Author Topic: Just another coin in the machine. [Nix!] (Read 9090 times)

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #60 on:** October 28, 2013, 12:42:48 am »

As soon as Darvish left, Ari pressed his back to the door and slid down it until he was seated and hung his head in his hands. He felt like he might puke. For several long moments he stayed like that, forcing himself to take slow, deep breaths through his mouth and out his nose to try to calm himself down, but now that he was alone, now that Darvish was no longer around to utter soothing words, he felt the familiar panic rising up again as reality gripped him.

He missed his home. His family. His parents. His sister. He just wanted to go back. Oh gods, what was the last thing he'd said to any of them? Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods...

A creaking sound made his head snap up, but it was just the sound of the walls settling. However, that was all it took. By then, his eyes had adjusted to the dark--and he was able to see just enough to learn that he wasn't alone.

It was the light hair that caught his eye first. It was the shine of eyes that alerted him next.

"FUCK!"

Ari jerked to his feet and jammed himself back against the wall, even though he was already pressed back against it.

"Who the hell are you?!"

Nix · « **Reply #61 on:** October 28, 2013, 12:57:53 am »

The other boy's startled jumping startled him too. Nike raised his head and pressed himself further into the corner. He winced as the other cursed. When people cursed at him their fists were usually soon to follow. He opened one eye again after a moment, after he realized he wasn't going to be hit for being stupid again.

"N-Nike... Nikephoros Bellamy, sir." 'Always say your whole name when introducing yourself, and even if the master decides to call you something else never forget your name'- his mother's words echoed in his head. "I-I'm sorry if I scared you... they probably forgot they put me here. I'm sorry."

When the door opened he expected that man to come take him again, but he didn't and selfish as it was Nike was glad.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #62 on:** December 05, 2013, 12:28:40 pm »

When Ari saw the other kid was just as scared as he was, he relaxed. Kid sounded more frightened than him, and less violent than he had been prepared to be. He let out a breath.

"S'alright," he said, and drew his knees up to his chest. "Uh. I'm Ari. Ari Maxwell. Um...ya weren't taken from the hamburger place, were ya?"

Nix · « **Reply #63 on:** December 05, 2013, 09:28:34 pm »

This boy didn't seem too scary after all, he also seemed older than Nike now that he got a good look at him. "It's nice to meet you Ari Maxwell." He said trying to be polite.

"Hamburger place?" Nike was confused by this. "No... I was being delivered to my new master but the ship was hijacked, so now I will probably be sold to a different new master."

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #64 on:** December 20, 2013, 09:31:43 pm »

The kid's words formed a cold lump of dread in his gut. Master? Of course. This was a ship of slavers. But hearing that again reminded him of the situation, made it feel less dreamlike. He hugged his knees tighter.

"So...you're...you're a slave?"

Nix · « **Reply #65 on:** December 20, 2013, 09:46:45 pm »

Nike nodded a bit. "Yes, I'm a slave... I always have been. What about you?"

It seemed like this boy was kidnapped. He wondered what that would feel like, to be free one minute and then not the next. It seemed hard.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #66 on:** December 20, 2013, 10:07:04 pm »

Ari tensed, unnoticeable in the dark. "Fuck no I'm not! Never have, never will. And what do ya mean you've always been one?"

Nix · « **Reply #67 on:** December 20, 2013, 10:27:37 pm »

He'd only seen someone in denial like this once before but that was a woman in her 30s. It was sadder to see this boy not understand what was coming.

"My mom is a slave... I was born a slave." He explained.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #68 on:** December 20, 2013, 10:35:29 pm »

"That's fucked up," Ari said, not knowing what else to say to something like that. And now that he was face to face with an actual slave, reality was harder to deny--and doubt came crashing back down on him. What if Darvish was wrong? Or lying? And he was going to be sold off anyway?

Once again, that familiar anxiety was starting to build up inside him, eating at his insides like acid. "How can ya be so fuckin' fine with that?"

Nix · « **Reply #69 on:** May 03, 2014, 12:19:43 am »

"Fine with it?" What else was there to be? It was what it was. He was a slave, it was a fact. He had never been anything else. Even so...

"...I'm not fine with it. I-I mean... I wasn't fine with being sold. I wanted to stay with my mom..." He said softly.

He had never said such a thing out loud before and the words stung his throat as he knew he should not say such things. His wants mattered not. He had been sold and that was that. He had been captured and that was that. His opinions on it didn't matter.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #70 on:** May 04, 2014, 01:48:01 am »

His mom. Ari felt his heart clench uncomfortably, his breath catching in his throat. His mom.

Up until this point, Ari had been so focused on surviving, so focused on his own present condition, that he hadn't really had time to think about everything he had left behind. But as soon as Nike mentioned his mother, Ari couldn't help but think about his own.

And how he hadn't even gotten to say goodbye. Had he even told her he loved her before he went out with his friends? Probably not...he never said that enough...

He felt his eyes begin to burn, much to his own shame, and he quickly looked away and hoped the dark would hide his eyes. "Um...yeah..."

Nix · « **Reply #71 on:** September 08, 2016, 09:01:57 pm »

The pink haired boy scooted a bit closer. Nike could tell Ari was upset, and not just about his new found situation and surviving it. He was upset because it just hit him that he wasn't going to see his family again. Nike had seen it before- gone through it in silence when he was sold.

