Nidaja's Log, Day 783:

While reassigning a commander in Seravi, I stopped by the border town of Luca to drop some coin at an auction that I had been informed the town was having. While little there tickled my fancy, I was a little stunned to see that a slave was placed up for auction with no bottom price. A mere single bit could have started the bidding, but yet.. not a single person there was bidding for him. he was unusual-looking to be certain, as I have never seen an Amanian with solid white fur like that before, but the state of ones fluff doesn't determine how much water he can haul back from a well or whether or not he can be taught to hunt or even assemble goods.

However, it became readily apparent by the pleased expression on his mistress' face that the idea was not to sell him, but to degrade him. His mistress was the regional matriarch for Seravi and Luca. By the look of her slave, it was a stressful job. It seemed like she hadn't allowed him to bathe or even eat in a week, and sleeping seemed to be low on his list of privileges too. He was in tattered clothing and seemed quite forlorn. This auction was a farce. She had no intention of actually selling him. This was nothing more than another unique fashion of her cruelty and abuse.

So, I took action. I tossed my own bid out there for only 20 bits. That gets you lunch in a border town, if you aren't terribly hungry. And you can forget the ale. I did not even care at that point if I won the slave or not. The look on that overpaid bar wench's face was worth twice my bid. To my astonishment, though, the auctioneer did not halt the mock auction. The gavel came down, and just like that... he was mine.

I felt an immediate sense of dread. I'm a general. What the hell am I supposed to do with a slave? These are just society's throw-aways.. orphans that can't be adopted and cost the orphanages too much money to keep up, so they are licensed to sell them to help pay the cost of keeping the other children. He's not a trained fighter, and would just be a target on the battlefield. But, it would be far more cruel to give him back to that whore than it would to just let him get run through in a war. So, I took him.

His hand was so light and gentle when I took him off the stage. He was shaking. He was terrified of what had just happened. As far as I know, that had gone silently every other time the mock auction was held, and now, there he was, his life completely changed. So I resolved at that point I would start his new life with something happy. Something pleasant. No more abuse for him.

I took him to the inn to let him sleep in a real bed. But something about him. How timid and careful and curious and gentle he was. I was drawn into that like a moth to flame. I could not help what happened next. And after that. And again. All night. My sister would chastise me so much if she found out how careless I was with him, but I guess to be honest... I needed it a lot more than he did.

His demeanor had changed by morning a little. He seemed hopeful. And in him,that was like... I don't know.. it was like he had been headless the day before and I had simply not noticed, and he was fine now. It was that complete a difference and improvement even though little else about him had changed.

I think I am going to clean him up, feed him, get him nice and pretty, and give him as a gift to my sister. She's stressed with her duties, and I think having a personal servant to distract her from her day to day activities and help her with her smaller stress-causing duties. I hope she's able to look past his odd appearance like I was. She needs company she can trust, and who could she possibly trust more than someone she actually owns?

I have a feeling I may be posting a lot of entries about this little guy...

- Nidaja



((I just wanted to post something genuinely out of the Sirius series. I don't know how much of that sort of thing I will post here, I suppose it's based more on the reception of it. It's not a normal comic style to say the least. In this case, the image is calm and quiet and allows for slow contemplation and introspection. This is kind of how I imagined it looked, at least.))