Sin was awoken the next day when he was doused with cold water that caused him to spring up, he regretted the minute he did it because the pain from before the was numbed rushed back to him and he found himself whimpering as he tried to control it. The pain increased making him fall on his face when someone poured something that stung his cuts on his skin. He felt tears start to run down his face and whimpered loudly.

Someone got down behind him and ran a rough cloth over his back making him cry out until they stopped and he was doused in another set of cold water. He was dried down and then a shirt was thrown at him, he slowly rose to his knees and pulled the shirt over his head. Hissing as it slid on his back, he forced himself to stand after that and looked around to see the bear man was leaning against a wall watching at him.

The pain was suddenly numbed as a surge of hate rushed through him and he growled at the man as he bored daggers into the man. All he got in return was a nod before the man turned to walk out the barn and Sin reluctantly followed. A man was standing outside the barn waiting on them and he lead them back to the barn that the slaves slept in where a carriage that had the steel bars attached to it was waiting along with the other four bear men that had arrived with Fen.

Sin and Fen were shoved so they would stand next to the men and then someone spoke to one of the owners pointing at Sin as he did, the owner said something back to the man in an angry tone. Sin almost felt a twinge of pain at the way the man spoke but then cut it off, they weren't his family but just like them and everyone else they wouldn't keep him for long even if Sin had felt comfortable enough to call this place his home.

He gave no reaction as someone came over with a set of shackles that were connected to each other and clamped them on his wrist and ankles. They did the same to the other men and then Sin turned so he was looking at Fen's shirt covered back and followed along as the men went in to the carriage. He no longer cared what happened to him from there, they could put him to work anywhere or do anything and he wouldn't say anything to him because he had come to the conclusion that his life wasn't worth the trouble.

And the only choice he would have the freedom to make from this day going forward was whether he received lashes or avoided them.

**

Fen looked at the child that sat across from him and found himself flinching at the sight of the child's once bright green eyes going dull, they still swirled but much slower. The bear man wondered if the pain he had caused the child was truly worth it, he sighed and looked at his other four companions that were also looking at the child with some interest. "It will all work out, we can simply take the child with us when we leave, after all he is one of our kind."

"I doubt after what Fen did the child would even want to come with us, no matter if he is one of us he doesn't exactly seem like the trusting type." one of them spoke and Fen sighed.

"You must not let anyone over hear us or the only place we'll be going is the grave." They all nodded in agreement and the carriage fell into a comfortable silence at least for the five bear men.

Nearly a day and a half later of travel and the child was still sitting quietly, with his cold eyes. Where the bear men had taken turns sleeping he had stared off blankly for the whole time. Fen knew he was responsible for what the child was going through but there was nothing he could do about it at least not in this point in time. The carriage finally came to a stop and Fen looked up to see they were in front of a large grey building that was made of stone.

The slave trader opened the door and gestured for them to exit, Fen jumped out the carriage and glanced back to see Sin following behind him. So the child hadn't completely lost it was what passed through his mind. They followed the slave trader into the mining office and were met with scowls from the people that were inside. Some of them even leaned into each other to whisper about them forgetting that they were beast people and could practically hear everything they were saying.

Fen ignored them and turned his attention to the slave trader and the man he was speaking to "Okay they've arrived, five strong d

the beast men to bring the production of your mine through the roof. And as a bonus you can have the shorter one, put him to do anything and he'll be able to pull his weight and then some, and best of all you don't need pay me anything extra?" The slave trader smirked at the man he was talking to and then pointed to Fen and the others.

The man that was dressed in a white suit and blue tie with a matching top hat walked over to them and the slave trader signaled for them to turn, everyone doing as they were told even Sin was just a beat behind. The man hummed and nodded as he looked them all over before looking at Sin and frowning "isn't this one just a child?" the man asked glancing at the slave trader and the man shook his head.

"Of course not, he's just descended from a smaller beast, after all I would be a fool ti try and pawn a child off to you." the man spoke with a wide smile and it made Fen feel disgusted that he could lie so easily.

"Then I guess I could use the extra body, here's your pay." the man said as he handed the slave trader whose smile widened as he collected it and then lead the slaves into the back. He waited till they were behind a still bar that separated them from the main building before collecting the shackles and heading on his way.

They stood in that area until a very tall man who appeared to have some elf in him came into the room through a door that lead further into the build. He didn't say a word but signaled them to follow, he lead them through the door and then several others before they found themselves standing in a room made of white tile that had a very large container of grey powder. They were then told to strip and every single part of them was covered in it before they were allowed to throw on just there pants.

They were lead out the building and out into the opening where at the back of the building there were openings that lead down under the ground. The man walked to the very last one and collected a lamp from off a stand that was next to it before he lead them down into the mine. It was a bit of a walk before they could hear any of the sounds of a working mine and when they went in they were met with the sight of both men and women hard at work in it.

The man lead to this area that all the tools were in and three of them got pick axes while the other three were given hammers, they followed the man further into the mine and stopped where at least fifty people were chipping away at a stone wall that was still standing. He said nothing before he turned to head back out of the mine and the bear men looked around at what the people were doing before they followed suit.

*

Sin's muscles stretched and bounced as he hefted the hammer off the ground and then brought it down on a bolder that someone had broken from the wall. Only shards flew from the boulder and there were sparks that lightened the area, he lefted it again and brought it back down with much more force. Chunks of rock broke off this time and went flying in every direction hitting some of the other works who just hissed before returning to their work.

Soon as he was done breaking the boulder into little chunks he went and found another one and continued the cycle. The boulders didn't seem to end as they worked and worked without stopping. Sin felt a few people looking at him as he worked but ignored it, he hated when people found him interesting enough to stare but there was nothing he could do but focus on his work. Even if he had given them a look that made them go back to their work, the minute he looked back to his there eyes would be on him.

The sound of axes, hammers and other steel tools hitting stone echoed through the mine bringing it a live. The [lace never grew quiet no matter how tired the workers got. They wouldn't stop working until they were told they could, because they knew if they stopped before such a time, even if it wasn't by choice they would be in trouble. Sin would bare witness to what happened when you stopped working without permission.

He had been going about his work when a man that was taller than him but half his size collapsed on the ground. As soon as he did some people started whispering something to the man, but no matter how he tried he could stand up. Sin looked from the man when he saw three humans approaching, they had angry looks on their faces and carried whips on them that had spikes sticking out of it and Sin watched them with curiosity.

They all came to a stop when they reached the man and surrounded him, the man looked up at them and Sin could pick up that he was weakly pleading for them not to whip him and he scowled at that. The man was older than him by at least ten years and even if he had half his weight it was clear he had been doing this for a while which meant he was supposed to be better at it and stronger than him but all Sin could see from the man was weakness and he hated it.

He didn't even watch as the three men started raining lashes on the man, instead he went back to his work as the other workers including those he had arrived with watched on. A woman who appeared to be collecting the chunks of rock had also continued on her work as if someone getting beat to death in front of her was nothing new. She looked glanced at Sin as he brought the hammer down on the rock and then went back to her work.

Sin only had to stop what he was doing so that one of the three men could drag away the now dead body of the slave, before he returned to what he was doing. Someone's death simply meant that someone new would be brought in, or the people that were already there would be given more work. And he was hoping that more work meant more food, because for that he would happily do it.