Wolf RPG

A new man had entered the halls of Akashingo. Charles knew little of him, or why he was here; but he knew that he was at the bottom of the ranks. Honestly, the Prince had thought little of him or about him. Why should he care about some scrub entering the territories? Well, he didn't.

Charles awoke with a massive headache and he could feel his body ache for more berries already. The sharp warnings lay fresh on his mind, but he could not help himself; he was simply not very good at taking care of himself, let alone the demands of others. Besides, there was something inside of him that always pushed to try and see how far he could go. He didn't want Ramesses to grow angry with him, but — he kinda did, in a way.

damn, you messed up, Charles murmured under his breath. He smelled of berries and alcohol. The coywolf groaned as he hoisted himself up from his soft furs in his chambers and he slowly made his way out onto the corridor. There, he started to head towards the nearest bath. Hopefully a servant would be available. He needed to get himself cleaned, at least.

In the days that followed his deal being struck, Reyes had been given little down time to truly heal from his wounds, with much of his activities focused on servitude. The free time he managed to snag was spent being mended in quick rounds by Tavina or Nala, so his leg did heal (only slowly) and the rest of his injuries lost the bite of infection. They scabbed over. His leg left him with a limp he thought was extremely obvious, however none of the fellahin made mention of it. Reyes wouldn't let himself be slowed down in any regard; he had many months of work ahead of himself, and if he would find a way to escape all of it the sooner he was mended, deal or no deal.

Perhaps that was why they worked him so hard. There were various factors: Ramesses likely enjoyed having the man under his proverbial thumb, and Reyes had never been subservient to anyone in his life which made him resistant, but above all Reyes tended to work too fast (requiring a redo of his tasks so they were done properly and to the satisfaction of his watchers) or too hard (and suffered for it).

Today he was ordered to mind one of the nobles. The air outside of the man's quarters smelled familiar in that, Reyes knew what fermentation smelled like, and was once a fan of pirate mead or seaside grog, as a youth. This stuff that filled the air now was much the same: sweet, musty, and likely an intoxicant of some sort. The man the scent clung to dragged heel in to the corridor and Reyes caught sight of him.

A rangy fellow. He looked more like one of the fellahin than anything. A warm brackish coat with obvious 'I just woke up and I don't know where I've been' clumps and tangles; a brooding expression on his sharp face that Reyes had seen plenty of times on members of one crew or another.

You look like you've had better days. Reyes commented.

He hadn't meant to sound judgemental, more appraising, and a part of him was actually impressed someone this unhinged could survive within Ramesses' good graces.

Can I get you anything? Reyes asked next, more as an afterthought while he looked upon the man. He clearly needed water or something to stave off the pain of his hangover, but of all the lessons Reyes had picked up he knew not to make too many assumptions - sooner or later someone would give him an order and it was expected that the sanpin would follow through.

Of course he couldn't even get to the baths without someone interrupting him. Charles' bloodshot eyes shot up at Reyes in warning, but the warning seemed to slide off as he commented on Charles' state of being. The coywolf's eyes narrowed while he tried to think of a comeback. Words had never been his forte. Scuse you? he said sharply in the end, his eyes shooting daggers at the other. The praise in Reyes' words was lost to the coywolf, washed out by the many years of abuse that Charles had undergone. It coloured everything in a different light for him.

Charles decided to just move on, but then came the question. Whether he could get him anything. Charles' large ears perked up, and surprise flashed across his face briefly. Then he realised that this must be the man who had recently come to Akashingo. His mood seemed to improve somewhat, and he said, I need a bath. You can give it to me. He continued through the halls towards the baths where Tavina had initially cleaned him up, when he had first come to Akashingo himself. It was a mystery to Charles himself why he was still here and how he had come here; but he enjoyed the time and privilege given, nonetheless.

The offer hung for a moment while the man, in his unhinged state, took his time (maybe to consider his options, more than likely to gather his wits which he'd barely used, given how deep in his cups Charles had been of late); but when an answer came, it was not one Reyes expected. He knew his role here was a punishment - he was some sort of slave, beneath even the fellahin, but until this moment Reyes had always thought they were the slaves, and he was -- well, something else.

Something lower sure, but useful? Hardly.

Nala had shown him a few things. He'd seen the wellspring at least once for his own treatment, and once again to clean it, but never had he been told to wash someone. The thought of going near the water was unsettling - moreso than this task that now presented itself. Taking care of a hungover invalid? It wasn't beneath him so much as it was off his radar; but he had to adapt.

The sinuous man, leading the way down the hall, came to the entry to the spring and ducked inside. Reyes followed at a distance at first but when he came to the door he paused, sighed, and entered.

The room was spacious enough for many bodies, not including the actual bathing area, which could easily fit a man and a myriad of wifes or entertainment. The water fed in from one side; there were naturally formed hollows in the wall from where the water coursed over millenia, and dribbled down from some higher spots in a decorative manner which wasn't at all intentional. The majority of the water came from deep among the rocks; Tavina had mentioned as much once, as she'd toured him through the place. The river outside of Akashingo was what fed the spring.

Reyes watched the back of the man's head, and then his shoulders as he neared the stone slabs along the edge of the spring. They were arranged much like tables, or lounge spots, and Reyes wondered if Charles would take up a roost upon one of these or plunge amid the depths of the spring right off from the start. Reyes knew where some of the fragrant leaves and tinctures were stored (they'd passed the alcove where they were shelved when they entered); so if Charles requested such things, Reyes could fetch them.

For now he would be silent and watchful, listening for any cues - that's what Nala had said. They'll tell you what they want. You just do it quickly, and without fuss.

Unfortunately for Reyes, Charles often did not know what he wanted. Now was such a time. He was torn presently between two wants; to be drunk and react his own incompetence out on others, and to work towards getting rid of Lilitu and finding a wife that mattered and was good enough and would give him actual children. The prospect of the latter was what fueled him most of the time but it was also so daunting, and it paralysed Charles, sending him right back to his previous state a lot of the time.

He needed to change, though. As they arrived at the splendorous springs of Akashingo — to which Charles, by now, was blind because he was so used to them — Charles moved towards the water and he slunk into the spring, to where he was submerged only halfway, up to his belly.

Then the coywolf turned towards Reyes and looked at him expectantly, commanding without words.