"...does your family know where you are? Maybe they can buy you back at some point?" It was rare but if Ari's parents weren't slaves themselves they could save up and buy him back. He heard of kids being sold to cover family debt with the promise of getting them back eventually... He never heard of it actually happening though.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #72 on:** September 09, 2016, 09:46:19 am »

Oh gods oh gods oh gods...

"Um, no, they uh...they..."

Fuck, he didn't even know if they were alive.

Ari felt his lip tremble, and he bit it to try to stop it. But it didn't stop the hot tears that slipped free and rolled down his cheeks, which he was quick to dash away--but not quick enough. Like a dam that had gotten a hole in it, what started as a trickle soon burst into a choked sob, and Ari twisted away from Nike in embarrassment and pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes.

Fuck...

Nix · « **Reply #73 on:** September 09, 2016, 02:12:07 pm »

Nike slid closer to Ari and awkwardly pat the older boy's back. "I'm sorry... " he said softly.

He wasn't sure how to help the other. It was... He could understand in some ways how Ariimust be feeling but he had no way of making it better. Not really. He just hugged him. "Its ok to cry now... Get it out... Hit something... But never in front of them ok? Cause... You can't show them that. You can't let those in charge of you see your emotions." He found himself repeating things his mom told him. Tears streaming down his cheeks too.

"You just... You remember your name, and who you are. You don't let anyone take that. Even if you have to hide it inside yourself for a long-" He swallowed and squeezed Ari as reassuringly as he could. "Long time."

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #74 on:** September 14, 2016, 10:17:59 pm »

The way the other kid was talking, it made it sound like...like this was his life now. Like this was it, he was a slave, and...oh gods. He sucked in deep, shaky breaths, trying to control his breathing, his tears, but just ended up choking. Drawing his knees to his chest, he pressed his forehead to them and clenched his eyes shut as his tears soaked through his jeans.

This had to be a dream. Please, please let it be a dream.

"What...what happens to us?" he said quietly, muttering into his knees as he hugged them tighter.

Nix · « **Reply #75 on:** September 15, 2016, 09:30:23 am »

Nike frowned as he watched the other boy hugging himself. "I think... From here we get sold. I am not sure. They just brought me here recently. They seem to like to use the people they take first. Some are luckier than others. Maybe they will leave you alone?"

What good would lying do for the other boy. He rubbed his own face to dry the tears. He was just glad Darvish had finally lost interest in him. He didn't want to spend one more night with that man that was for sure. He was almost looking forward to being sold. He rubbed his still bruised ribs, trying not to think about that guy.

Nike looked back at Ari. He wished he could do something to help the other boy.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #76 on:** September 19, 2016, 10:57:34 am »

Ari snapped a look to Nike. "Use us? Like...?"

He trailed off, growing pale, remembering Darvish's fear and his talk of some man coming to visit him. That's why Ari was here in the first place, to avoid all that. His stomach twisted and he looked away, quickly dashing away his tears and sucking in a shaky breath.

Oh gods help him.

"No one's ever tried to like...fight back?" he finally asked, voice small.

Nix · « **Reply #77 on:** September 20, 2016, 07:27:19 am »

Nike frowned more. This was hard. He didn't want to take away Ari's hope, but he didn't want to lie either. Having grown up knowing his place and what would become of him, what he was and would always be...

It was all very different for him than what Ari was going through.

He moved closer and pulled off the skin tight, charcoal, sleeveless shirt he had been dressed in to meet his new master- before the pirates attacked the transport ship he was on, and winced as it peeled away from his bruised ribcage. "I got this without even fighting back. Just because he 'wanted to see what the colors looked like on my skin'."

He pulled his shirt back down and looked at the ground. Eyes down when you are not being spoken to.

"There are a lot of them, and they have weapons, and we are in space. If you fight back it makes it worse, and there is no where to go anyway."

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #78 on:** October 16, 2016, 09:57:56 pm »

Ari stared in horror at the bruises. They looked awful; were his ribs broken? It looked really bad...and he wasn't even being given any treatment? Did they want their slaves to die?

He shuddered, glad when the boy hid his bruises again. Okay. Good point. Where the hell would they go? They were out in motherfucking space, the pirates had weapons and numbers...

But gods, there had to be a way...

"Who did that?" he asked quietly, grimacing. He wanted to at least know who to watch out for, which ones punched when provoked and which ones did it out of sadism. "Was it...um...Darvish said something about a man, and...er...that's why I'm down here. To hide from the fucker."

Nix · « **Reply #79 on:** October 25, 2016, 05:47:09 am »

Nike went silent when he heard his abuser's name. He had not seen who brought Ari in so it was the first time the fact that this kid was his replacement fully kicked in. Of course. It made sense. Ari was probably more the pirate's type. He had spirit, which made him breakable. Moldable. Nike was already too compliant and trained, something he realized pissed Darvish off more than utter resistance most likely would. Darvish seemed the kind Of man who liked to break in his own toys. Nike was already worn down.

After a few moments of silence he grasped for the best way to gently explain this to Ari. It was times like this he was grateful for two things. That Darvish was not the first sadist he had met and that he had not been a virgin prior to Darvish. He felt bad Ari.

"...Darvish is a manipulative and sadistic compulsive liar. He is the one I was... He did that. I don't fit his ideals though. ...maybe if you play along it won't be as bad?"