Omens of Disgrace - Chapter Eight

So. Finally, I give you chapter eight of Omens! And, well, yeah. It's short and definitely not much to look at it. I'm not entirely sure where I was gonig with this one but, eh. Enjoy. Originally, Omens was for Tenyo's TLMS contest, though I haven't been an official contestant in a long time. Rogue For Life. <3  

Word Count: 1,668, approx.

   Chapter Eight

   Through the darkness of the tavern room, Devon could see Kaj sitting in the only chair in the room. He was slumped against the table, most likely asleep. Devon pushed up onto one elbow, winced as pain flared up in his side and made his arm tremble. He glanced down, looking for the bangle that was usually on his wrist, and was mildly surprised to find it gone. Someone must have stolen his bangles--unless Kaj or one of his men had taken them? He wasn't sure. Maybe he lost them? Then again, all of the bronze he wore should have been bespelled to stay on, or at least with him. They had to be close, then.

   He shifted to sit up, moving slowly so that the movement didn't bother his side and so that the noise didn't wake up Kaj. Devon sat on the edge of the bed for a long moment, taking in the room. The door was closed and so were the window shutters. He shifted his attention to the rest of the room, taking in the ball of pale blue light hovering over the table and illuminating Kaj's face. The other man's eyes were closed, face mushed up against his arms where he rested his head on them.

   Devon stared across the room at him, taking in Kaj's appearance. He looked kind of peaceful, sitting there with his head on his arms and fast asleep. Devon waited for a moment, watching carefully. When the other man didn't move, he stood up--a little stiffly--and shuffled towards the door where he could faintly see the bags Kaj had brought into the room the day before. He glanced towards Kaj, making sure the man was still at the table--and he was. Devon reached the bags and winced; he'd kicked one of them, and it had hurt.

   There was a moment of silence as Devon held his breath. He glanced back towards the other man. Kaj didn't move. Exhaling, he turned back to the bags. Devon knelt down slowly, grinding his teeth to keep in the little moan of pain. He didn't need anyone waking up and hearing him, least of all Kaj. Devon set about his snooping.

   The first bag contained clothes and various other items that weren't his. His bangles weren't there, either. Devon frowned and began shoving everything back into the bag, glancing back to check on the other man. He was still asleep, which was good. Devon threw the flap back over the bag, turning towards the other one. His side protested, but he tried to ignore it. Hopefully, he'd find what he was looking for in this one. Mainly his shoes and his bangles--he wasn't just giving those up. Not just yet.

   The second bag held his old clothes. Devon set them aside, turning back to pull more out. More clothes that weren't his but looked a lot like what he'd changed into, a large pouch full of something heavy--opening it revealed heap of gold coins--and piece of folded leather.

   Curious, Devon set it on his knee and proceeded to unfold the flaps of leather. One by one. Finally, he flipped open the last section and stared at his bangles. They were nestled in the leather, glinting at him in the low light. Devon stared at them, conflicted. They were no longer on him, binding him to the fate of being a slave. Why was he so obsessed with keeping them? With wearing them again? Was it because they were bespelled, or was it the sense of belonging he felt when he wore them? Devon wasn't sure. He felt... confused. 

   What was wrong with him? Disgusted, Devon tossed the leather and bangles away from him. They clattered into the wall and fell to the floor, settling swiftly. The noise made him freeze up. He had been trying to escape, and the metallic noise from the bangles had just made enough noise to wake the dead. He'd just ruined his attempt at escape. 

   "Shit!" Devon hissed, scrambling upright with a barely concealed groan of pain. He stumbled towards the door, half-blind in the semi-dark. He tripped over something and fell into the door--rather heavily, too. He flailed around for the door handle, trying to get the door open before Kaj woke up.

   The suddenly scrapping of wood against wood had Devon stiffening. He listened to the chair as it was pushed back, hand closing on the handle. Before he could open it, a hand closed down on his shoulder. Devon tensed. He hadn't heard Kaj move. Apart from the noise made by the wooden chair, the other man had been eerily silent.

   "Where do you think you're going?" Kaj's voice was quiet, conversational. There was no anger in his voice, no annoyance. Devon let his hand slid off the door handle. Kaj's grip tightened on his shoulder guiding him back a step. "You won't get far. I'm sure you knew this before you tried. Didn't I tell you?"

