Sin jumped down from the carriage and helped to remove the grey cloth that covered it. He was the first to line up and accept the pile of stalks that was set on his back and he was expected to keep them balanced as he moved to the edge of the dock and up the ramp. The ramp shifted and bounced as he moved it and Sin had to try his best not to fall off, not only because he couldn't swim but because he would be whipped if anything happened to the stalks.

He finally made it up the ramp and stepped foot on the thing that floated on the water. When he got on he was met with the sight of Elf men and women, moving around the thing some were yelling others and others were helping to fetch some things around. One of the men walked over to Sin and tapped his shoulder as a signal for him to follow them, they went to the center of the surface and then down a ladder going into an area where Sin could see other plants and different materials already stacked together.

He set the stalks down to where the man pointed before following him up and out the hatch allowing the other slaves to move where he was. He went down back the ramp and collected another set of stalk and then carried it up back and packed it in the room. The cycle continued even after they had finished with the stalk and moved on to the other plants and then they finally hit the crates that were filled with fruit and that was the last things they had to carry up before they were done.

Sin made his way back out the whole and was stopped by one of the elf man, who called to one of the people that were in charge of Sin and the other slaves. Sin couldn't understand anything they said but he picked up on the fact that they were talking about him, when he heard them say the name that the owners had given him the first time he showed up on the plantation. He watched as the man in charge of him handed the key that went with his band to the elf man.

The elf man opened a pouch he had on his side and poured out four of the brown things that Sin had seen the woman with. He handed them over to the man who nodded and walked away, Sin watched as the bear man that he hated and two other just like him made their way onto the floating thing and their keys was also handed to the elf man. Sin tilted his head at this before straightening his head and baring his teeth at the bear man that was once again observing him.

The man frowned and looked away when the elf man started talking to them, Sin couldn't understand it but the man hadn't just sold them, he had simply rented them out for the day so they could help with the stocking, cleaning and maintenance of their fleet of ships. There were six ships that had arrived that all fell under the command of the one elf man but they had only needed four more slaves to handle the last two ships.

Sin and the bear man who's name was Fen and the man that kept staring at him, were assigned to be on one ship while the other two bear men were sent to another. The first thing they were told to do was to secure the plants and other goods that were below deck and the bear man quickly went down with Sin only one step behind them. The first thing they did was cover all the goods in tars as to keep any water from getting to them.

The they had to take long ropes and strap it down, before attaching the ropes to chains that ran in the floors and would keep the stock in place the entire trip to where ever it was they were going. When they were done they had to go back up on the ship where they were handed different tools to do maintenance on the ships along with the other handy men and women that worked on the ship for a living.

As one of the woman told them what was expected of them Fen picked up on the fact that Sin was glancing at him every few seconds and then it hit him. The child couldn't understand what the woman was saying and was watching him to see what he would do next so he could follow through. The man wondered how the child could be like this, even if he was a slave almost every slave he met could understand their masters and their commands.

He sighed and followed the woman to where she handed him a hammer and some nails along with some wood. He then had to climb over the side of the ship after handing everything to Sin and sit on a ramp that was being suspended by two ropes before he collected the tools and allowed Sin to climb on the ramp next to him. He used the chain to lower the ramp after handing the things back to Sin.

When they got to a certain section he came to a stop and placed the wood on a crack that was forming and had Sin hold it in place while he took the hammer and nails to hold it in place. They continued like this for a few more hours before the entire side of the boat they were working on had been covered by new wood. They got back on the ship and finally were handed buckets filled with water and soap, along with rough cloths so they could scrub the surface of the ship.

Sin observed what the bear man was doing before he got on his knees, dumped the cloth in the foamy water and pulled it out slapping it down on the floor before he began to rub back and forth using both his hands. He rubbed and rubbed the one spot until the bear man moved to another section and he followed suit, they didn't stop until the whole floor of the ship was done and they had to rinse it off.

The rest of the day went just like this with Sin following the beast man around and doing whatever he did. It was later that night when the man returned for his four slaves and Sin jumped up on the back of the carriage and waited for the other slaves to join him before they were on their way. The ride back was quiet and by the time they reached back all the other slaves were fast asleep and they too had to go to sleep but for the first time it was on an empty stomach.

**

The next the morning Sin woke up before the sun and went outside by the door where he sat until breakfast arrived and he was quick to grab up what he wanted and vanish behind the house where he could eat in peace. The buns were warm and the broth smelt fresh and the water was cool so he sat down and ate as much as he could, when he was done he sat back against a wall and just looked up at the sky there was nothing to do until then he would stay away from the other slaves.

The closer he was to them the more he felt like something bad was going to happen, he especially got that feeling when it came to the bear man that he always found staring at him. He had even seen him talking to someone on the boat, it wasn't one of the people that told them what to do, or one of the other slaves, but someone who kept glancing around as he spoke even going so far as to bore daggers into sin who was standing close at the time.

His decision to stay away from the other slaves soon came crashing down when he heard one of the master's calling for him in a very angry tone. He jumped up and quickly ran around the house to go and face the man, he saw the other slaves were lined up and looking forward and he was the only one missing. He moved to take his spot but before he could he felt a whip connect with his chest twice as the owner yelled at him.

The pain caressed his skin and he gritted his teeth and went to join the line. The owner yanked on his hair pulling a few strands out before throwing him to the ground. The man rose his whip once again to strike Sin but before he could the whip was stopped by the bear man Fen who grabbed the end of the whip before it hit Sin's skin. Sin rose onto his knees and looked up at the exchange of daring glares between the owner and Fen.

But the exchange didn't last long as the two other owners that had been watching on stepped forward and rained lashes down on Fen until he was on his knees in front of Sin. Sin stared at him with a scowl on his face wondering why he did that, no one had ever stepped in when he was being whipped before so his stare hardened. The bear man wanted something from him and that was the only reason he stopped the owner.

He could feel hate pooling in his stomach for the man and it only worsened when he and Fen were dragged into the barn and chained to a wall with their backs exposed to the owners. He heard the men yell something and then he felt the first lash, he grit his teeth and tried to hold out but as the lashes came down on him hotter and faster he started to cry out. This brought happiness to the owners but if a mother had been passing at that time she would be running to the aid of the child even if he wasn't hers.

The lashes didn't stop for some time but when it finally did Sin was teetering between consciousness and unconsciousness. The owner that had whipped them left the barn taking the other slaves with him as the other two owners stayed back to unchain Sin and Fen and drop them to the floor leaving them there. The place got dark as the doors that lead into the barn were pulled shut and bolted from the outside.

*

Fen didn't cry out he was trained not to in situations like that, if was a sign of weakness to let other's hear your cry while they beat you, you were never allowed to let them feel as though they had a sense of control over you. He hissed as he rose up from the floor and drug himself over to where Sin was laying on the floor. Blood was flowing from the gashes on his back that were made from the whip and tears poured from his eyes as his body shook from the pain he was feeling.

Fen leaned against the wall despite the pain in his back and pulled Sin so his head was resting on his head "I'm so sorry for dragging you into this mess little one but you were the only way I could carry out my main purpose for being here, I swear I'll pay you back."