- ̗̀ peace in violence ̖́-

he smiled a little when the other snapped out of his daze and addressed him, his eyes shamelessly glancing over his frame, a natural reaction on the witch’s part before he looked up into the sky instead, offering himself a distraction to watch a few birds appearing from a nearby tree, flying overhead of them. “a nice day,” he passed comment, pushing himself up and moving towards him, “unless you prefer silence, I wouldn’t want to disturb you.” maybe he was being sweeter than usual, but he was a sucker for a pretty face and a powerful aura, both of which his new found counterpart possessed, “I’m salem.”

The way the other seemed to shamelessly take him in didn’t bother Jeremy, he was used to far worse leering from patrons in his past, but it still brought a light colour of a blush to the shifter’s cheeks. He nodded at the comment, eyes turning up to the sky as well, feeling the warmth of the day on his skin. It was nice, after being cooped up inside so long. “Yeah, it is. I miss being outside when we’re stuck in there.” Jeremy agreed. Green eyes grew a little wider for a second when the other asked if he was disturbing him. “Oh no, it’s fine. I like company.” Jeremy assured. He did like being around people but he was careful after having years of the wrong company. “Jeremy. It’s nice to meet you Salem.” The redhead smiled softly, awkwardly deciding to offer his hand. 

he scowled at his grin but salem knew it was all in light hearted fun, the two had bonded, against all odds and he had come to favour the kitsune, despite not particularly enjoying the trickster spirits in the past. their time together had been unconventional of course but that was practically a speciality where the witch was concerned. he dropped his lips in mock surprise, his hand pressing to his chest, “I know no such thing,” salem mumbled, knowing full well his seemingly innocent looks had gotten him off the hook on more than one occasion and often lead people to underestimate his abilities. the familiar gesture his companion offered brought a more genuine smile to his lips as he sighed and deflated, relaxing slightly for the first time since his capture, “I lost my temper, I didn’t act smart, I acted on impulse – even after telling those around me to be smart, to think, all my life, I lost it.” his lips turned down at the sides, “get me out of here.”

“Oh please, save the act for someone who hasn’t seen you kill an alpha.” Sebastian whispered to his friend with a smile. He missed having friends sometimes. Most of the time he found people to late in there lives and they died before he could get attached or just after. Either that or they were to young to understand anything about him. Salem was different. He was young but he was powerful and he’d taken that power for himself. Worked for it. Seeing him locked up here sucked, if Sebastian was honest. “It happens to all of us. Even the best of it us.” He assured the witch before looking to the nearest guard. “Get him out. I want him.” Sebastian ordered him quickly before waiting for him to do the work. “I’ve got a car outside. We can go to mine. Get you cleaned up and feed. You’ll be fine.” He promised as Salem was set free from his cell. 

salem practically clamped his hand around the cigarette the moment it was placed in his palm, not wanting the other to take away what he’d already offered him and pulled back from the bars immediately – appreciating but not exactly trusting the smile the master offered to him when he spoke, “thanks,” he mumbled again, wary of the stranger’s intentions and completely oblivious to the fact that not all those in a position of power were intent on taking what they pleased. often, salem was a willing participant but after experiencing more than one individual hoping to take what he was ready to give, well,  the young witch had learned his lesson to push aside his arrogance.

perhaps he should have taken the offer, using his magic was only exhausting him but salem seemed to reject the offer purposely as if to show that he wasn’t completely helpless, snapping his fingers and lighting the end of the cigarette before extinguishing the flame while holding cain’s eye. he inhaled deeply and the nicotine hit him quick, making his head spin slightly but it was welcomed, “who are you?”

