"Good. That's what they said he'd do," Saul muttered, sloppily stacking the papers he'd been reading and putting them back inside the case. "You finish your chores then and go back out to make sure he's not doing anything stupid." He paused, working his jaw back and forth thoughtfully. "Might oughta get a wet cloth and clean up his face and stuff. Nothing too thorough. Just so he don't look so rough. Check and see if he's got any wounds that could get infected and make sure they're treated good. I'll probably get a medic to come give him a thorough check later."
“Yes, Master.” She said, then scrubbed the plate a bit more vigorously. Though one would never say they were envious of a slave, Sawyer was really getting some good treatment today. Just being cared for, even for a moment, in any kind of way, meant a whole lot here.
She picked up a towel, now needing to dry and put away all the dishes. This was even more stressful than worrying about breaking a dish while washing it. Especially since she could drop a dish on the floor, which would really set off her day and give her even more work.
Past the small envy Ayano had, she was glad for Sawyer. He’d probably been through all of this kind of stuff anyway, but she understood how it felt when you were cleaned up just a bit. That kind of feeling was like no other, in this world with no love and no freedom, where only your anger can warm your heart.
Saul was quiet for several long seconds, as if he were thinking. "Imma go back out for a bit. There's some more stuff I gotta do. Make sure all of those chores are done by the time I get back, would ya? And keep an eye on the new guy when you can." Saul knew good and well they'd never get Sawyer back if he got out. And if they did, it would be a lot of trouble and stress. "Just make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. He shouldn't, but you never know. I'll be sending Gus down to give me an estimate and tell me whether or not I got ripped off. If he shows up, show him this." He patted the case with Sawyer's papers in it.
Gus was known for being one of the wealthiest slave-dealers around, and most people considered him an expert when it came to matters like this. Personality wise, he was an odd case– not as angry or irritable as guys like Saul, but sometimes creepier in that he was too laid-back for a guy who sold other human beings for a living.
Ayano looked back for a moment, making sure she knew which case was important.
“Yes, Master.”
If Saul was going out again for a ‘bit’, that could be anywhere from between 30 minutes to 2 hours. He was also going to send Gus here, which was okay. Gus was a bit more manageable to be around, but there was something off about him.
However, now Ayano had a intangible time limit so she’d need to hurry up. For now she could just clean the main rooms, and then all she’d left for the end was the bedroom.
Before she’d finish with all the dishes she decided she could probably collect Sawyer’s. But she’d wait a few minutes after Saul left, since she needed it to look like she was really into her cleaning.
(Sorry! I've been on hiatus)
Saul sniffed absently before disappearing through the door again, headed God-only-knew where. One never really knew with that man.
Gus was a different story. Saul was a middle-aged, broad-shouldered, muscular man with a bit of a gut and shaved-short hair. He was intimidating, but he wasn't remotely endearing.
Augustus– better known as Gus– was odd in that he was far younger than Saul– not even quite thirty years old yet– and had already become the greatest slave dealer around. He with more appealing features– an angular face, with sea-green eyes, and short, well-kept stubble that usually lined his jaw. He was lean and well muscled, with tattoos snaking his solid arms, and his dark chocolate-brown hair was usually tugged back into a slick ponytail. His outfit was generally the same– sleeveless shirt, loose jacket, beige cargo pants, a belt with a variety of utilities on it, and a bandanna around his neck. He carried a whip with him just about everywhere he went, because he was a slave dealer, after all.
And this is precisely how he would look when he arrived today, too.
(It’s all good. No worries!)
~
As soon as Ayano was sure Saul was gone, she rushed quickly about, making sure she got the medical kit and the cleanest cloth and water she could. She couldn’t waste a single moment, especially if Gus was getting here.
She wouldn’t know how long he’d be here for and she needed to finish everything before Saul got back. Though, she knew she probably wouldn’t have enough time to treat any wounds Sawyer might have.
The best she could hope for right now … was that she’d get to clean him up a bit and take his dishes.
