Shady

"I'm sorry," Pratik murmured. He couldn't help but wonder if that was partially his own fault -- Roland putting the other slaves far away from where Pratik would be so ...

Pratik decided to try his luck in making a friend, now that they were one on one. "... Did he tell you what your job is going to be?"

A good sign. Pratik didn't risk a smile. Instead, he bowed his head and walked to the room Roland told him to go to.

Pratik eyed him warily, but kept his expression neutral. He had no doubt of his ability to play his role here well. That he'd be able to fool Tarr with ...

Pratik smirked crookedly. " You don't know who I really am." He bowed slightly then started for the door.

"Alright." Pratik stood up. "Consider me at your disposal if there's a way I can be of help. Otherwise, I plan to keep my head down and mouth shut."

"Yes," Pratik answered. "I made up a story about my daughter getting kidnapped and how... he would use the money he got from my sale to ransom her back. I... ...

Pratik hesitated, biting his lip. "We might have a problem, then. The others saw me leaving..." He was wary of so much as whispering Ash's name. "... when my chains ...

"Excellent," Pratik answered. That made things far easier than expected. "Anything I should know?"

"How often will I see you?" Pratik asked, wondering how easy it would be to slip him information when he got any.

"Yes," Pratik answered quietly, thanking the gods that it was the right man. Maybe he shouldn't have cursed them quite so much during his bath. Then he lifted a shoulder. ...

"Twenty-two," Pratik answered. He decided to risk it. At best, this was Roland. If it wasn't, the man would likely think the code was nonsense. Unless Pratik got particularly unlucky, ...

(Thanks! I'll go refresh my memory on that in a minute) "Aren," Pratik answered, the lie rolling smooth off his tongue. He looked the man over, trying to assess if ...

(Did we come up with a fake name for Pratik? I remember he’s pretending to be illiterate but otherwise can’t remember lol also sorry for the delay! I’m road tripping ...

(Thanks for the heads up! Good luck with it ^-^ ) Pratik realized he’d never noticed that slaves had chains on them at all times. He’d thought the chains were ...