Hellcatstrut
139 Posts
"Your mediocrity is no concern of mine," Mijhael said dryly. "It is my responsibility to tell you what to expect. If you don't want to be in the cells, you will be out collecting other drakiri to bring them back. If it proves that your pelt is worth more than your time, you will be brought back here and harvested on a stricter schedule. You have no scales, your teeth are not terribly impressive, neither are your horns. They may take them once, but no more than that."
He straightened up and snapped his fingers. Two primals--both black as pitch--stepped out of the shadows and approached to stand on either side of Kedryzal, their massive shoulders practically touching from either side of him as humans came maneuvered between their legs to unchain Kedryzal's legs.
"They will escort you to the subfloor where harvesting takes place," Mijhael said. "If you're as cooperative with the folks down there as you were with me, you shouldn't expect them to hurt you."
The Risker turned away from Kedryzal then and went to stand beside Icarus, though he did not touch the kainu just yet. He was certain the smaller drakiri would collapse in fear if he tried, and that would only make his life more difficult.
The primals escorted Kedryzal across the warehouse to one of the double doors that led to a staircase beyond. They had to wait for the doors to be opened, walking together down the stairs with one primal in front of Kedryzal and the other behind, keeping a steady pace without rushing. They didn't say a word, they didn't have to. They were efficient enough without having to speak to one another and fell into step side by side as they reached the landing for the subfloor.
When the doors opened, they were greeted by a wide hallway--nearly an open space unto itself--with enough room for several drakiri to move about freely. On either side, there were concrete rooms with arches over the entrances, no doors or curtains, and in each there were drakiri of every shape and size. A golden kelpie with vivid purple scales was stretched out on a portable table with a team of humans in pale blue gowns hovering over her. Two of them lifted a scale away from her body and set it on a tray while another human began using a small blade to cut away under the scales on her shoulders. The kelpie's eyes were halfway open, but glazed over and unfocused--she didn't so much as flinch.
On the opposite side of the hallway, a black komakha with an impressive, vibrant blue swirled pattern on his scales lashed out with her back legs, upending the table that had been set up in the stall and sending surgical tools clattering to the floor and spilling out into the hallway. The primals led Kedryzal around the mess, heads down as they continued on without so much as acknowledgeing the komakha as she was dragged to the ground and pinned by truly massive mutt.
The primals stopped only once they reached an empty stall to the right, standing in stoic silence as they waited for the drakiri to step forward into the empty concrete space.
Hellcatstrut
139 Posts
The primals remained in place at the doorway to the stall Kedryzal was confined to. They would remain there, silent and watchful of their surroundings, almost seeming to blend into their environment despite appearing as enormous black smudges in the middle of the brightly lit hallway.
The komakha was silenced with either spell or drug--it was a toss up between which was used, depending on who was available at the time--and lifted onto the table for the harvest. It would take hours, but they would remove the entire chitinous shell from the drakiri's body and send it on to be cleaned and mounted.
An hour later, a rose-furred dracus with a white, red-ticked mane that draped down her throat to her belly passed through the doors to the harvesting floor. She walked with a sway in her hips, her head and cervine tail held high, all but floating down the hallway with a pleased expression on her face.
When she approached the stall where Kedryzal waited, the primals departed without a word, not so much as glancing up or acknowledging the blue-eyed drakiri. She waited for them to move out of her way and then moved to stand in the archway, looking down at Kedryzal.
"My newest recruit," she all but purred. "You look absolutely scrumptious...and so polite, I've been told. You'll be put under a spell that numbs you from the pain and I've heard it gives a rather pleasant numbing sensation to the mind as well. Your hide won't take more than half an hour, I would assume, and then you will be put in recovery. Do you have any questions before we begin?"
PeachmintTea
17 Posts
Ouch, that assessment hurt. Ked said nothing about the other option since he did not see it a fair trade to see the outdoors just to collect draks. It did not seem anything he did would phase the Risker, so he listened. It seemed he had to get up to move again which annoyed him. Once the chains were off, he got up and walked with the primals. He supposed it was unfortunate that he couldn't watch or chat with the kainu next to him.
Nothing too interesting happened on the walk until he arrived to the wide hallway. Ked tried to observe the area without slowing the primals down too much. He heard the clatter of the tools before seeing who had kicked the table over. Ked was the only one to acknowledge the komakha as he was led around the mess. This place was quite unpleasant.
Once they stopped, he looked to the space and sighed. He quietly walked in the space and did a quick check over the space before lying down. It seemed he would have to wait here with all of this going on in front of him instead of back at the holding and inspection area. To pass time, he quietly observed the scene in front of him and the two primals that seemed to be standing guard.
PeachmintTea
17 Posts
Kedryzal ended up dozing off, only partially listening and monitoring the cores in the area. He did come back awake upon sensing a core coming closer to him and managed to look up. When his eyes came back to focus, he spotted the rose-furred dracus approaching his stall.
It was odd being called scrumptious. "Er, thank you? You look lovely yourself," he replied. The explanation did clear up how the process would go and what happened with the draks he saw being harvested. "I suppose my question is, I assume food would be after the recovery?"
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