The Beast Within Us

Chapter 8: ↭ Yara & ⑄ Chala

↭Yara had begun to answer the Hewan woman but before anything could leave her lips, a group of her soldiers disturbed their secluded bubble of peace. They were leading two large draft horses, presumably to tether them to the caravan for travel. The soldiers nodded respectfully to their warden, and eyed Chala with equal looks of disgust and distracting curiosity. Yara's lip pursed as they began quietly harnessing the geldings and her coal gaze found Chala once more.

"How about we get you cleaned up and fed before we get back on the road?"

Yara took Chala's arm in her delicate grasp and helped her to her feet. Any premonition of fear was delicately masked before her banners. Yara was careful not to leave the chain behind, she unlocked the bolt and held the heavy steel in her free hand as she corralled the Hewan at the end of the chain to the nearby inn.

The inside of the inn was quiet, as expected in the early hours of the day. Yara nodded lightly to the startled innkeeper, who stared wide-eyed at the disgruntled Chala. Pulling the Hewan along at a hasty pace, the pair found themselves in Darryn's rented room in the inn.

Darryn turned to greet them, shirtless and a look of surprise on his face. His muscular chest glistened at them as Yara took in the scene before her. There was a steaming washbasin of hot water and swirled with milky soap in the corner of the room, presumably for Darryn.

Yara gave a tight nod at the setup and relaxed the grip on Chala's chain.

"Darryn, find our ward some new clothes. We will be confiscating your bath, unfortunately. She is in a much more desperate need of it. Also, ring the innkeeper for some breakfast. We will need our strength for the travel to come."

Darryn quickly found his shirt and gave a swift bow to his warden. She was using her official tone with him and he knew she meant business.

"As you wish, my lady."

Yara waited outside the door for Chala to bathe. The wardeness had checked the room before leaving her, making sure there was no way the Hewan could make a hasty escape while she stood on the opposite side of the wooden door. Darryn had returned with a fresh set of breeches and a cloth shirt, the freshly pressed linens she slipped inside the door quietly.

The innkeeper had brought around a tray with their meals on it shortly after and Yara balanced the weighted platter on her palm while she rapped on the door with her other hand.

"Are you decent?" ↭

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⑄ Chala awaited the answer to her question patiently. She leaned forward slightly, curious as to what the Warden would tell her and wondering if she could somehow use it her advantage; even being a simple maid would be enough to set escape plans in motion. Just as Yara's lips parted to speak, however, two soldiers walked by leading along horses in preparation for something. They sneered at her as they passed, but the hewan held their gaze with unwavering confidence, long enough, even, that the two men grew unsettled by her unflappable demeanor and looked away first. The entire encounter made the tigress chuckle. Turning back, coal eyes met feline grey again.

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A bath and food had sounded wonderful - being dragged around by the arm did not. 'And that damn chain...' It rattled with every step they took, and the sound had long since grown grating on Chala's sensitive ears. The day she was rid of it was the day she'd hug the Warden. At the rate Yara was going, that day would never come.

The woman in question continued to lead her hewan servant forward by the arm, guiding them between the many caravans and into the nearby village. Chala's tail lashed in irritation. She'd no idea where the Lady Wheiler was taking her, making it difficult to read her movements. Her perceptiveness was her saving grace in this instance, keeping her from crashing into the other woman when confronted with abrupt stops or sharp turns.

Chala was relieved when they finally reached the inn - it meant that Yara would finally let go of her arm and that she'd get her bath and food soon. The prospects of these things did wonders for her mood, lightening it considerably. Not even the gawking of the startled innkeeper nor the wary glances and whispers of his patrons could darken it in that moment.

When they entered the room, the tigress was surprised to see the sandy haired man from the day before. She'd written him off as one of the many faceless soldiers under the Warden, but he obviously held some importance to Yara. A person wouldn't seek out a specific individual multiple times if that were not the case. Chala learned his name was Darryn.

As soon as Darryn set off to find her new clothes, the tigress wasted no time stripping to climb into the water - it wouldn't stay warm forever. The chain shook as she removed the top half of the rags she called clothes. It stayed connected to her collar and rubbed up against the side of the bath whenever she moved, and Chala was beginning to believe it was some new torture tactic for hewani specifically.

She bathed for as long as she could, washing away the dirt from anywhere she could reach. Holding her breath and submerging her head, she even scrubbed away the sweat and grime from her hair, souvenirs from her days as a dungeon rat.

When the time came to get out Chala shook her tail dry and wrung out her hair, leaving the rest of her body damp as she hadn't been given anything to wipe down with. The girl moved to examine the new clothes she'd been given. The shirt went on first and then the pants, and a moment was taken to tear a hole where her tail would go. It wouldn't do to have her breeches hanging so low off her hips to accommodate; to do so would be cumbersome and might give off the wrong message to those looking for such things.

The smell of food reached her nose long before the knock on the door or the Warden's inquiry. Eager to eat, the hewan girl responded without hesitation.

"Yes, I'm finished."

She was handed rice porridge of some sort, with little pieces of meat throughout. A wooden spoon lay already inside the bowl, and she was even given a reasonably sized piece of bread along with it. It was enough to make the very hungry hewan a very happy girl. Chala hadn't eaten in so long, an apple would've been a meal in her eyes. Silence lorded over the two as they ate, and the tigress sat as far as she could from the other woman without causing suspicion. The last thing she wanted was to hear that word and endure what it brought.

Eating in the presence of a stranger was odd and uncomfortable for the girl. She'd always sought out solitude when she dined - it was one of those inexplicable things particular to tigers of her kind. An innate quirk she never questioned. Chala finished rather quickly, equally do to said feeling and general hunger. Some seconds passed before either of them decided to break the silence. Surprisingly enough, it was the tigress who did so.

"You never told me what you wanted from me, Warden...or perhaps you do not know?" ⑄