(AU) Dreameaters (Patreon)

The smell of Saffron and incense hung heavy in the warm evening air of the tent. Merchants were yelling, one louder than the other, advertising all sorts of wares. Tapestries, gems, jewels, spices, every kind of fabric imaginable, stuff I couldn’t even afford after saving all of my wages for over a year. It all seemed silly now.

Tugging on the ropes around my wrists, I tried to regain some feeling in my fingertips. The merchant, a large yellow, antelope horned specimen eyed me with suspicion, making sure I’m not planning some sort of an escape. As if I’d even make it out of the market with all these demons around. I’m not the only living contraband in this particular establishment, but I am the only human around. A cage above me held what I could only imagine was some kind of magical bird, its feathers shone with a strange but beautiful blue light. Next to it, a striped dog gnawed at the bars of its cage, as it had been for the last couple of days. Something inside me hoped the creature could gnaw its way to freedom before it got bought. Perhaps it would chomp down on the face of that yellow bastard before making its escape as well…

My daydreaming was interrupted when a hooded figure walked into the tent. I instinctively skulked backwards, pressing against the canvas that made up the back of the tent. Their hood was finely detailed and covered most of their face, but from their build I guessed it was a man. I let out a relieved sigh when his attention seemed drawn to the bird and not me. My heart was still racing. I didn’t want to stay here another minute, but getting bought by one of these things was another ordeal entirely.

The last thing I remembered before finding myself tied down and bound, was stopping at a roadside in. I enjoyed some roasted chicken with peppers for supper, paid the innkeep, and went to bed.

And then? Then I woke up shackled and collared, not a familiar face in sight. Of course all my possessions were missing as well. Everything I had spent a lifetime working to collect while traveling from village to village as a healer. My herbs, clothes, stones. They weren’t much, but they were mine. I let out a silent tear, making myself as small as possible.

The hooded man shifted, bending down to rest on his haunches as he peered in my direction. A shiver ran down my spine. A pair of bright red eyes glared at me from underneath the hood, a measuring smirk curled on thin lips.

“I didn’t know you sold slaves? How much for this one?” His voice was as smooth as silk, but at the same time slick as oil. It instantly put my entire being on high alert. My eyes shot towards the yellow bastard, who came hobbling towards where I was tied.

“She’s no slave! I don’t sell slaves. She’s an exotic pet. Wanna see all the tricks she can do?” He chuckled while ogling me. I drew my legs closer to my chest while throwing him my dirtiest glare. Glad he thought himself funny, cause I sure as hell didn’t.

“Awfully risky, selling humans around these parts. I saw some very hungry beggars just outside.” The hooded man continued.

“Ain’t no beggar getting a nibble of my merchandise! I’ve got my stall warded, just in case. They want a feed? Then they can pawn themselves off to some pompous bastard over at the palace.” The merchants barked.

With the elegance of a cat, the hooded man stood up again.

“It doesn’t speak?” Two short strides later, he was at the other side of the tent. I noticed he was wearing a pair of thigh high boots and had a dark long lion-like tail swiveling leisurely at his backside. I blinked in surprise. ‘Antelope’ didn’t have a tail, or at least not one I could see.

“It wouldn’t stop speaking at first, so I gave it a little tap to get it to stop.”

That little ‘tap’ had in fact knocked out one of my teeth. My cheek still throbbed. Anger bubbled up in my chest, but unfortunately I wasn’t a brave person. I wasn’t strong and literally had the fight knocked out of me. So I let the feeling die down and turn cold, souring my stomach and sending a prick to my eyes as I blinked away more tears. The merchant didn’t like it when I cried either. Especially when there were customers around.

The stranger remained silent as he looked for something inside his robes. I could see Antelope lean closer, trying to get a glimpse as well.

“So, how much do you want for it? Give me a number.”

“650 Dargs. It’s a steal really.” The merchant transitioned into his slimy ‘I’m doing business’ voice. It was hardly worth the effort, he still sounded like a boorish asshole.

“650? I could get 4 worker slaves for that amount.” Even though his voice remained smooth and calm, the tail did an extra wide swipe.

“Then go get 4 worker slaves. Do you know how much I could get for this thing if I sold it in parts? Twice that amount! "Easily."

