Ribbon.

Movement. Kel'luknar groaned and tried to move his head; no luck - it was weighted down with something. His tongue felt thick in his mouth. The ground shook beneath him and he tried to summon strength to at least twitch a toe, move an arm - do something. No luck.
He heard voices...garbled language...questions being asked? And then he slipped back down into the darkness.

+

When he woke again, his body felt more like his own. He tested his nose first. There was no breeze here - scents were still, not moving in and out as they did with the wind. He was inside, then. But where? He tested for wolfe scents and found none but his own. He remembered Sodre at the same time he caught his scent and memories came rushing back into his mind.
Kidnapped.
They had been kidnapped, and drugged, and now they were here - wherever here was - and Moon only knew what was going to happen to them. Lucky opened his eyes and caught sight of Sodre first, curled on a pile of blankets not far from him. It was difficult to see, Lucky realized - he'd been using his wolfe sight. He blinked and the dimness didn't fade. Perhaps it was nighttime, then. The wolfe shook himself awake, testing his fingers first, then toes, then tail. Or not. No tail. He must have still been human when they drugged him, then. Better to leave it off, then, he decided. Maybe they'd think they'd mistaken him, whoever these people were. Perhaps they weren't looking for humans.

There were no sounds reaching his ears, and so Lucky cleared his throat, just to be sure he hadn't gone deaf. He hadn't, and so he figured that whoever had taken them must have moved off somewhere. That, or they were keeping silent to keep their captives confused. Lucky stretched; the ground was still shaking beneath them - rhythmically, with a full-bodied jerk that seemed to be trembling the walls as well. Lucky got to his knees and made his way over to Sodre, scrambling the blankets he hadn't noticed he was lying on as he did so. A particularly robust tremble happened just as he was getting close, and he lost his footing and tried to catch himself on the wall, only the wall gave way and he landed half on top of Sodre.
"Arooo!" the Layer yelped, startling awake. "Lucky, wha - "
The wolfe clamped his hand down over the Layer's mouth, silencing him.
"Hush. Quiet." Sodre's eyes were huge, terrified, but he obeyed the wolfe. Lucky put a hand flat to the ground between them. "Still moving."
If it was possible, the Layer looked even more frightened, and Lucky felt a rash feeling of protectiveness come over him.
"Where are we?" Sodre asked, as if he was absolutely certain that Lucky would know.
The wolfe shrugged.
"Not sure. But - " he reached a hand up and slapped at the wall; the heel of his hand struck something hard, but his fingers pushed the wall away. He grasped the thing he'd struck and found it was a metal bar. He sighed.
"I think we're in a cage."
"A cage? Why would we get put in a cage?"
Sodre still sounded a little disoriented - Lucky supposed some of the drug was still in his system. The layer shook his head.
"I don't want to be in a cage, Lucky." he whined, and tried to get to his feet, but struggled and collapsed on to Lucky's lap instead, whimpering.
"What's wrong with me?" he asked, an edge of hysteria in his voice. Kel'lluknar stroked his neck to soothe him.
"It's OK. It was just a tranquilizer. You'll come out of it soon. Just try to lay down."
Sodre whimpered again.
"Help." he whined, quietly. Lucky stroked the Layer's curly head and felt his heart swell with emotion for his mate's distress.
"I will, Roo. I will."

+

It wasn't much longer before the movement came to a jerky stop and the sounds of movement filtered through the air. Someone was making camp. Sodre whimpered and clung tighter to Kel'luknar; he had moved them both to the middle of the cage, away from unseen dangers at the walls, and they were both lying on a pallet of blankets. Then, abruptly, the darkness was torn away and light pierced into the little room; Kel'luknar was temporarily blinded, and shielded his eyes with one hand.
"You come out now, Yor. You too, Human."
The voice was scratchy, but firm. Lucky tried to make out the face of the speaker, but couldn't - was it one of the ones from before? He wasn't sure. The shape was human, but the scent...was nonexistent. Lucky growled under his breath. He didn't like the look of this at all.

