Alongside those who are sinful.

Chapter 17

When Dietrich woke up, he took notice of the candlelight which bathed the cellar in an orange glow. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes, ridding them of tiredness.

"Suns rising, Dietrich." Greeted a voice from next to him. Dietrich turned over slightly to see that it was Kasma. The felid was sitting next to him, legs crossed over one another.

Dietrich sat up slightly, letting some of his bedding fall off him. He felt the cool air come into contact with his skin and he gasped slightly, feeling a shiver work its way out of his body.

He looked down at Kasma to see that the felid was inspecting him as he did this. He felt his skin pebble up just as it did last night, and Kasma reached a hand out to touch his chest.

Dietrich felt the warmth of the hand sear into his chest, noting how soft the touch was despite the force Kasma was putting into it. The Thrask drug his hand over Dietrich's bare chest, moving across his pectoral muscles and then down his abdomen.

"It is so...strange. You cannot see this definition in a Thrask body." He said. Dietrich brought a hand up, and pat the top of Kasma's head in a sort of retaliation for the action.

"There is such strength in your body, Dietrich. I have never seen anything like it." Said Kasma. Dietrich felt a paw brush across his bicep, then they were gone from his body. Dietrich looked to Kasma, noting how his eyes were quickly darting all over.

"Have you been watching me sleep?" Asked Dietrich. He would not lie in saying that the idea was a weird one, even if Kasma was a scholar of sorts in his world. His job was to be naturally inquisitive to the sciences and natural characteristics of the world.

However, when it involved having someone watch him sleep, Dietrich felt that there was a line crossed.

"Perhaps, but did you not do the same to me last night? Maybe you need to check carefully when ensuring the slumber of someone." Said Kasma. Dietrich sat up fully, removing his hand from Kasma's head and grabbing his undershirt.

"You care so little for others but so much for me. Why?" Asked Kasma. Dietrich looked around to see that nobody else was in the main room. Literally, it was just the two of them and Dietrich assumed that everyone else had moved throughout the tunnels.

Dietrich looked back to Kasma. He had the knowledge about Kasma being sold into slavery by the kingdom. He extrapolated where his former "owner" was going. He was going to work on a plan to get her and possibly return himself and the others back to Earth.

Yet, he never once thought about having to tell Kasma about everything. Why would the duty to inform Kasma of his situation fall to him? Dietrich did not know the answer to the question, but he knew that he had to say something.

"I watch over you...because nobody else has. You deserve it, Kasma. You deserve to feel safe now. You have earned it." Sad Dietrich. Kasma adopted a confused look and Dietrich looped his suspenders over his shoulders.

Emotions were not his strong suit, and they had been hopelessly violated during the war. There were only spurts of emotion here and there. He did not know what he should be feeling. However, what he did know was that he could not bring himself to tell Kasma of the plight which surrounded him.

"You omit the truth. Katya told me everything, Dietrich. She woke me up with a plate of food for breakfast and told me about my sale into bonds." Said Kasma. Dietrich watched the felid narrow his eyes and cock his head, placing paws on the man's arm.

"She told me a little more about your home; About what your army did. She told me everything. She told me what a n...knot-see was and then she told me that is what you are." Said Kasma.