Transformation

It was a long walk. Only towards the end did I get enough nerve to beg a Master on a kaiila to allow me to sit behind Him. I thought my feet were going to fall off! Heck even the Elder Mistress seemed to be walking with no issue at all, and She had a bad back! We slept under the stars, and I was scared snuggling close to the Elder Mistress and Yasmine that might while the shadows all seemed to have their own sound that went on and on louder then a drummer sitting right next to me.

I'm not sure when I finally fell asleep, but I heard the morning crickets and before I could open my eyes I felt the droplets of moisture falling over my face. Great, it was sprinkling out! Just my luck, it would rain! The mud would come out of my bells and everyone will hear them! I tried to put my hand over my face, cause it seemed to be coming down faster, and it was..snarling? Snarling rain? What the? Pushing back and up I was almost face to face with a huge kaiila who was drooling and eating the strips of jerky he took out of my satchel! Ooooooodin's mercy....he was drooling all over me! Ewwww!

What made it so much sweeter was Yasmine had been watching the whole thing and was just gasping for air laughing once I looked over at her. Yasmine was laughing so hard, she didnt' seem to be able to really breath, and Selene was looking very concerned. I just shrugged, snatched my half chewed satchel and started after the Elder Mistress a long way ahead of me. I looked over my shoulder to watch Selene fanning Yasmine's face, and I figured..hell let the bitch die. Really funny. Blah!

Our day was long. There was no joke about that, the Elder Mistress, who I learned was called Manga, something Her grandchildren came up with long ago that stuck, that she even had slaves call Her, had me go far into the dark edges of the Valley with Her. Manga had no fear, where I was trembling. I heard the deep breaths that just rolled off the walls, and she said it was the narrowing of the valley causing the path to deepen its echo. Made sense, but still pretty damn scary. We dug up roots, and pulled vines from the walls. Took some of the dirt from the ground that felt moist and very cold at my hands. Then we finally walked out and as a treat we filled baskets with wild ramberries. Again that night we slept under the stars, but it didn't seem as bothersome then, after the valley. I watched the stars and let tears roll down my cheeks, wondering if Von would be laying across the stone fence wondering about me and Big Red. I'm sure he would be calling me every bit of bosk spew there was, thinking I had taken to big city life and forgotten about the North. I just wanted to go back home and blacken his eye for that! Mind you, even though I was the one assuming it! Pity it wasn't further from the truth. I think Von would like it here. No, he would love it. I....was falling in love with it. The open sky, the smell of aging wood from the wagons, bosk that always laced the breeze, fires and always roasting meats. The people were so alive here. To see with slave eyes was to see everything, every detail in life I had been missing.

I listened to the sounds of moans in the air, that seemed to be spiked with the scent of sex. We didn't have tents, didn't need them, it was warm out. I watched the shadows in the grass move in unison, and it was the first time, I felt...the yearning. The yearning to be wanted in such a manner. To be beautiful enough inside that it would seep through my skin and beckon The One, to look...interested.

The next day, we were moving around the grounds of a field of thick tall bushes. The small red berries were poisonous. We collected those in glazed clay lidded jars. We also carefully took eggs from high nest, and these plains hawks would be trained as hatchlings. Manga found a couple bee hives towards the far east, and we were getting dung chips to build a fire under it to smoke them calm when out of no where, the pretty blonde slave that was right next to me, screamed and was...gone. By the time I unfroze myself to turn around I saw the Masters with lances taking the wild sleen down that was dragging the limp slave away. There would be two bodies instead of one. I was just numb, not sure why it shocked me so badly. Wasn't it just a way of life? But death has never been so close, standing right next to me. We let the small smoldering fires start, as the Masters told us to get a few leather sacks out of the pile. The downed sleen still had some milk which meant, there were sleen pups close by. I think we searched for an ahn, before we found the small burrowed hole in the ground. The pups came right out at the sound of our steps. There were five of them. They were so cute with their small six legs and sharp pup milk teeth. One by one we stuck them in the sacks and hauled them back. By then, Manga had taken out wax and honey, filling jars and placing the wax in a large lined crate. With the pups being found the trip was cut a day, as we would stay just one more night. By then, we had moved around to where the red clay could be found, feeding bota's of verr milk to the pups while we started to dug up clay and put it on poles that would be dragged back by the riding Master's on kaiila's.

The walk back wasn't so bad, we got to hold a pup a piece, or the sack of pup rather, as we would only allow their little heads to pop out. It was a long weary walk, as we were strapped with as many baskets and a few girls were pulling post also, on the way back. It was quiet for now, the girl had been burned instead of fed to the kaiila's to keep the blood down from the air while we were on open grounds of the plains. Breaking the Silence Selene looked over to me.

I never asked...who do you belong to?

Before I could answer, Yasmine on my other side, seemed to decide to answer for me.

She belongs to the Super Sexy Spexy Master.

Selene seemed to let a look of awe come over her features, as if this was something amazing.

Really? If I belonged to the Super Sexy Spexy Master I would be right at His side at all times! Why are you here with us instead?

Again, Yasmine and Selene seemed to be talking to each other though both looked at me while they spoke and Yasmine spoke again for me.

She is dodging Him like a vulo tossed in a sleen pen.

Why would you do that? I mean how are you going to get to learn and know Him if your not around?

That is what I was thinking, but not my place to judge you know? I know I would be trying to watch and learn His patterns myself.

Yes, see what He likes to eat, how He sleeps so you know how to layer His sleeping furs, which leg He favors so you can add extra grease to that boot.

I would offer to stitch His leathers any day. Have you seen the way He walks when coming back from the herds, the way those spurs click? Do just melt like sugar for!

How about when He is on the kaiila? Did you see....

I let them continue to talk as I looked to the small fluff of sleen head that popped out of the top of the leather sack in my hands, figuring this would be the only moment I would get to speak about the topic.

I guess in all my anger, I forgot to look for what I was searching for. He was always right there.

It all made sense now. I wanted to get home so badly.