Ayano pushed the door to the slave pens open, her heart pounding louder and faster because of her rushing about.
She could probably just put the medical kit next to the cages, to make it more convenient for her. She’d just have to make it in and out before anyone showed up, since she also really didn’t want to have to clean Sawyer with Gus there.
Much to her disappointment, Ayano listened to more footsteps, knowing Gus was already here.
It would be annoying to try and keep everything she did quiet, and who knew how long she’d have. If she spent too long trying to be quiet, then Saul could be back and she’d really hear it.
Sawyer was sitting on the ground next to his empty dishes when Ayano arrived, and his gaze snapped up to meet hers. He must've noticed that she was in a rush, because his brow furrowed slightly. He started to say something, but he cut himself off at the sound of footsteps that marked the arrival of a tall man Sawyer had seen at the market before.
Gus was one of the few people left in the country who actually owned a vehicle. As old and rusty as it was, it ran just fine, which was how he'd managed to get here not too long after Saul's departure. He was accompanied by two hired men– or were they slaves?
Definitely slaves, considering the unmistakable branding marks seared onto each of their left cheeks. But apparently they were pretty obedient slaves, because he didn't have them bound or chained, yet they followed him anyway. That was impressive, considering one of them was 6'5 and looked like he could wrestle a bear and win.
Gus started to the front door first, but he must've heard the gate to the slave pens open, because he redirected himself that way, humming lightly as he strolled over to them.
"Ah, there you are." Whether he was referring to Ayano or Sawyer was unclear, but the fact that he sounded far too lax and far too friendly for Sawyer's taste stood firm. "Good afternoon, love."
This in itself was normal behavior for Gus. He called every woman love, and and he called just about every man gent. It tended to make people either comfortable or uncomfortable to one extreme or the other, and he personally enjoyed both.
Ayano quickly turned to face Augustus, and bowed her head in greeting.
What would she do now? She could just leave everything here and take the dishes. She couldn’t get in his way and she needed to get everything else done. She also had to get that box, probably with Sawyer’s paper, for Gus now too, since he’d shown up. So she could take the dishes out of the way, and then get the papers.
That seemed like the best option, to get everything out of the way and get out of there. Everything needed to be done before Saul returned, which also meant tending to Sawyer. He’d also said that he would send a medic, but who knew when that would happen.
So, following the best course of action, she set everything down out of the way, and quickly picked up the tray of dishes.
“I’ll go get the papers for you.”
Ayano bowed her head again, and went to get the case that Saul had pointed out.
"Alrighty," Gus responded, inviting himself into Sawyer's pen. "Hello there, gent."
Sawyer didn't respond, but rather just eyed the stranger.
One of Gus's men carried a clipboard with him with a bunch of loose papers sloppily clipped to it. That would be where the evaluation would be recorded, since that's what Gus was here to do. Evaluate Sawyer and determine how much he was worth, whether or not Saul got a good deal– and, if he didn't, how to improve his slave in order to increase the value.
Gus waited patiently for Ayano's return, nodding slightly as she brought him the case. "Thank you, thank you– Anaya or something, right?"
She held out the case, “Ayano. Please let me know if you need anything else.”
She dared not make eye contact with anyone other than Augustus, and then, making sure it broke quickly.
Now, it was back to cleaning and hoping Gus would be gone soon. Cleaning could so much easier if Ayano was allowed to use that fancy equipment the rich people had. She wouldn’t have to do everything by hand, bruising up her knees and burning up her skin with whatever things she cleaned with. She didn’t even have gloves.
At least by now, some of the dishes would be a bit dryer. Anything that made cleaning easier was a good thing, no matter how small. Especially since, the less work she had, the faster it could get done, and the safer Ayano could feel. If she could feel safe anyway.
Gus was there for awhile. It's hard to say what happened after Ayano left, but Gus must not have needed anything else from her, because he never came and asked for her. Actually, it's not hard to say what happened after Ayano left, because Gus had a system that he followed thoroughly for testing each slave. It wasn't good, either. Not for the slave in question, anyways. Different slaves were valuable for different reasons, which meant they had to be evaluated from every aspect.
