PISTOLS AT DAWN // DOUBLE-JOINING

[BONESAW]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-size: 9.4pt; line-height: 1.4;"]//please wait for Tydeus!

Survival was just something you did. If you thought about it, then you weren't doing it right, and in his merry band of fire-starters and killers, going soft was the worst offense. Back-stabbing was expected, encouraged; playing nice wasn't in their conduct, and when Bones brought Tydeus in the first day, they'd whooped and snickered. But once Tydeus wasn't resisting as much as he had initially, the shows of violence were cut back. He didn't need to raise a paw to the lion, but that was seen as an excessive kindness, evidence of Bones' softening. When a leader was seen as unfit, they were deposed -murdered- and whoever was left after that encounter fought for control. That was how it would have went when they'd come to an agreement Bones had gone weak, but refraining from beating a slave was very, very removed from throwing around opponents. Which he did. They went in pieces.

It was a bloodbath, and the only ones to walk away from the shitshow had been Bones and Tydeus, who remained his usual self. Sometimes that meant he was too mouthy for Bonesaw's tastes, and he never kept himself from fixing that little error in judgment. But he didn't get satisfaction out of it. The process was a correctional one. If Bones wanted to get his rocks off in that department, there were plenty of fish in the sea to tear apart. Not that this was an ocean of anything but sand.

A remark from his side, something along the lines of, "this place is hell, you'll fit in great."

"I didn't think you were interested in swallowing a cactus," the lion drawled at the comment, a very pointed, "shut up unless you want to eat needles."

[TYDEUS]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 1.4;letter-spacing:.1px"]To say that he agreed with Bones on anything would feel like exactly what Tydeus avoided in every encounter with him. Some kind of punishment. A mini version of hell. But for this, at least, he did agree. Survival was some deep-rooted instinct, something you only thought about when there were no other options. It only ever crossed his mind when he was backed into a corner — at the end of the day, what was worse? Dying at Bonesaw's feet, or shutting his mouth? It had only been bad at first. The lion quickly learned that if he behaved, he'd be alright. So, for survival, he'd behaved. There were a few moments where his pride still got the best of him and he snapped out something sarcastic (maybe just to prove that he wasn't fully broken? probably), but for the most part, Bones hadn't had a reason to hurt him. That was... an agreement, sort of. One nobody else really liked, and some part of him knew that everyone else wanted a show out of it. They'd wanted him bloody and weak but still trying, just for the laughter. Or maybe — maybe that's him looking back now and saying that they must have. Really, he'll never know for certain. They're dead now, left for vultures and the dirt.

In some sick, uncomfortable way, Tydeus is grateful for that. There were a thousand different options when people started muttering about weakness. Give them what they'd wanted in the first place, leave him gingerly treating his own injuries whenever he could. Or Bones could have killed him, made his point and started the process over with someone new. Instead, the larger lion had taken it out on everyone else, and he can still remember how messy everything had been. How his heart had seized and then fled from his chest when it was Bones left standing. If he'd died, that meant freedom, but — well, not for long. He imagined he'd have made a pretty entertaining party favor for a group of monsters like that. He's certain he wouldn't have made it out of that alive.

So he's grateful instead of upset, scared and grateful and feeling sick because of the implications of either of those feelings. He shouldn't be grateful, he knows that. So Tydeus bites out something smart after a long silence, even though the part of him that has been molded and trained is already prepared to ask for forgiveness. But Bones is the same stone wall about it, though the danger doesn't skate over him. He grinds his teeth and looks away, though a harsh try it is burning on his tongue.

"Sorry," he forces out, and that's that.

[EROS]

[align=center][div style="text-align: justify; width: 55%; font-family: georgia; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: -1px; color: black"]The large beast was no stranger to slavers and their toys. His own servitude had been spent with his head shoved to the ground and forced to do labor that no other would dare touch. It was the manual labor that was left for the slaves to do. Cleaning, working, building, being punching bags. Any slip ups and there were punishment and even if there weren't any slip ups slaves were the go to for the releasing of anger. Yes, he understood that very well from his former master Dante and how he used to beat him without so much as a glance to see if he had actually done anything wrong. His worse scars had come from the whipping, the lacerations that spread over his back like wildfire, tore open his back with angry lacerations and in the end he'd been out of his mind with pain and delirious. He was grateful for those that had helped him in that time but he had to find his own way when they had moved off to live somewhere else. A slave that was left behind was normal, natural. If they couldn't make it then what use were they? Even now the tiger sized canine carried wounds on his form from a recent fight. Body tense as pain leaked it's way through his torn shoulder and slit skin on his side and flank.

