb trackers and fighters."

"I am ever at your service, my lady." Rogeth lowered his head and bowed. The words were correct, the bow was correct, but as she turned away she couldn't help but taste the mockery in them.

~~*~~

Lathera hissed in disapproval as she felt the guide pole click into place on her collar. Her body was shoved back against the corner of the cage as it was opened. Nat's hold was firm on the pole, but not overtly cruel. It still stung her pride, but it was a sting that had started to become almost commonplace. She snapped her jaws at the pole and felt her teeth scrape against the hard treated wood before she was forced to release it. Only when the door was open was she allowed to have enough slack that she could walk out. She tried to do so with as much grace as she could manage. Her groom called sweetly to her. His voice was soft and coaxing as her claws clicked on the stone beneath her and she came clear of her prison.

"Easy on, girl, easy on..." He murmured as she was pulled and tugged to a position towards the door. "That's a good girl. We're just goin' for a bit of exercise."

Her back prickled slightly and she tried to stifle her annoyance as she was guided towards the door. Her careful attempt at dignity was swiftly ruined as suddenly a screech came from her far side and the gryphon, that had been watching lazily, suddenly erupted into action. His beak clanged against the cage bars while he lunged towards her. She scrambled back with a yelp-hiss and struggled against the pole as she watched the brilliant amber flash angrily at her. His feathers roused up along his neck and fore body until he looked as if he had doubled his size. The violent snaps of his beak sent a tremor of visceral fear through her as she curled his lips back and snarled back at him. Her scaled tail jerked down so that it was less of a target while the men started to try and get him under control. Their voices were raised up in as much fear as she felt.

"Stop that! Get one o' the poles, Nat!" The man that had helped the groom grabbed for a pole and tried to use the edge to shove the creature back.

"Jus' shove him back! A good poke'll calm 'em down." Her grooms voice rose up higher. "Get on ye great hulk! Back ye get!"

"Damnable monster." The first man shoved the pole harder against the gryphon that screeched out and twisted his head to grab a hold of the offending pole.

In the blink of an eye Lathera watched the impossible. Nat glanced at her for a moment fearfully before he cursed and shoved the end of the guide pole between two cage bars. It wedged there firmly as he reached for another to help his fellow groom. She stared back at the edge of her entrapment and gave a hesitant tug forward. The wood half choked the collar down, but as she pushed forward she felt it start to scrape from where it was wedged. Her heart pounded with a thrill of triumph as she looked back towards the men battling with the caged gryphon. This was it! She didn't hesitate as she threw herself forward with every bit of weight she possessed. Her entire body trembled with victory as the collar choked down and then the pole gave a scrape as it loosened. She reared onto her haunches and tried to yank forward again.

She nearly tumbled head over heels as the guide pole came free, but she scrambled to get her paws beneath her. Freedom! Her heart lurched into a painful beat of hope as she rushed towards the open door. Nat yelled behind her as she stretched her body out to its limits and darted into the brightness of the sunlight. The pole skittered and bounced behind her so that it tugged against the collar, but she was able to tear down the garden path. Her body had been made to run! She had four strong legs to guide her as she twisted through the path and lifted her head up to try and scent fresh air. The sound of her groom yelling after her didn't halt her paws as she scrambled through a short archway and burst into an overgrown garden. The wall was barely ten feet high and studded with stones that her paws could find purchase on.

As started to slow her headlong flight to exchange speed for a powerful jump she heard the scuff of feet behind her. Her collar shifted against her neck as she pushed away from the ground and was brought up short by the hated yank of the pole against her neck. Her collar squeezed down and her airway was cut off as her momentum was stopped by a yank backwards that sent her tumbling to the ground again. Her body impacted with the damp ground as she snarled and twisted her head up at her captor. She tried to set her teeth against the pole, but he shoved back to keep her head down against the ground. She glared up at him and dimly recognized him as the human that had trapped her. Her hatred doubled as she lunged upwards to try and get her paws around his legs. How dare he?! How dare he stop her from her freedom!? She would kill him! She would sink her fangs into that soft two legged flesh... Her thoughts dissolved into meaningless animalistic rage as she fought against the entrapment.

~~*~~

"Thankee, sir." The dusty man panted as he moved to get his hands on the pole. "Woulda been more then my life was worth if she found a way out. Eaaaaasy, Sapphire, eaaaasy.."

The last words were a croon towards the writhing beast that snapped her jaws at him and the pole. Sean didn't know what had motivated him. He had been on his way to look for Ishtar's female when he had seen a streak of blue scales dart past him. The sound of the handler yelling for the beast had made him react by lunging forward and catching the end of the pole. It had been sheer luck that had allowed him to get a two handed grip as the beast tried to jump towards the uneven wall. Even still, he had to dig his heels in and had felt his arms nearly yanked out of his sockets by the force of her momentum. When it had crashed to the ground he found himself face to face with an eerily familiar form as her head turned to snap and snarl menacingly at him. The dracine female he had captured, the dracine female he had violated. He was almost grateful that the handler had caught up and ripped his attention away from her.

