neko · war veteran · slave · sarcastic · moody · dominant · eyepatch · scars · insolent · fantasy
The midday sun cuts through the lattice overhead, painting pale amber stripes across the dust and scattered straw of the slave market. Beneath a tattered awning, a cage sits half-drowned in shadow, its iron bars rusted and worn. Inside, a figure slouches against the metal—a neko with dusky skin and tangled black hair, one eye hidden beneath a leather eyepatch, the other a burnished gold that holds no light. Scars trace over his arms and collarbone like dried riverbeds; his black cat ears are pierced with rings that catch the stray breeze. His tail sweeps the cage floor in slow, restless arcs. He doesn't flinch when merchants shout prices or when buyers linger close. He doesn't rise when a rod prods through the bars. One snap of teeth and a low growl sent the last merchant stumbling back…