I froze, this was the first time I’d heard him mention chopping me up. A small hiccup got past my lips. I immediately pressed a hand to my mouth, but both men fell silent. Looking straight at them seemed like a bad idea, but I was too shell shocked to think that far ahead. Antelope was glaring at me with a menacing smile that said, ‘Yeah, you heard me right, best behave.’

The hooded man was staring at me as well. A strange mix of contempt and intrigue emanating from him.

“Yeah, but then you’d need to get a permit for killing humans, and the court doesn’t just give those to any random demon on the street.”

“Permit-Shmermit!” The merchant began to grumble, he got as far as making a dramatic wave, before the hooded figure once again adjusted his robes, and a small golden badge in the shape of a crescent moon appeared from its folds.

“Not to mention, they are also really expensive.” He cooed. “I would know…”

Instantly, Antelope’s whole demeanor changed. I could visibly see him shrink, shoulders slumping and arms folding in front of his chest in a defensive posture.

“Ehm. My mistake, sir. What’s a Courtian doing in a place such as this?”

“Shopping! Obviously! Now, what’s the best you can do on her? And if I hear 650 again, it won’t just be the guards you’ll have to worry about.” A flicker of blue light zapped past the hooded man’s face, almost too fast to see, but it was definitely there.

Now it was the merchants' turn to hiccup. A small part of me was so happy to see Antelope getting his shit served to him. I was however extremely aware that this small victory also meant that I was about to be sold. I tried another desperate tug on the ropes, but they remained as tied as ever.

“How about 400? That is reasonable, right? Keep in mind, Getting it was expensive as well and I need to make at least some profit.” The merchant whined, trying to make some semblance of a good deal. That amount still sounded expensive to me, it could buy 2.5 worker slaves... But, oh well. What would I know about demons and their currency…

“I’ll give you 300 Dargs and you throw in the bird as well.” That didn’t sound as much a counter offer, as it did a command. Without wasting another moment, a heavy money pouch ended up between the merchant's grubby fingers. Antelope didn’t even respond, his head swiveled towards my feathery blue bunkmate, mouth agape.

“The moonbird too?”

“Marvelous! Such generosity! And because of your generosity, the palace doesn’t need to hear about you selling illegal ‘pets’.” The hooded man cracked his knuckles. “Have the bird delivered to my quarters at your earliest convenience. I’ll be taking this one with me straight away.”

I snapped out of my trance and gasped for air. Forcing my body on high alert, I braced for whatever was to come.

In one fell swoop, the hooded man reached for the rope that tied me in place. Another blue flicker of light later, the lead magically appeared in his hand. Black claws protruded from each finger as he traced a thumb over the course material of the rope. His face was very close now, and I could see long eyelashes framing piercing red eyes, as well as a streak of wavy royal purple hair falling down the side of his face. Said face was way more refined, a girl could even say handsome or attractive. Not at all like Antelope.

I hiccuped again. A coy smirk appeared on his lips.

“Oh, you’ll do nicely for sure. Can you walk?”

It had been a couple of days since the merchant put up his tent here, but I figured my legs would still work, so I have a small nod.

“Use your words, pet.” The man,- No, the demon cocked his head to the side. A pair of ram horns poked out from underneath the hood. Whatever remained of my self worth bristled at hearing that nickname.

“I’m not a pet.” My voice came out raw and low.

“We’ll see about that.” He pulled on the ropes quite suddenly, forcing me to my feet. I fell forward a couple of steps, before regaining my balance and straightening to stand up. That should have gotten him a glare, but my heart was beating with sheer panic at the sudden movement. Before I realized what happened, the bright lights of the marketplace were everywhere and I was being ushered down a busy street. Demons of all sorts of shapes and colors, and I do mean all colors, were squeezed together in what I imagined to be a local shopping district. Tails and horns everywhere. I was too caught up in the whole thing, to realize most of them were staring at me too.

“Don’t make eye contact, little human…Or you might have a bite taken out of you.” The hooded man laughed as he guided us through the crowd. I instantly downcast my eyes, unwilling to put that statement to the test.