   Devon ignored him, letting the other man guide him back to the bed. He sat down heavily, avoiding Kaj's sharp gaze. "Can you blame me?" he asked, finally deciding to reply. Devon glanced up through his eyelashes to check on Kaj's reaction. Kaj looked taken aback for a brief moment before his expression closed down. Devon lowered his gaze again.

   "Why did you throw your bangles at the wall?" Kaj asked, hand still on his shoulder. The other man's grip had lightened up as soon as Devon was back on the bed. He sighed. "You can talk to me, you know."

   He brushed Kaj's hand off his shoulder, looking away to avoid his questioning gaze. Devon didn't really want to answer that, but he would probably have to. Did that mean he should tell Kaj why? Probably not, but there was no one else he could talk to at the moment, and he certainly wasn't talking to any of the men who followed Kaj.

   Devon took a deep breath and looked up, meeting Kaj's gaze. "I realised what they represented."

   Kaj looked confused for a moment, and then it seemed to dawn on him. He nodded. "Ah," Kaj said, as if it all made sense now--which it probably did. He sat down beside him on the bed, exhaled in a huff. "Well, now I understand why you threw them away." Kaj took a deep breath, his expression telling Devon that he was considering something. Devon waited. "But you still feel attached to them?"

   "Yeah," he muttered, chuckling--though it was without humour. "I guess you could say that." He shook his head, jerked a hand in the direction on the bronze jewellery he no longer wore. "I still feel like I should be wearing them, even though I clearly shouldn't."

   "You don't feel like a slave anymore?"

   Devon paused, giving Kaj a confused look. When he thought about it like that... Kaj had a point. It was... odd. He certainly didn't feel like one. Not anymore. Devon frowned, glancing away. Towards the bangles, incidentally. That made sense. Now, why didn't he feel like a slave anymore? Was it just the bangles...? Devon still felt conflicted.

   "There's no magic in them now," Kaj said, making Devon twist round to stare at him. The movement pulled his side and he winced. "I removed it."

   "You did?" he asked, surprised. Devon hadn't known that that was possible. He'd thought only a slave owner could disable the magic holding the slave hostage. Apparently, that wasn't the case. He was pleased. There was so much he could do with that knowledge now.

   Kaj nodded. "I did." He smiled, inclining his head towards them. "Would you like to keep wearing them for the moment? I'm sure it would make you feel... I don't know, more comfortable?"

   Devon considered that option for a long moment. Keep wearing a symbol of his slavery? The slavery he was now conflicted by? He shouldn't...but something told him to let Kaj do whatever he wanted. He might not like the man for capturing him like he had, but at least Kaj wasn't trying to cop a feel or rape him. Devon figured he could at least talk to the other man.

   "I don't know," he said, eyeing the bangles from the corner of his eyes. "It feels strange, thinking about them being around my wrists again."

   "You don't have to," Kaj told him softly, voice low and vaguely unintrusive. He chuckled a moment later, the sudden laughter making Devon focus on him again. He gave the man a dark look, which Kaj waved off. "This is so strange. Where's the usual ‘fuck off’ I get from you, Devon? You're oddly passive at the moment."

   Devon's expression folded down into a glare. "Fuck you."

   "Maybe later," his captor said, waving a hand towards him. He stood, leaving Devon sitting on the bed. "Get some sleep, Devon. We've a long way to go in the morning, and I doubt you want to end up slung over the back of a horse again."

   "You bastard," he hissed, watching Kaj turn his back and head for the table again. He was still glaring when Kaj sat down in the chair and threw him a cocky grin. The cocky little shit, Devon though, eyes narrowed. Kaj's grin softened into something else before he looked towards the window, planting his elbow on the table and propping his chin up on his hand. 

   Devon stared for a few minutes longer before gingerly laying down and putting his back to the room. Kaj hadn't glanced back. Not once. Even when he moved. Devon decided to take that light threat seriously. He really didn't want to end up upside down again. That was the last thing he wanted. Just wait, he thought trying to relax, I just have to wait it out. Then I can try to leave again--if I get another chance, that is.