Loud noises crowded the air and left no room for quiet. Enthused chatting, banging gravels, clinking cages, crying animals and above all confusion. From the depths of a large cage manafactured for large apes, a strange sight awaited anyone who dare look, which was no one, the cage remained safely tucked away from prying eyes; ready for auction.

A half naked girl coward against the back of the cage, the soles of her feet black and sticky with straw and dirt. Her skin matched the brown quilt draped over the cage to keep her from sight, her eyes glowed in the dank light, a gorgeous green that reminded one of sunken treasure under the carribean sea or of emerald jewels brandished in candle light. Her hair resembled a stormy, wild sea as it casaded over her small shoulders all the way down to her middle. She was a rare treasure fetched from a far away land and the price on her head was most extortionate.

It was rare to find someone with such an appearance, most dark skinned people from abroad had various different features, however this girl had the facial features of a white woman, one who had been baked in the sun for many days and many nights. It was quite extraordinary. Her oddities did not end there though...oh no.

Lilth stared at her surroundings with the temperament of a detained predator. She could smell so many things that were alien to her, but what worried her most was the absence of smells. The strong, fresh scent of the rainforest, the smell of earth, the scent of her community...all gone. Lilth had never been more alone. Everything around her was made of mountain and hard rock, the only things Lilth could recognize were a few animals around her.
A baby Ape whimpered to her right, it called out for it's parents and was met by nothing but the dull drone of noise from elsewhere. It made Lilth feel forever more worse. She looked at the baby Ape through the small, metal squares of her cage. Whoever had placed her in such a horrid box knew she could have escaped if the gaps had been any bigger. Slowly, she placed a hand up against the side of her cage and waited until the baby Ape returned the gesture and pressed it's little hand up against hers through the confinements.

It lasted only a moment before the baby's cage was ripped away from hers by two tall, pale creatures. Her heart and mind flew into a wild frenzy. Men. She was seeing thin, strange white men. She shook her cage violently as the baby disappeared out of sight. What were they, what were they going to do with a baby animal, what were they going to do with her? A new tribe. That's what this had to be about. They had to be a new tribe from a dead forest. She'd heard of those, they must want her forest. Well her father had arranged her mate already, he would be outraged. She would not be mated to any of the pale people. Not even the tribe chief. War would be the answer. Cold-blooded, no mercy war!

Lilth began to yell out war threats, causing the animals around her to unsettle. The pale men returned and she swore on her fathers pelt that they would be sorry for their trespassing, she shook her cage as they began to move it the same way the baby Ape went.

"Ten sacrifices and much blood would not be enough to put right the wrong you have committed. I am to be mated to the chief's son, where is the ceremonial fight between him and your chief? Where is your respect? Your honour?" No matter how she said it, they ignored her like a tree ignores a rock. Could it be they didn't understand her or that they didn't want to understand.

Lilth soon had all her words blown away by the sight that met her around a corner.

The auctioneer assistances wheeled the girls cage onto a wooden stage set infront of at least a hundred individuals. All seated and drinking fine wine the rich and wealthy londoners mingled and socialised with those around them. Unbeknownst to her, Lilth was in an underground auction house, in the middle of London, in England on the opposite side of the world to her home and she had a very large price on her head.

The auctioneer briefly read the description himself before beginning the auction, the words he spoke arroused many of those present. The cloth covering the cage was removed to reveal the prize beneath sending the underground room into a storm of shock and curiosity. With a wave of the auctioneers hand the auctioning began.

"Let us start at 20 guineas"

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The whole of the night had been dull for Antony, he sat on in his chair with the prattle of other on lookers around him who would chat away with each other. He on the other hand had resolved to lay back in his seat and prop his head up on one arm.
The whole time since he arrived there had been only two or three items within the auction that seemed to catch his attention for the moment and that was within the first two dozen.

His sandy blonde hair draped passed down the sides of his as he kept his head down, he absentmindedly picked at one of the buttons on his black jacket. The red vest and tie was being adjusted every time he moved to compensate for his physical relocation. He could care less for the trivial sounds being made by the others as they continued to bid against one another.

He was glad that his seat was higher up and farther back then the other buyers, for fear that whatever it was that disgusted him about them was going to rub off.

It was then that the auctioneer spoke up about a special treat for the next item to be shown and as he spoke several of the stage men wheeled out a covered cage. However it was only that fact that he said the prize came from far across the globe that made him lean forward with slight interest.
It was only when he had the cover pulled off then did everyone feel the sudden change in the room, there was a sudden draw of quiet breath as they all took in what they were seeing and then an uproar of noise as they began to squabble. Antony placed his face in the palm of his hands as he could just imagine what extents they would go to just to have the prize.

She was a great beauty at least and that was not the only thing that he could see. Her dark creamy skin spoke of days in the sun and the lean form she had could describe that she worked for her survival before her capture. Her eyes shine with defiance and wonder as the world around her was revealed and he could see the glimmer in them as she focused on the multitude of faces around her.