"Here, take her." He spoke more gruffly then he had intended as he shoved the pole towards the man. "How'd she get free?"

"Gryphon went mad at her out of the cage. She must still smell in season. That beast's been used as breedin' stock too long. Thinks anythin' female is his." The man gave a pull at the pole and the blue-silver female lurched to her feet.

"Gryphon?" Sean leapt at the distraction. It was all too easy to recognize the shape of her body. His nostrils had flared without conscious control before his face felt a rush of heat. He was not trying to scent an animal!

The handler gave a nod as he pulled at the pole and the dracine was forced ahead of him to be pushed and guided towards the archway. "Aye, big fella. Only kept him this long since he had a clutch with one of these females."

"Mixed breed?" Sean raised his brow as he averted his eyes from Sapphire's haunches. He hoped the man didn't notice the scarlet of his cheeks.

"Aye. Not that Ishtar is one for a lot o' use but," The handler gave a shrug and continued on while Sean strived to keep up behind him.

Now that the dracine had been caught, he felt the weakness of his own body returning far more intense than before. He felt flushed and his arms shook slightly from nearly being jerked out of their sockets. He'd been lucky that he'd managed to keep a hold of her in his present state. It would have served him right in the beast had gone up the wall and dashed him against it as an added spice. The short older man guided the female with a brisk push of the pole through a second arch way and into an arena like expanse. His tired eyes were barely able to make out the center pole and the stalls that lined the edge of the walls. It looked like it had once been a stable, though he couldn't catch the clean scent of horses and no finely shaped heads perked up over the edges of the boxes. He finally moved a hand out to help take his weight against the edge of one of the stalls.

"So you're breeding them here? To other species'?" He averted his mind from the fact he knew oh so intimately that they did. He was well aware of at least one case of breeding.

"Aye, this one was set to Ishtar." The groom gestured towards the blue scaled female that glared back at them wildly. Her jaws parted as a hiss escaped from them. "We're hopin' for something a bit more easy to tame from her clutch. Easy now, easy girl. We're just gonna give ya a good work out ta settle those eggs o' yours."

Eggs. Sean swallowed roughly as he felt a trickle of sweat work its way down along the back of his neck. He'd impregnated her. His stomach rolled and for a moment he thought he was going to be sick with the sensory memories that were far too fresh in his mind. He swallowed air swiftly and was grateful for his recent sickness. He could at least take comfort in that. No, they were Ishtar's eggs. That was whose body had mated her.

:Humans have such thoughts. If mine was the body, it was your spirit that sired that clutch. Will you be a good sire to them?: The drapen's mind voice was laden with venom and Sean flinched at the blow. He had the unnerving sensation that the creature was staring out of his eyes. :Ask him after the little one. He is a groom, he would know of many of the creatures they keep here.:

:Just ask him? And ask what? "Pardon me, do you have any other monsters around here?": Sean snapped back and felt a low thrum of amusement tremble through him.

:There are many monsters, Sean, but they aren't scaled or feathered or furred.: The drake gave him a mental nudge. :Ask him!:

"If you haven't had success with the drapen, what about the rest of the clutch?" He tried to sound casual as the dracine was pushed up to hook her collar against a stud set in the wall.

"He was the only one. Bastard ate the rest before we could get a handle on him." The man frowned to himself in annoyance. "Never did trust critters that eat each other. Dracine don't do that. They hatch out pretty as you please!"

"He.. ate them?!" Sean felt a wave of queasiness. Ishtar had eaten his siblings? Creatures that had been able to think and reason as he had.

:Do not judge where you have no compassion, human!: The drake snarled through his mind before pulling back slightly. :You cannot weigh my instincts against your own. You know that they are different and I was young.:

"No other clutches then? It seems a shame that you stopped at just one breeding." Sean heard his voice crack slightly as he attempted to ignore the jibs the creature gave him. "He seems a successful creature."

"We tried, the eggs came out sterile or the hatchlings badly formed." The man faced him and furrowed his brow. "Her Ladyship seems fond of the beast though, hopefully these eggs will be fertile."

:There, you see? He doesn't know of any others like yourself.: Sean felt almost dizzy with relief. The idea of dealing with two of the strange creatures was not something he wished to contemplate.

:He doesn't know, but perhaps others do. She's out there. I felt her.: The drapen's voice turned almost dreamy. :It felt so good to know I was not alone.:

"Sean! What are you doing down here in the pits?" Sean jerked slightly and almost slid down along the brick wall as he turned to face Rogeth. "Lady Tintalia has been looking for you. She wishes you to attend her now that you are on your feed."

What could he do save push wearily away from the wall and move towards the man? As he started to follow the slender back he felt a wave of longing for his sick bed. His body felt as if it had burned up his reserves. He fixed his mind on the hope the audience would be short and soon he would be able to sleep and heal. Mysterious voices could be investigated another time.

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