Bound By Chains (MxM)

Chapter Nineteen

There was apparently a lot more into rebellions than I had initially thought. As soon as I had awoken to a bright and cheery new day, in the tent I was assigned to, the camp was already bustling with activity, and people of all species, shapes and colors roamed around chattering, or getting their things ready. It was honestly quite a bit upon first morning light, and I was a bit off put by how...energized everyone seemed to be, especially so early in the morning.

Yawning, I stepped out of my tent and noticed there was a long table set beside a large white tent, covered with steaming food. Immediately, my stomach rumbled to remind me just how little I had eaten these past couple of days, and without giving it anymore thought, I made my way over there, noticing that Joana was already piling her plate high with bread and meat.

"Oh, good morning, Joana," I greeted her kindly, once I made my way over to the table, my eyes hungrily set on the bacon, and rolls that were presented there. "Is this...for everyone?"

Joana jumped upon my arrival but passed it off with a warm smile as she nodded her head, causing those brown curls to flop into her face. "Oh, hey little dragon! Yeah, this is for everyone helping out in the camp. It a little something Terry tries to maintain, you know, with us being holed up in a forest and all." She leaned in closer to me. "Though, to tell you the truth, I really miss being able to drink milk. Unfortunately, we don't have any way to store any kind of dairy products, which sucks, because like, milk is absolutely amazing and one of the best beverages out there. I mean gee, cows really know what they're doing, you know?" She paused in her little ramblings, before it dawned on her that I didn't know where any of the plates, or utensils were. "Oh, right, here." She gently set her own full plate to the side and grabbed me my own, before handing me a fork. "There you go!"

I nibbled at my bottom lip and thanked her but paused and glanced at her from the corners of my eyes. "Actually, if it's alright...I'd like to grab a plate for Cayden as well. I-I want to make sure he gets something to eat as well, since all we had yesterday were a few berries."

Joana blinked and raised her brows, but thankfully, she didn't ask too many questions as she grabbed me a second plate and handed it to me, but not before wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "So, that is you're little prince's name? Very princely indeed. It's nice that you still care about making sure he's fed, especially with how cruel he no doubt treated you while you were under his care. I mean, all slave owners are pretty much the same. Cruel, and big meanies."

I don't know why, but the way she was saying it made me flush in embarrassment, which caused me to tear my gaze away from her as I began piling both of my plates. "Y-Yes, that is his name. And while I may not have liked how he's treated me in the past...he is a person, a-and I don't want him to starve." I wasn't sure why I was trying to justify my reasoning of wanting to make sure he had something to eat, and especially to a person I've only known for a few hours at most...

I pursed my lips and stopped my thoughts there as I grabbed a couple of rolls and placed them on the plates, before I gathered them and went to walk away...only to stop in my tracks once I realized that I had no idea where they were even holding Cayden. So, with burning cheeks, I glanced back towards Joana, grimacing when I saw that she had begun over-stuffing her mouth with some bread. "Apologies...but it has suddenly occurred to me that I have no idea where my companion is being held. You don't perhaps...you know...know where he's at?"

Joana paused in her chewing, before she attempted to swallow it all down as she nodded. "Yeah! I can show him to you if you want!" She said once she managed to swallow everything down. Surprisingly. I couldn't fathom how she had managed to get all of that down, considering it looked like she had stuffed like...four rolls into her mouth. Perhaps it was a kitsune thing? I just knew that I would never be able to do something...quite like that. Not that I ever had the option to eat so much to begin with...and there I went losing track of my thoughts.