"Let us start at 20 guineas" Antony raised his head when he heard the strangely low opening bid, but he easily knew what was going on after the first counter bid was placed. He started the bidding so low so the others would think they could get in and steal the prize at a lower cost and the high number of fools around would suffice in that measure.

"50"

"90"

"120"

The bidding was going up in sharp increments and it was then that Antony locked eyes with the girl in the cage, they shared for a moment an instant of sight between one another and then like that it was broken as arms were raised to bid.
He was getting upset now, the whole of the room was falling to disorder as he kept looking to try and see her again. The bidding was climbing as it had passed 800 guineas, a somber look passed on his face as he began to push his way down the steps. Pressing bodies aside he continued to press on until speaking out over the crowd.
"4,000.." His voice rang out clear as a bell tone over the now hushed voices in the large room. Many of those in accountancy could see who he was and the look in their eyes signaled that they would not dare speak up in opposition.

Only one spoke back "5,000.." said a portly man near the front of the crowd.
Antony had never seen him before so he must have been new and therefore was ignorant to who he was talking too. Antony chose to make example of him "8,000.. and I ensure that you wake in the morning" His stare was enough to make the man back down on its own merit. After which he looked at the auctioneer and waited patiently.

It took a moment for the man to snap back to reality before speaking with a trembling voice.."Going once.. twice.. and sold, to Sir Venos"

Several of the men return to cart the girls cage back behind the curtain and around the corner out of sight, but not before Antony catches sight of her once again.
Locking eyes one last time before he disappears from her view.

Lilth began to snarl as a curtain cut her off from the view of all the pale faces. She'd never seen a congregation like it, at least an entire clan of pale faces, all wearing excess amount of cloth, staring at her. They were shouting out at her, raising their hands, all until one voice rose above them all. A male of their strange clan who came forth. Lilth noticed the body language of others, how they shyed away from him, after all body language was a large part of Lilth's life. She drew up her own conclusion and labeled him the probable chief.

She gave him her most striking stare through the crowd, a look of war and determination, an intense portrayal of pride and strength. She wanted her eyes to collide with his like boulders tumbling down a mountain pass. She wanted him to know from a look that he had kidnapped the daughter of the ClawCry settlement chief. They had locked eyes before the curtain blocked him from sight. She wasn't sure if she'd intimidated him properly. It had been a while since she'd challenged anyone.

Just in case she turned to the white men moving her cage and began to snarl at them once again. She told them how foolish their chief was and forcefully confirmed how she would crush him in a fight to the death. They took no notice of her once again and it unnerved her. Their chief couldn't possibly be stronger than her. So strong he thought rules and traditions did not apply to him...

The collection of individuals was beginning to disperse.
Many of the other lots for the auction had already been sold, but it appears that this last stride of bidding had set a foul taste in the mouth of the others. Antony was quick to rejoin the auctioneer as he was tallying the sales for that night and he looked at Antony with a strange gleam. "Sir.. I must ask that you refrain from threatening the clientele.

Antony scoffs for a moment before they begin to walk together toward the stage and break the curtains. "And who am I if I do not answer his challenge? he responded to the older looking man.
Their shoes being the only thing making noise in the back of this holding area as they walked and only seconds after the sounds stopped did they see the cage once more. Then the auctioneer dips his head and back away.."I will leave you to enjoy your purchase while waiting for the dock men to collect her." He backs away from Antony, only garnering a ablative wave from the noble as he rounds the corner to step off. Antony on the other hand was now staring deeply at the woman held in the cage before him. Her dark skin glistened with small beads of sweat that were driven out from the frustration of her situation.

He takes several steps around the cage to get a better look at her, her body does bare the instinct to turn and keep him facing her but the cage does not allow for the best of movement. He leans in and kneels close to the edge of the cage looking deep at her gleaming eyes. "Can you understand me?" his question was vastly blunt and too the point. But his voice was soft and expletive of the circumstances.

Lilth stopped herself from thinking such discouraging things when she heard the clipped sound of shoes. Of course, she didn't know they were the sound of shoes, but she knew a sound when she heard one and she associated it with something approaching.

A few moments later, more or less, two strange pale faced men came into view. She recognised them both, the shorter one had been the male everyone tried to talk to all at once when she was faced the entire clan, the one who had a hold of a hammer that made them all quiet. The other male, well he was the chief. Lilth could see it now, the way he towered over the other man demonstrated intimidation and his power.

Her eyes lock with his and go nowhere else. Most people in her village had dark brown or green eyes, like the earth, to come across someone with such pale eyes was both unheard of and concerning to Lilth. Her people could tell alot about a person from their eye colour. This man's eyes were the colour of a clear spring. Lilth knew water was adaptable and took the shape of it's container, it gave life and quenched thirst but it was also treacherous and deceitful, water took life away too.

He knelt close and stared deeply into her eyes. "Can you understand me?"

Lilth listened to the sounds, she was almost certain he was speaking to her, but Lilth had not come across this language before, she hadn't caught the jist of it yet. She could howl, whistle, growl and hiss the many animal noises of the rain-forest but she couldn't understand a pale-face. That's what she had decided to call them. Pale-faces. She tried to talk back wondering if he could understand her.