Instead I focussed and the black fur tufted tail rocking back and forth in front of me. After spending days tied down inside a tent, being outside again felt like a dream. Ropes still chaffed the skin around my wrists, but for a moment, I could breath.

“You’re not going to ask why I bought you?” The demon eventually pondered, while looking over his shoulder. He’d removed his hood, wavy purple curls that fell just down to shoulder length now clearly visible.

“Would knowing the answer make me feel any better?” I genuinely replied, hoping that if it didn’t, he would spare me knowing.

“That’s fair. But if it were me, I’d be dying to know.” When I didn’t reply, the demon smacked his lips together. “I was supposed to get three servants, but you took up my whole budget, so I hope you’re a hard worker. Can you read?”

That got my attention.

“Read? Yes, I can read.” Why would I need to be able to read? He nodded.

“That’s good. Arman will need you to read. And can you follow recipes?”

Arman? And did he want to know if I could cook?

“Shouldn’t you have asked all this before you bought me? Yes, I can follow recipes.”

That got me a slight chuckle.

“There are ways you can be useful even without those skills. I just figured a human in the sleeping realm was worth the investment.”

“Sleeping realm?” I looked up at him. “What’s that?”

The demon turned around, giving me a stink eye.

“The realm of demons, demons like me, to be specific. You’ve crossed over and didn’t even know? Where did that fucking laïk even find you?”

I shrugged, how was I supposed to know any of this? I didn’t choose to get kidnapped.

“Well, you’re stuck now. I’ve never heard of a mortal crossing over, let alone going back. Quite fascinating! Definitely worth studying. Oh, not that I’d let you leave, just to be clear. Not after paying that scum three cycles worth of wages!”

“Would you let me pay you back? I really am hard worker!” The words spang out of my mouth before I could stop them. The demon glanced back at me, a grimace plastered on his face.

“You don’t realize the situation you are in, do you? Just because I got you away from that laïk, doesn’t mean I’m a good guy. Yeah, we’ll put you to work, but there’s no ‘paying off’ anything, pet.

My blood ran cold. For a moment, the demon in front of me seemed emphatic, charming even. I had hoped…

“Sorry pet, You're under contract. The only way to get out is if all three of you masters agree to release you. Don’t get your hopes up.

Three?

The question must have been written on my forehead.

“You’ll meet the others soon enough. As for me. Just call me master, and I’ll call you Pet. keeps things nice and simple.”

“My name is Noah.” I almost growled. If this purple hotchpotch really believed I’d call him ‘master’, he had another thing coming.

The demon mouthed my name, before shaking his head and shaking his tail.

“Yeah, no. Arman will probably enjoy calling your by name, but I like to keep things professional.”

Calling me Pet was keeping things professional?!

“You mention this ‘Arman’ an awful lot, is he… Is he one of the others?” I inquired.

“Peeked your interest, have I? Very well. I suppose the sooner you know, the sooner you can acclimate. Arman is chancellor over at the palace. Your third master Governs the royal guard, as for me,- I am the royal court magician.” The black tail did a wipe sweep as the demon in front of me took a small bow. Considering my current status, he probably shouldn't have, but after he added a theatrical twirl, I failed to take it seriously anyway.

“Magician? So you perform card tricks?”

That one got me my rope wrenched on. I almost fell face first in the dirt, but ended up bumping into his chest as he glared down at me.

“You wanna fuck around and find out, Pet?” His eyes gave off an eerie glow. My heart skipped a beat, and not wholly out of fear. Giving myself a swift reprimand, I adamantly shook my head. No thank you, sir. I had no clue what the demon holding my leash was capable of, but if he could scare Antelope, perhaps I shouldn’t get too comfortable teasing the guy.

“Hmm, smart girl. Now, keep your eyes down as we enter the palace. There’s a lot of hungry demons out there, and I really don’t want to start a fight over an impulse buy.”

(A little brain curl I had the last couple of days. The original storyline of Dreameaters is very different, but the characters remain true to how they originally are, with Jusan (the puple Demon), being a loveable asshole. He is also the Canon romence interest, so he's perfect to take the lead and rescue poor Noah from the merchant. I DO NOT CONDONE OF SLAVERY. Hope You enjoyed. :) No Nsfw at the moment, But Nsfw is planned.)