Though a limp wasn't evident anymore since he was healing but the only reason he was out here now was because he had heard voices. His sense spread out far beyond the norm that allowed him to listen to the thudding of well hearts and the sliding of blood through veins. He hadn't eaten in a while and he sighed lowly before he came over a rise and spotted the two males. His gaze wept over the both of them, pink marble hues focused on the cream-pink lion for a moment as the vocals of 'sorry' reached his ears. Tilting his head a little the sha stepped forward as that ominous smoke swirled around his form, forked tail sliding against the ground as he lifted his collared neck up just slightly. The former slave would watch them with slight intrigue before he settled down then. "Can I help you...? His voice trailed off softly, not bothered by the wind that threw up sand or the desert heat. He'd lived here too long for that.

[BONESAW]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-size: 9.4pt; line-height: 1.4;"]Bones was definitely aware of his other options for dealing with Tydeus. Another in his place would've strung his body up on a wall for decoration, or would've handed him over to the rest of the group to have their fun, might've even given them a show beforehand. He didn't disagree with those routes. He'd done it before, and that was just how things were for them. Surviving so long crossed a few wires, made violence entertainment, peace boring. Anything not completely ruthless was interpreted as softening, and if he'd wanted to keep his position at the top, if he'd wanted to keep his group, he would've chosen any option beyond allowing Tyd to sit fed and pretty with fewer and fewer punishments. But he hadn't had a reason. Slaves in the past were continuously disobedient as some kind of death wish, which he'd granted; others burned out and he gave them to the rest of the crew. Tyd could be mouthy, but not as outright rebellious, and he wasn't dragging himself around pitifully just yet.

The choice had been obvious, and misinterpreted by them all, except- could Bones say it was blamed on their misunderstanding? Because Tyd was unlike the other slaves for more than his personality. The lion didn't...like thinking about it. He skirted around every time, because even the slightest acknowledgment was the most terror inducing thing he'd ever faced, and he'd regularly earned scars from people bigger than him who thought they could win. This was different. Tyd was different.

The apology was forced, and his hazel gaze shifted over, considering for a moment if it was worth it to beat a better one out of him. The arrival of a large dog-creature steered his attention away, so without a word to Tyd, Bones faced the stranger. So polite. He almost laughed at it. "You the doormat?" Seemed like a slave, but not quite. Maybe he had been in the past. "Heard there was a group I have shared interests with. Wanted to see for myself."

[EROS]

[align=center][div style="text-align: justify; width: 55%; font-family: georgia; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: -1px; color: black"]A slight twitch of a blackened muzzle as the words from the stranger entered his ears. The doormat. His head tilted to the side a bit, eyes focusing on the lion as he allowed a small unheard breath to leave him. Was he insulted by the claim and question? No particularly because at one point he wouldn't have even questioned it. That had been his place at one point in his life, when he had been taken away from his parents. A young pup with nowhere else to go but the drive to survive and live even through being forced into slavery. But his expression remained neutral as he watched the other. Conflict wasn't something he started. It wouldn't gain him anything to start a fight with a stranger who was unknown to the Pitt. "No, I'm not the doormat. My name is Valkyr." His gaze slowly went to the cream-pink lion before he became almost dismissive, thoughts pushing to the back of his mind. It's not his business after all and so he allowed himself to stand up, looking partially down upon the lion.  "You can only see if you join... Visitors aren't well liked here."

Policies and principles. They didn't even treat injured animals upon the border with a kind courtesy so this would be no different. "What are your names?" There were two of them after all and he supposed it was only right to get their names and if they were joining the Pitt. Or else Esklav would have his head for sure for allowing someone in without due information. That wouldn't go well and he wasn't one to invoke the leader's wrath anyway. The large beast took a small measured step back turning his head to the side before he lifted a paw and pointed in some unknown direction. It was where the fortress was after all though he didn't say anything yet about that because he had to be sure of the intentions of these two, more the first than the second.

[TYDEUS]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 1.4;letter-spacing:.1px"]Whenever Tydeus did his job, he did it with the weight of his own obedience settled on his shoulders. For Valkyr, he was broken by the physical damage; he learned his place with his face in the dirt and their claws under his skin. But the lion had learned his place not when Bones put him down, but when he chose to stay there. The truth was that he could take the pain for as long as the other kept it up, right until the day he died. What he couldn't take was the knowledge that he chose not to. What was asked of him wasn't always painful or strenuous. Sometimes it was so simple and light that he fooled himself into believing that there would be no harm in listening — there was always harm. Every interaction was Tyd walking on a razor blade. He could get himself killed with one misstep. That fear hadn't set in right away. He'd been defiant, angry. Snapping jaws and snarls, like a feral animal rushing the bars of its cage. It took a few repeats for the unrelenting pain to settle in, and from then he'd almost made it easy.

