Ryia sat on the floor staring in horror at the array of large knives laid out in front of the silvery Rakshasa. The knives were obviously made to cut flesh and had seen more than a smattering of use. She felt tears gather in her eyes at seeing the display in front of her. She opened her mouth to speak but she found that she could not get any words out. She exhaled a choked sob and brought her right hand up to her mouth. Ryia tried to draw a breath, but it only sounded like a squeaky gasp. She closed her eyes and leaned her head forward onto her hand then covered her mouth to help her keep quiet.

The silvery Rakshasa growled quietly then barked sharply. Ryia looked up at it reflexively. The Rakshasa raised its left paw and pointed to Ryia, then gestured to the floor right next to the dead body. Ryia sniffed and blinked, "Wh-what?"

The silvery Rakshasa pointed to Ryia then pointed to the ground in front of him again. Ryia realized what it wanted. Her eyes widened and shook her head vigorously. She pressed herself back against the wall trying to inch her way toward the other women and the perceived safety they presented.

The silvery Rakshasa knitted its bushy eyebrows together and quickly barked a harsh command to the other Rakshasa in the cell, pointing at Ryia.

* * *

"Grab that creature and drag it over here!" Long Tooth ordered.

Diamond Tooth stepped into the cell, "Leave it be!" he countered his father's order.

Long Tooth turned his head and glared at Diamond, "Who are you to disobey a doctor, whelp?"

Diamond Tooth curled his jowls at his father, "These creatures are scared." he said quietly, "If you drag one away the others might attack. How do you intend to get any cooperation from them if they're too frightened to come near us?"

Long Tooth snorted, "Idiot pup." He turned back to the Guard Dogs, "Drag that one over and hold it down! NOW!" He turned back to Diamond, "If these creatures are too stupid to understand what I'm doing, then they're too stupid to be worth the effort, just like you were."

* * *

The four Rakshasa tromped toward Ryia, arms outstretched. She screamed and curled up into the fetal position as the Rakshasa grabbed at her. As soon as the first paw touched her body she lashed out, flailing wildly and striking the Rakshasa with her feet. The two Rakshasa next to the dead body were distracted while the four others had all their attention on Ryia. Veera was not about to sit idly by and merely watch.

She darted out of her corner and swiftly snuck up behind the closest Rakshasa. She deftly drew the long knife from the sheath on its belt then took a step back and delivered a swift kick right between its legs. Veera had hoped it was male, she was right. The Rakshasa whined loudly and both its paws went between its legs as it fell over onto the floor writhing and yelping in a hoarse voice.

The three other Rakshasa turned away from Ryia, their ears laying flat on their heads from the soul-rending yelps of their companion. Veera held the half-meter long blade in a reverse grip, knees bent and shoulder width apart. Her left hand was held out in front of the knife, palm and fingers open. She slid over to Ryia, "Get up!"

* * *

Long Tooth bared his teeth, "You idiots!" He snapped, "Kill that creature! We can't have them armed!"

Diamond had enough, "STOP!" He bellowed.

The Guard Dogs halted and turned toward Diamond curiously, "Leave it be..."

"I said..." Long Tooth began.

"Get out of my jail." Diamond Tooth said quietly.

Long Tooth briefly blinked in confusion before his face creased with indignation, "You insolent little..."

"GET OUT!" Diamond Tooth roared.

Long Tooth huffed air out of his nose then turned to put away his tools, making sure to do so as slowly as he could. Diamond was having none of it. His anger had been built up to the point where he was ready to become violent. He stepped forward and grabbed his father by the scruff. Long Tooth flailed around as he was lifted onto his foot paws and bodily dragged out of the cell. Diamond tossed his father into the hallway and the elderly doctor's tools followed him.

Long Tooth struggled to his feet, rage written all over his features, "Fine then! I want nothing more to do with you! I know every doctor in Gem Fount and I'll make sure every one of them know how you spurned your own father's wisdom!"

Diamond Tooth ignored the angry elder dog, which only angered Long Tooth even more, "My line dies with me." he spat angrily, "I have no son."

Diamond clenched his jaw and forced himself to ignore the elder dog's words. He would worry about where to sleep when his shift ended, though he held out no hope for his possessions surviving the night. Focusing on his present task, he barked orders to his Guard Dogs, "Back away from the creature. Two of you take Rot Nose and lay him down somewhere comfortable. I hope he can still sire puppies after that." Tooth sighed and scratched behind his left ear, "The other two of you wait by the door and make sure none of the creatures escape. I'll deal with this."