"You are the chief? Right? You realise what you have done, when you release me I will rip off your pale head." She emphasized by tearing her hands apart from each other. He seemed prodominantly clueless though so she tried mimicking instead. That is, after all, how she learnt the languages of others.

"Do you understand me?" she mumbled out, getting the sounds slightly wrong.

Antony keened his head over to one side as the girl in the cage tried to respond, returning with only an imitation of his words back to him. It was obvious that she was from farther away then the auctioneer originally specified and that from the look of her and her smell that she was from a deep jungle of some sort.
He looked her body over with some intense measure, she was a rather beautiful flower and even for being in the state she was now held much attraction. It was strange that she had a natural feel to her presence then most other beings would have and that made Antony wonder. Her cage and her look were off, there must be something unusual about her that the men at the auction did not want him to know. It would not be the first time that he bought something off from them and it turn out to be something more.

He returned her snarl with a deep smile and spoke back.. " I have just the place for you.."

His words rang out in time for the sound of men coming, heavy work boots and breathing like that of a pack of hogs approaching.

They came thundering around the corner with several objects in hand.
Long poles and rope, but two carried a large tarp that they used to cover the cage entirely. Sending the girl inside into darkness as they latched the poles onto its sides and used them to lift it. They were carrying her away somewhere, not much could be gathered for her seeing as the world was literally shut away. The air became cold for some reason, dreadfully so as it was and not to mention the onslaught of noise that sprang forth as well. People shouting, dogs barking, horses neighing, it sounded as if she were in an inclosed jungle all its own.

Her cage was placed on something that soon began to move as well, the strange sound of hooves on stone was pulsing through the narrow streets around her and it continued for some time. The tarp was doing its part from keeping the cold out but still the chill had a bite to it. But eventually the chill was chased away, the sound of two large structures moving was the telltale sound that she was somewhere else now. The horses were brought to slow down and after they stopped more hands clamored around her cage once more.
She was being moved again, someplace warmer and quieter where not even the sounds of footsteps were overbearing.

The cage was set down once more and those that moved it took their time in leaving, after that it was quiet. The sound of a fire burning somewhere in the room was the obvious source of the heat and even though not much light penetrated the tarp. It could be seen that the room was somewhat dim in light itself.
However a set of footsteps came from the edge of the room, followed by the sound of a door closing with its heavy wooden frame clasping shut. In a swift instant the tarp was pulled back and there was Antony again, looking down into the cage at Lilth.

The room her cage sat in was rather large, it was strange as well. The walls were a deep red with golden boarding and books lined the shelves. The fireplace was not the only source of light as well, there were small lamps crossing the upper section of the walls and they all had a small flame burning inside. Several chairs sat semicircle from the large fireplace and her cage was on a massive circular rug in the center of the floor.
The door several feet behind him was large and thick, it had a deep oaken color to it with several lashings of metal to reinforce it.

However there were some sweet smells coming from the table at the side of the room as well, to her nose it was reminiscent of berries.

Lilth took the journey in her stride, it was frightening and strange but she swallowed it down like a bitter medicine. All she had to do was bide her time, escape and then start her journey back the way she came, which ever way that was. For the time being though she curled into a ball and remained that way for the entire journey.

When it was all but silent is when she uncurled from her fetel position. She could hear the familiar crackle of a fire, smell a vague scent of berry and feel a warmth similar to the one back home, everywhere she had been thus far had been colder than a sheltered lake. She slowly began to unfold herself when the cover over her cage was torn away to reveal the pale-faced Chief. She jumped in surprise and then scowled at him in scorn. She would have pretended to be asleep if he hadn't of visually startled her.

The room was lit by a warm orange, fire glow but there were other lights also, ones she was not familiar with. Lilth sat up and adverted her gaze from the pale chief. They were alone in a large room. It made the hairs on the bak of her neck rise.

The air as the young girl stared back at him was becoming stiff, her eyes were cutting into him the moment he pulled the cover to her cage back and it was apparent that she was not expecting her current surroundings.
He could almost hear a small elicit growl coming from the back of her throat as he looked back at her with less of a shared intensity. However a finger placed against his lips was enough to pass the word to be calm and quiet. He back away from the cage letting her watch him for a moment as he made his way to the bookshelf and scanned along the volumes in stock. It only took a few seconds after he started to pull a rather large leather bound book and then he moved towards the table.

Though the view was slightly out of Lilth's perspective there were several small trays and platters of fruits and cooked meats.

He grabbed several morsels and loaded them onto a small silver plate then brought it towards the cage, sitting it down in front of the door. The last thing he did was pull one of the chairs towards the the front of the cage and set it several feet away as he set the book on the cushion.
It finally ended as he laid his hand on the lock of the cage and gave it a small twist.

The heavy cage door gave a heavy pop as it jumped off the edge of the cages frame, slightly swinging open giving Lilth her first unobstructed view since she was cage. Antony slid the plate directly in front of the open gap, which would allow for her to simply reach out and grab it if she so desired.
Antony on the other hand sat himself down in the large chair adjacent from the cage, opening the book in his lap and began thumb through the pages.