Shrugging his shoulders again, Cain shook his head. He knew what it was like to crave one of these things and not be able to get his hands on one. Normally it wasn’t for very long, not nearly as long as Salem had surely been waiting for a smoke, but still. That moment of, I want one but I can’t get one, was always horrible. He imagined that happened a lot to these people behind the bars.  It used to happen to him when he was in there spot. Although that had been different. He’d been trained to hunt for humans. Been allowed out to run and work for them. Cain wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing but it was different.  Watching Salem light up his own cigarette, Cain was actually pretty impressed. He dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the carton of smokes again.”Cain,” He grumbled out his name before holding out the carton. ”S’only half but ya’ can have ‘em.” He told Salem. “Can get ya’ more once ya’ run out or a guard takes’em.”

when no immediate answer came, the witch glanced up, silver-like hues glancing over the slave across the walkway from him and he gave him a bright smile as the other rolled his eyes, “cat got your tongue, handsome?” he purred, forgetting his place for a moment. having spent so long outside these bars, salem quickly fell into his dominant role, his power had always allowed him to feel untouchable and the young witch forgot to keep in mind that he was in a similar position to his handsome counterpart now and he looked far from pleased with his display of violence.

Ugh, this guy was definitely new.  Slaves didn’t talk to each other like that.  Clearly the new guy was used to being a master, having power over people like Damon.  He sent the new slave an unimpressed look.  Casually, and with no apparent feeling behind the motion, Damon flipped him the bird.

he looked up at the male, a seemingly innocent expression touchedhis expression, “I’m not indifferent, I’m hungry.” salem admitted, turningaround to face the other again, though not bothering to push himself up fromhis seated position, instead looking the master over from where he rested,narrowing his eyes a fraction, “what’s the catch? what do you want in return?”it was usually sex or feeding and salem wasn’t exactly opposed to either if hewas getting something in return, this master had been the first in his arrivalto offer anything in return for his pleasure.

“The catch is whatever I see fit. I’ll most likely feed from you.” Elijah paused to look the slave over. “Are you healthy? You look like you’ve seen better days.” It was a real question. He didn’t like the taste of anemic blood. It was bitter and unsatisfying. If that was the case, the slave could stay in his cell. “As for anything else, I can’t tell you what I might want once I’m fed. But I do promise a meal. Take it or leave it.”

he glanced up at the unfamiliar and huge frame towering outside his cell, his head cocked to the side and a slow smile curved up on his lips, it was rather sadistic but it certainly usually put off the more weak minded ‘masters’, salem spelled trouble and some were smart enough to know when to back off – this guy didn’t seem willing to leave well enough alone. other slaves – salem narrowed his eyes at the term and dropped his smirk, “let them be cross, I can handle a bit of trouble.”

his brows pushed together as the other held his stare for a good while for responding and for whatever reason, salem suddenly smiled, finding some amusement in their somewhat awkward encounter – however, his amusement didn’t last, quickly replaced with surprise when the other tossed the fabric in his direction and stepped back. salem narrowed his eyes, pondering it before deciding freezing to death seemed more painful than accepting whatever it was this master wanted in return. he pushed himself from the bed and lifted the jumper from the ground, pulling it onto his frame where it hung loosely but provided a lot more warmth than his flimsy clothes beneath it, “thank you,” he murmured somewhat warily.

salem tilted his head to the side as the other pulled out his cigarettes and his stomach twisted, he couldn’t remember the last time he had a cigarette and it was a terrible craving that only grew when the other offered it to him. again, salem was wary, but aware that he could protect himself with what he had if need be. still, that required fast reflexes and the witch was exhausted, so he kept his guard up. moving towards the other, he stuck his hand through the bars, palm face up with expecting eyes, “please.”

A lot of these slave seemed so scared to take anything from him and that made Cain want to give them more. When he’d been locked away in a cell like the one that held Salem now, he hadn’t gotten shit from anyone. With the exception of a swift kick the to ribs every now and again. If he needed food he had to hunt. If he wanted to keep warm then he had to build a fire or suffer. But these people couldn’t do that for themselves. He couldn’t imagine just how frustrating it would be to rely on people all the time. Someone had to feed them, someone had to give them clothing and water. It must have been exhausting not to be able to do a single thing on there own. Cain was sure that if he was locked up again, locked up like this, he would completely lose his mind. “S’nothin’.” He promised at the others thanks. Standing forward, Cain placed the cigarette in the witches hand. He gave him the smallest smile just to make sure he knew he was safe. Cain was aware that he had a resting angry face and he tried to do his best to tame it when he remembered. “Been hooked on ‘em for so long. Can’t imagine how bad I’d be off ‘em.” He admitted easily before starting to look for his lighter. Which he found and used to light up quickly before passing it over to Salem. “Ya’ need it?”

