Ever his demure and patient self, Joseph politely smiled at the human and listened to his pointless chatter with the expected silence. He personally disliked Orion Williams for several reasons. The slaver was not particularly cruel to his “acquisitions,” but he would still do just about anything to them or sell them to anyone for a profit. He was the CEO of a corporation that employed its own private mercenaries to track down and root out Resistance cells, often receiving small bounties from the government, but more importantly, allowing them to keep and sell the slaves that they captured.
More personally, Mr. Williams had been trying to buy Joseph from his home and family for the last decade. His appearance at an auction like this always spurred a few calls to the Vandros household asking to purchase him, but Orion was certainly the most persistent. Of course, the vampire knew that his master would never sell him, even to a relatively tolerable owner like Orion, but he still found himself irrationally worried at the attempt.
Nevertheless, the slave followed Orion Williams through the crowd, expertly hiding his distrust of the man. Regardless of his own opinions, he had no desire to cause trouble in this environment. Besides, Mr. Williams did often procure some of the most rare and beautiful creatures that Joseph had ever come across, the exact kind of creatures that Master Alexi often preferred to purchase.
When they reached the cage, Joseph watched the creature's actions carefully, meeting his bright green eyes for the briefest of moments. Remarkable. A M'Tinak. I've never seen one at any auction before. He's gorgeous, and incredibly fierce. And he despises that cage. A wild individual like that is not meant for the chains of this life. No one is. But he hid his shock with his usual grace and turned to Orion.
“Impressive. Quite a unique acquisition you've found. What are you asking for him?” he questioned, speaking with confidence although he still did not quite meet the human's eyes.
~*~*~
Day 4? (I think.)
I feel absolutely ridiculous writing this. I should be trying to find a way to escape, or reading background information on Alexi's company, or... Well, fuck, I don't fucking know. I've already exercised myself as much as I can without pushing myself to exhaustion or breaking half the room. How much I wish I could go for a run right now. Before I was captured, I had not really and truly had a day off since I became Leader, 54 years ago. It's so strange to have nothing useful that I can do now, except read, and read some more, and write this stupid journal.
I still don't know what to think about Alexi. Damnit, I want to trust him. I want more than anything for his insane plan to be true, but I don't know. I have allowed this, but ultimately I'm trusting a man who still has me locked in a room, wearing slave clothes and a collar around my neck. It's downright absurd.
And these damn emotions! I am strong, confident, loved, adored, admired... and none of that is me. It's much closer to the person I wish I was. The person I have to project to inspire confidence in my men and women. They can't see how much I doubt every decision, how much I lie awake at night remembering those deaths. They can't see any of that. But Alexi will now, now that I let him into my head. I asked for him to prove that he was trustworthy, that he was telling the truth, not to take this potion and share my burdens. If he is telling the truth, then I certainly don't want to kill him. Is this honestly how he feels all the time? Where can I have his life? Ha.
I enjoy the sensation, on some level. But on the other hand, I hate having a set of emotions that's not really mine in my head. It may not be breaking, and it may be pleasant, but its still kind of wrong that Alexi was willing to force this on me. Don't think that I won't let him have a piece of my mind on that too. He'll want me to distribute his damn antidote that he claims to have. (I guess I have to accept that that's true as well now...) Doesn't he realize that I can never go back after how terribly I failed? I led us right into a trap. There's no way in hell that they will take me back as Leader now, not after that. I've lost their trust.
But, alas... perhaps I can get answers. If Alexi is honest, then maybe I can help him in other ways. I don't relish seeing him suffer in my emotions... I should be thinking about ways that I cope with my emotions. I guess it's mostly training and fighting... and staying so busy that I don't have time to realize just how messed up I am. I wear a mask of the perfect Leader and push the real me down. And when it gets too much, I rant and rave to Raelin. He spots me while I train... and then when I need a hand on my shoulder to remind me I'm not alone, he's there.
I want to know the rest of his plan... I could refine it with him. Help him see that he needs another liaison. I can't lead again, but I know those who could. I have contacts who could still trust me enough to work with the antidote.
And there he is. That insane man, who might just be the most incredible person I've ever met. I hope your insane confidence is no where near as unfounded as it seems.
“Hello, Alexi,” the vampire began, walking up to the lord of the house. “You look terrible. Not as good at hiding it as you think. What's wrong?” he asked, immediately shattering any illusions the human might have thought he was portraying.