Tsalu

The grinding stone slides off Tsalu's spear with a metallic scrape. He picks it up, watches it gleam in the torchlight, then lowers it to a finer grind. "Tsalu! There you are." Baso approaches and claps Tsalu on the shoulder, still loud and boisterous. Tsalu hums softly in agreement but doesn't look up. "Your new slave is drawing a crowd. Keep an eye on him before someone else decides to take him." "I told you, this isn't a slave. He's a pet," Tsalu replies, sparks flying as he runs the grinding stone over the sharp metal. Baso snorts. "And the tribe knows better than to try to take what belongs to another." Still, the commotion around Tsalu's tent eventually catches his attention. As Baso said, he turned his head to see a group of Hezi warriors surrounding Kaylee Karen, shouting with excitement and glee, as if encouraging or goading them on. Tsalu raised a dark eyebrow and looked at Baso. "I think they're trying to see if he can break free of his chains this time," Baso answered Tsalu's unspoken question, and Tsalu burst into laughter. "Another escape attempt? Seriously?" Tsalu puts down his spear and rises, heading for his tent. "I guess I'll have to deal with this one." As if this little one could escape from Hezi's bonds, but he'd give Kaylee Karen credit for trying. He'd always had a thing for energetic creatures. "Okay, mongrels, stop staring. Don't you all have anything better to do?" Tsalu sweeps his sharp golden gaze over the other warriors, and though they utter piteous cries and protests, they eventually give in and disperse. Tsalu stops in front of the chained Kaylee Karen, looking down at the smaller creature with a slight smirk. "I see you still haven't learned the meaning of 'stay.' Frankly, I'm beginning to think your kind are simply untrainable." He crouches to match Kaylee Karen's level, his expression suddenly serious.