it was nice to get some free time, he hadn’t hesitated at all to lunge for the doors the minute it was offered to him and salem had taken up residence in the gardens, walking barefooted in the grass despite the small chill in the air. he may not have favoured his tie to nature, but having been parted from dark magic for a couple of weeks, he was willing to take what he could from his surroundings. the witch stopped however when he heard footsteps around him and turned slowly to spot the fiery-headed boy making his way towards salem, seeming more involved in his mind than his current setting. he watched him for a while, admiring his beauty before resting against a tree and perking an eyebrow when he caught his gaze, “don’t let me intrude on your thoughts.”

Jeremy seemed to snap out of his daze when he caught the other male’s eyes and heard him speak. The shifter hadn’t even realised he’d been lost in thought until he was brought back to the immediate world around him. He rubbed the back of his neck, fingers tracing up into fiery hair as he glanced away, shyness coming over him when he wasn’t clad in nothing but a pair of revealing shorts and made to dance on a stage for others. Jeremy liked being out in nature, it usually made him calmer but the gardens of the slave house weren’t quite the same. “Oh, uh you weren’t. Sorry I just…drifted off.” He spoke softly, green eyes taking in the other male. Jeremy could smell the soft hint of magic on him, meaning the other must be a witch. 

he turned to face the stranger who addressed him, his head cocking to the side slightly as he shrugged his shoulders, “let him come back, I could do this all day.” salem hummed, a slight curve rested on his lips as his eyes trailed over the slave, encouraging salem to move closer, edging towards the bars of his cell and offering a larger smile to the admiring words, “happy to – us slaves have to stick together.” the witch pursed his lips, glancing down the walkways, “so, what are you?”

“I actually wouldn’t mind seeing that. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a vampire– or anyone really– have their ass handed to them that quickly.” He commented back with a loose smirk as he leaned forward on his cot. Sure, Lucian knew speaking like this could be dangerous– they could punish him for simply smirking at the other slaves treatment of a master– but he didn’t care. There was no point in saving his soul if he was already in hell so he might as well enjoy himself when he could. “Exactly, us slaves have to stick together.” He repeated back with a smile. “Tired, mostly, but if you want to be more technical human is probably a better answer… what about you?”

he narrowed his eyes at the laugh, the voice sounding more so familiar now with that touch of hysteria to his chuckle, his lips curled up but he refused to look up, remaining as oblivious as before as he cocked his head to the side, persisting with the task at hand before finally, he gave in and offered the fox what he wanted – attention, “ like I could forget you, darling, you gave me my first big bad alpha.” salem smirked, pushing himself from the bed and moving towards the familiar kitsune, such fond memories flooded salem the moment he caught sebastian’s gaze and he quickly dropped his smile, “and now I’m here, and you were eyeing me like a piece of meat.” the witch scolded playfully, “it could be worse, I suppose.”

Leaning on the cell bars as Salem came closer, Sebastian’s smile only grew brighter. He had a soft spot for those who he’d killed with in the past. Salem had helped him out a great deal with keeping things under wraps and making sure no one ever found the Alpha’s body. As well as the killing itself. “Awe, dear, I’m flattered.” He teased lightly. Not many people who crossed Sebastian lived to tell about and he’d assumed the same went for Salem. They were like star crossed killers. Meant to play all day long with powerful folk worth bringing down. “Oh please, you know very well just how attractive you are. Walking past you without a look up would be tragic.” He grinned and patted the witches hand through the bars. “How in seven hells did you get caught?” Sebastian asked in a lower tone.