The Guard Dogs hurried to obey their commander while the creatures watched with interest. Two particular creatures were chattering at one another. He watched them carefully as he pulled his mace out of his belt and tossed it out the door.

* * *

"Was it an act?" Ryia asked Veera, "Something to lull us into believing a falsehood?"

Veera shrugged, still maintaining her ready stance, "Don't know. Don't really care either. We're prisoners here and at least one of us is already dead. I'm not letting these things come near any of us if I can help it." Veera paused as two of the Rakshasa picked up the one she had kicked in the crotch, "Heh, that's what they get for putting their grubby paws on one of us."

Ryia shuddered as the Rakshasa yelped when the other picked it up, "That one was male for sure. The way it screeched though... didn't you feel a little sorry for it?"

Veera snorted, "Nope. That thing should count itself lucky that I didn't gut it." She suddenly tensed, "What's this one doing?"

The Rakshasa that had thrown the butcher out, was standing in the middle of the cell with both its paws held out in front of it palms out as if in a 'wait' gesture. It held the posture for a moment before it lowered its left paw and held out its right one, palm up as if expecting to receive something.

Ryia whispered to the slightly older woman standing next to her, "I think he wants the knife."

Veera tightened her grip, "Not happening. He'll have to pry it from my dead hands."

* * *

Chop followed the Guard Dog through Gem Fount to the jail. There was a small courtyard in front of the building which had a large number of iron wrist and foot binders piled close to the building. Every Diamond Dog knew what the binders were for. Stone walls and iron bars were useless against a species that could burrow through solid stone almost as quickly as other species waded through water. Prisoners were bound with iron around their wrists and suspended from the ceiling facing the ground. The binders had obviously been removed from the cells and Chop approved of the idea, 'Bound creatures would be easier to handle but more difficult to deal with. That was a smart idea.'

The Guard Dog led Chop into the jail and through the hallways leading to the different cells. For his part, Chop paid close attention to the creatures the Guard Dog led him past, 'They walk on two legs... no claws, no muzzles either, how strange.'

The Guard Dog led Chop past a few cells, peeking in each one then moving on, "Looking for the commander." The Guard explained without being asked.

Chop followed the Guard past what smelled like a kitchen. His mouth watered as profusely as he always did when the savory smells hit his nose. Chop licked his jowls quietly, trying to keep his drool in check, 'This is so embarrassing. Polite dogs do not drool every time they smell food.' He wiped the back of his right arm against his muzzle, slurping loudly. The Guard looked over his shoulder and Chop flattened out his ears in embarrassment, "I have a drooling problem." He said in a clipped tone. The Guard nodded and continued his search.

The Guard finally led Chop to a cell where he stopped and gestured to a single, remarkably well-built dog standing in the center of the cell with his right paw out in front of him. He was facing two of the creatures, one of which had a long knife in its paws. There was a slightly smaller creature standing next to it. The two were chattering in a language that sounded like something a squirrel would speak. Chop tilted his head, 'They speak, good. They're smart enough to have a language.'

Chop shifted his focus to the slightly larger creature holding the knife. It had a long mane like a Kavim, but that was the only similarity it shared with them. It had long, slender paw pads and no claws. It had a face so flat it looked as if it had run into a wall when it was little. Its torso was much shorter than that of a Diamond Dog and oddly shaped as well. It had two rounded fleshy lumps high up on its chest which puzzled Chop at first. A thought suddenly hit him, 'Could it be a nursing female? The teats on a bitch swell and fill with milk before she gives birth and they stay big until she weans her puppy... where is her puppy?' He looked at the rest of her body, 'Is she in the early stages of pregnancy?' He looked at the other creatures, 'All of their teats are swollen. It seems unlikely they are all pregnant. Perhaps it is a way for their species to tell male from female?'

Chop wanted to observe what was going on, but the Guard felt it was pertinent to catch the attention of his superior, "Commander," he yelled, "The Ambassador Of Dogs is here to help you."

Diamond Tooth withheld a grunt of frustration and spoke over his shoulder, "Then have him ask these creatures to return the weapon they stole."

Slobber Chops decided to try the only language he knew aside from Dirgeth, "Emooli..."