Needless to say, no slave liked being evaluated.
Since the following events were quite harrowing for Sawyer, he doesn't like to think about them all that much.
When Gus did come, almost a couple hours had passed. He gently tapped his knuckles against the door to Saul's house before inviting himself in, since Saul wasn't home yet anyway. "Alright. The evaluation is complete," Gus announced calmly, humming lightly to himself as he walked the case and the papers over to Saul's counter and deposited them there. "He's… an odd case, that one. Let ol' Saul know I scribbled down everything he needs to know." Gus tapped his fingers against the pad of paper.
Ayano was nearly panicking as a third hour approached, knowing an evaluation shouldn’t take any longer. She wasn’t called out either. The only good thing about this was that she was pretty well done all her chores.
Her heart skipped a beat when Gus came back, glad he was ready to leave but also surprised at the sudden noise.
Ayano went to take back and the case and papers so that she could put them away.
“I will let him know, thank you.”
She probably should leave Augustus’s notes out for Saul though, since he’d need to read them. So she brought those to a table.
She could finally clean up Sawyer though, and then she’d need to wash the cloth and put away the medical kit. Hopefully Saul would be out a bit longer. So, once again she quickly went out to the slave pens.
"Thanks, love." Gus promptly left after that, as his work here was done for the day.
Sawyer was huddled in the back of the pen like a traumatized wild animal. Either he had disobeyed at some point throughout, or the evaluation required Gus to hurt him, because the fabric of his shirt was torn across the back of his shoulders, bloody marks of a whip left there. Fortunately, there weren't many. Not enough for him to bleed out or to be in any critical condition. God only knows what else happened. He glared at up at Ayano at the sound of footsteps, but his gaze softened a little when he saw that it was only her. Not Saul or Gus, at least.
There wasn’t much Ayano could feel for Sawyer, since most of this was just a routine. Only now she’d have more work to do.
She pulled the water, cloth, and medical kit back out and unlocked the pen gate.
“He’s gone now. Though I don’t know how much longer there’ll be until Master is back.”
Ayano knelt in front of Sawyer and squeezed out the extra water from the cloth. There was no sense in wasting any of it.
Could’ve whipped him a few less times and made my work a lot easier, Augustus…
Gus definitely had something off about him and it definitely had something to do with that whip.
She held up one of Sawyer’s arms and started to clean up his wounds. His shirt was torn now too, and he probably wasn’t getting another one real soon. She could try and patch it maybe … it would get cold out here at night. Or she could lend him something. She’d for sure get caught doing that though.
The numbness was mutual. But being numb wasn't much better than being pained.
Sawyer's expression didn't change much as she cleaned his wounds, but he did flinch subtly, and he had to make a conscious effort not to recoil from her touch.
He was silent for the first few minutes, but he finally mustered up the courage to ask a question. "This master. He is an angry man?" He sounded relatively calm, his voice as hollow as ever.
She blinked, “I would say yes. As long as you do what he says, it’s okay. He’s pretty easy to irritate, but he should be in a good mood for now. He’s been incredibly positive today …” she trailed off.
Sawyer was probably- definitely here for different reasons than Ayano. He wouldn’t stay here for long, just serve his purpose and move on to the next master.
“Uh, can I take your shirt off so I can properly clean your wounds?”
Though she didn’t care about this, she could very well sense that Sawyer needed some distance. She didn’t really have a choice to do anything else about this though. However, getting Sawyer’s permission was something Ayano needed to … reassure herself.
"Yes." Sawyer peeled his shirt off without objection. Frankly, he'd been forced to strip down so many times in his life that he'd lost any sense of shame about being naked altogether, so taking off his shirt was no big deal at all. His entire torso was absolutely covered in scars, though. Whips marks, knife wounds, bullet holes, burns. The back of his right shoulder had a brand mark burned into it– the signet of whatever pack had initially captured him.