Maybe Valkyr is right to call him a slaver's toy. Sometimes he wonders if that's what Bones sees in him, something entertaining. But if that were the case, he supposes that he couldn't be more entertaining than a group of people who shared his tastes. (At the same time, they seem to be easily replaced — why else would they be here? He shouldn't put any value on himself, so he doesn't.) Like the other lion, Tydeus finds it terrifying. All of it, everything. The fact that early on into this thing, he'd perk up a little bit whenever Bones unchained him, eat the food he offered without shame. When he stopped being a person and started being a house pet, and then when he started being something else. It's scary. He doesn't want to be different.

He can feel the stranger's eyes on him as Bones talks. Tyd doesn't look back, just stares at the ground and then glances up at the larger lion. "You shouldn't be asking me," he says quietly. There's no point in that.

[EROS]

[align=center][div style="text-align: justify; width: 55%; font-family: georgia; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: -1px; color: black"]Shouldn't be asking him? A slave that knew his place. The sha remembered saying things of the sort, bowing down to the one that held his chain. He remembered it because he had barely earned his freedom and that was only because of the recent leader change that happened here. It was brutal and yet, it had changed everything for him. He lifted his head up just a little bit as he gave out a light sigh, a rush of air that parted his jaws on a whim. "If I'm honest, I'd rather know your name than his." He spoke to the cream and pink colored lion, brutally honest because he didn't hold any fear. The only fear he could have was harming those he had befriended and being put back into iron and chains. His fear of becoming a slave again drove him to do things that he wouldn't have done when he had been bound. Some thought him hypocritical in his ways, but one mentality drove him over another. He wouldn't be put back, and he wouldn't be just a mere toy for anyone. They would see the use in him and he would one day be untouchable.

One day. Or he'd die trying. It was all that mattered to him and he allowed his glowing tongue to lightly tap against his teeth as he turned slightly and angled his head up. "This heat will be the death of us. So come one then. If you are joining us things should go well for the both of you...maybe." He'd take them and lead them on toward the fortress that housed the other pitt members and their slaves. And from there it was up to them to determine how they survived just like he had learned long ago.

[COSMIIX]

[BONESAW]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-size: 9.4pt; line-height: 1.4;"]The name went in one ear and out the other- he had no reason to remember it, because the guy didn't call himself a doormat but he certainly seemed like one, and the lion let his gaze wander from the mutt to the expanse of sand behind him. Nothing interesting still, even with the silhouette of the fortress, so he glanced back to Tydeus, hazel eyes unreadable. So they had to join. Quaint. Sounded like nothing special, and maybe he was too accustomed to the groups he used to run, but not much about this place was appealing. Sure, a desert could be an easy death trap, but he'd had plenty of fun disguising shit for fools to wander into. He wasn't seeing a reason not to just keep on their way. Subtlety wasn't his way, or the others'. Subtlety was shit when you could string up rotting corpses in pirouette poses, stack up heads on a pike or enforce every wall with the pelts of idiots who thought they could cross them and live. That was fun. Life was too short to stand around dully ass deep in sand- or to tolerate other people sticking their noses in places they didn't belong.

Bones straightened from his casual slouch, the tusks adorning his skull swinging as the bones stretched across his pelt scraped. "First things first, and I'm only gonna say this once, so if you really do have anyone else fucking around in this desert of yours, better spread the gospel." His gaze encompassed the two males before him, conscious of Tyd's place at his side and their interest. He'd torn throats out for looking too long in the past. "I know he's pretty, but you talk to him without my permission, I'm taking your tongue out through your ass. The closest you'll get to chatting him up is when I feed it to him."

Bones flicked his tail and walked around the pair, a signal for Tyd to follow on his other side. He surveyed the landscape a little bit longer, before snorting. "I doubt I'll need to bother. Seems like someone was telling tall tales about this place." He'd come here expecting more than a shadow, but then, these clan groups had never been that impressive. Bones had been looking forward to fresh meat.

[EROS]

[align=center][div style="text-align: justify; width: 55%; font-family: georgia; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: -1px; color: black"]Curious. He seemed like the type to get his ass handed to him before he even began but then again he didn't know his history. Simple threats didn't make the former slave fall back and he merely tilted his head a little bit. Perhaps this would become a game of sorts and he glanced his head back to look at the lion though there was no hint at how he felt at the situation. No, instead he merely just stared at him, watched as his apparel swayed back and forth. He was very much conscious of what passed for intimidation and what did and he'd lived long enough in the Pitt to understand how things played out here. "Once is enough for you I suppose but then again someone with property would have made his point sooner rather then later. Anyway, since you won't give us a name. Nor the name of the other I guess I'll just call you Dwindle. Seems appropriate and you..." His eyes flicked to Tydeus for a moment in thought as he turned his back on the both of them, gaze wandering over the form of Quill for a brief moment. "I think Blush will do. I was never good at giving nicknames. Regardless I'll see the both of you around. Maybe on patrol duty." With that the male turned and walked off to the fortress beckoning Quill to come with him since they both did have things to do.