* * *

Veera listened as Ryia spoke her thoughts out loud, "Look," she subtly pointed to a new Rakshasa that had been escorted to the cell door, "That one is dressed differently, like the butcher. Its carrying a bag of some sort. I wonder why it's here."

The newest Rakshasa was dressed in a long, brown tunic that had a belt around the middle with an even longer forest green vest with coattails hanging down almost to the ground. Its face was slightly different too. Its ears were floppy like those of a bloodhound, its jowls resembled that of a bulldog. Unlike the other Rakshasa, it did not have fangs showing from its mouth. Its eyes were a very light shade of brown, almost a tan color, which complimented its walnut colored fur.

Both women heard it speak in the growling manner that the other Rakshasa had before it turned its head to them. When it next opened its mouth it spoke in what sounded like a smooth young man's voice. The language was silky and flowed much more smoothly than the language the other Rakshasa had spoken.

Ryia's eyebrows rose, "Is it trying to talk... to us?"

Veera's eyes narrowed in anger, "So NOW they try diplomacy after they tried force?" She scoffed, "Well too little, too late boys!" She yelled at them.

* * *

"What did it say?" Diamond Tooth asked.

Chop shook his head, "I don't know."

"Well then how do we get it to give us the weapon?" Tooth asked, "I don't want to get violent with any of them, but it's not safe for my Guard Dogs if these creatures have weapons."

Slobber Chops gave the matter some serious thought, 'The creature holding the knife sounded angry... why?' Chop spoke to the commander again, "Why does she sound angry? What happened to cause this?"

Tooth spoke over his shoulder, "A doctor wanted the smaller one there to lay on the floor next to this dead one so he could see what killed it. He ordered my Guard Dogs to drag the smaller one over by force and the taller one attacked while they were distracted. It took the knife and kicked one of my Guard Dogs between his legs."

Slobber Chops considered the information, 'She, I'm going to guess it's a 'she', she had the knife but she didn't use it.' He looked at the female holding the knife, 'She's holding the weapon a very specific way so she might know how to use it. She had the ability to kill, she had the opportunity to kill... and yet she didn't kill...' the answer seemed clear to him, "She had the knife and she did NOT use it on the dog?"

Diamond Tooth nodded, "Yes, she had the chance, but she decided not to cut my Guard. I know she was only trying to help the smaller one. I threw the doctor out when he tried to order my Guard Dogs to kill her. I don't think she WANTS to use it, but I cannot take that risk."

Chop licked his lips and shuffled his foot paws, 'When Razor Wit first met me, she walked up and sat down next to the fire like she belonged there. She told me later that she did it to surprise me. It worked for her, maybe it will work for me too.'

"Then let me try something, commander. Come on out and leave the creatures in there for now. We'll all walk away and I'll come back when you feed them. I can work then, but I need their attention to be on me only." Chop explained.

Diamond Tooth considered Chop's idea, "Very well, but there will be Guard Dogs waiting just down the hallway in case they attack. I cannot be held responsible for what these creatures decide to do to you when you are by yourself."

Chop motioned for the commander and Guard Dogs to follow him, then turned and walked down the hallway.

* * *

Ryia was puzzled, "They're leaving?"

Veera chuckled, "About time."

"That one in the green coat. He just ordered them to leave..." Ryia spoke out loud.

Veera scoffed as the last Rakshasa left, closing the cell door behind itself, "And I keep my new toy." She raised the middle finger of her left hand at the retreating forms of the Rakshasa.

"The one that threw out the butcher, he didn't seem so bad." Ryia said, "And the one in the green coat actually sounded normal."

"The one that threw out the butcher tried to get me to give up my knife too." Veera said.

"But he didn't try to force you to." Ryia pointed out.

Veera sneered, "Yeah, because I would have gutted him like a fish."

Ryia rubbed her right hand over her left arm, looking around with uncertainty "I don't know Veera, I think maybe... I don't know."

Veera finally lowered the knife and gave Ryia a hug with her left arm, "It doesn't matter either way. With this knife, all we have to do is wait until they're not looking and I can pick the lock on the door."

Ryia quirked her eyebrows at the slightly taller woman, "Who ARE you Veera?"

Veera smirked, "That's a story for another time."

Author's Note

Let me know if I need to ro-sham-bo any typos.