"I'll be careful not to irritate this master," he responded dully, though he didn't know how much it mattered at this point. He almost wished someone would just put a bullet in his skull and get it over with already.
Ayano expected as much from Sawyer. Though, he was much more scarred than Ayano thought he’d be. But not by a lot.
“I was guessing you’d say that. It’d be nice if you were a bit more human, but that’s asking for a lot isn’t it? It’s nice that you’re at least talking to me. So … thank you.”
Ayano shut her mouth abruptly, and clenched her jaw. It was all good if Sawyer felt comfortable, if that’s what this could be called, but Ayano would never come to terms with this. She regretted asking him to take off his shirt, which would only bring up pretty horrible memories. She’d have to suck it up for now though, since these were her orders.
Above that, she was glad there was any kind of conversation. Especially since it got lonely when you keep on talking to yourself.
"More human?" Sawyer echoed. He glanced at her his brow furrowing just a little, like maybe he was confused. "What do you mean?" He paused, his expression softening. "You mean more responsive? More emotional?" He looked down at the ground and swallowed. "Yes. That would be nice. But I'm not allowed such luxuries."
Ayano gave a bit of a dismissive nod, not really absorbing anything that he said. Now she was just focused on getting this done, and covering Sawyer up again.
She needed to stay attentive so that she didn’t worsen any of the wounds, but her focus went past that and straight to zoning out.
She was cleaning up to the neck now, facing only more scars and brandings.
She’d probably need to stay out here tonight, which was a win for her and also not. Saul was in a good mood today though, so it might not be as bad.
Sawyer was quiet as she cleaned his wounds, only occasionally twitching or flinching when she happened upon an extra sore one. The scars no longer hurt, so he didn't care much for them. The brandings? Well, he couldn't see most of them. Truth be told, he didn't know what most of them even looked like. And he didn't care.
He observed her actions curiously, almost like a child watching someone work, but he didn't dare break the silence. He merely watched. Observed. Thought.
In the meantime, Saul returned, though he went straight inside rather than bothering with going to the slave pens. He was interested in reading Gus's report, as he was sure by now it had to be done.
She unknowingly held her breath.
For sure she didn’t want to make any eye contact, and it annoyed her when Sawyer flinched but she had nothing to say.
Saul should be back by now, Ayano guessed. He wouldn’t be gone any longer than this, so she needed to get out of there a bit faster.
She was left to cleaning and patching up his face now, and she chewed her inner cheek. She needed to think about something else now … maybe her chores. That was probably her best option. She’d need to decide on what she’d make Saul today too.
After rubbing some cream onto his forehead, Ayano blinked realizing she was slowing down.
She leaned back and slapped herself before quickly gathering everything together, and getting the pen shut.
“I’ll probably have to stay out here tonight and keep checking on you.” She bowed her head instinctively as she left.
"Alright." Sawyer crossed his legs beneath him Indian-style– which seemed to be his favorite position for some reason, because that's often how he chose to sat. When he wasn't huddled up in the corner like an abused dog, that is.
Saul was inside, puffing a cigar (which were expensive these days) and reading over the notes. He was frowning, but he always frowned when he thought, so this wasn't abnormal. "Oh, Ayano," he said as she entered. "There you are. What the heck have you been doing?"
Ayano tried to not trip over her words, “Augustus was evaluating the new slave, so I was delayed in cleaning him up. Everything is done now.”
Ayano now saw Saul, who appeared to be in really good mood, smoking. That was both a good thing and a bad thing.
She hoped that it hadn’t been too long since he’d returned, so that he would still be in a good mood. As it turns out, she did a lot hoping over anything else.
She held onto the medical kit handle a bit tighter than before, and bowed her head. She already felt a lot of tension from that question, though it might not be told bad. Which was just her hoping even more.
Saul puffed on his cigar. "Alright. Well, then finish any chores you have leftover," he grumbled, lazily motioning to the room around him. He didn't bother noting whether she actually had any chores left or not, because he was in a good mood. And distracted by the notes. "Did he say anything weird to you?" he inquired randomly, glancing up at her.