At Lucky's growl, the silhouette slammed something metal against one of the bars of the cage, startling both the inhabitants. Sodre yelped and burrowed back against Lucky. Lucky quieted, temporarily wrong-footed.
"Don't growl to me, Yor." the scratchy voice said, offended, and Lucky realized that he'd almost given himself away. Sodre was about to protest the accusation, but Kel'luknar squeezed him, soothing. Then the silhouette raised the hand that had held something metal - Lucky knew enough to recognize a weapon. The other hand held some kind of keys, with which the shape unlocked the cage, keeping the weapon hand ready.

The urge to just shift, burst forward out of the small cage opening, and tear the throat from the human-or-whatever was nearly overwhelming. Lucky just managed to keep himself human by thinking of Sodre, and what that weapon might do to him were something to go wrong.

+

It took several minutes to get Sodre out of the cage; first, by the shape's coaxing, then by Lucky's coaxing, then by the shape's threatening of Lucky with his weapon.

Outside, it was still daylight, and Lucky got a better look at their surroundings and their captor. He had been right - it was a cage, on wheels, covered with some kind of dark curtain, and drawn on the back of a truck. The truck was dark blue, and one of many that had circled around for this stop. Their captor was a human - or at least, he looked like one. He had light, pinkish skin and shaggy dark hair that fell down over blue eyes and and almost constant frown. Lucky tried to guess his age at a glance - not much older than himself, he decided. The human's dress was curious, however; he wore ill-fitting, roughly made shirt and pants, and no shoes. As they walked towards the woods (they were clearly being taken out for a break, Lucky realized), the human kept pulling at his clothes, tugging at the collar and scratching at the arms like an uncomfortable wolfe cub might. Slowly, it dawned on Lucky that this was because the man was not used to wearing clothes.

"So," Lucky said, by way of starting conversation. "Your people speak English."
The man grunted and, if possible, frowned more.
"Walk, Human. No talk."
"No talk?" Lucky asked innocently.
"No talk!" the man answered, agitatedly, and glanced back over his shoulder. Sodre cast a worried look up at Kel'luknar, but the wolfe just smiled calmly.
"So where are the rest of your people?" Lucky asked, voicing the concern the man was clearly feeling. "Did they leave you alone to guard us?"
The man narrowed his eyes, but shook his head.
"They come back."
"Will they?" Lucky asked, sensing a soft spot. "How long have they been gone?"
The man simply grunted.
"Brothers come back." he repeated.
"Oh." Lucky said. Then, after a pause: "What if they don't?"
The man looked startled for a half a second, then he frowned deeply and poked Lucky with the weapon.
"Human no talk!"
With the poking and everything, the man seemed a little more serious about it, and so Lucky opted for silence this time.

+++++

When they returned to the camp, Lucky and Sodre were put back in the cage, but the curtains were pulled back from it, giving them a full view of the camp. Eventually, the rest of the group returned, some carrying water, some firewood, and some nuts, berries, and assorted other edibles. Lucky thought about rabbit and his mouth watered. To be eating good meat at home right, now, or even not at home - in the cave, with Sodre, with the smell of meat and smoke and the Layer's fur filling his nose...and the gentleness of the Layer's touch, and his soft skin and the sweet scent of fresh fields and rushing wind and -
Fuck.
The wolfe shook his head to clear it. This was becoming an increasingly worrisome problem. And it seemed to be getting worse, which was to be expected, with the way the Layer laid against him now, and clung to him and kept his scent so tantalizingly close...
Stop it.
The wolfe scolded himself. This is no time for heat, he chastised his body. This is panic time - this is escape time. Not heat time. Lucky sent up a quick prayer to the Moon - a reasoning, really. In all her wisdom, she couldn't really expect him to deal with heat now, could she? Not while they were trapped like this! He and Sodre, locked up in this cage in the middle of nowhere, alone...
Fuck.

The sun was setting - someone the camp began to approach their cage with bowls of food. Sodre shrank back from the shape, but it was only their captor from before, and so Lucky watched him impassively. The food was only stew, and poorly made stew at that. But Sodre ate his, and Lucky ate his, and after a while it began to get dark and they drifted back off to sleep.

Clanging against the bars of the cage woke them sometime in the night, and the captor was back, keys in hand. His tan clothes looked red in the firelight. He indicated the weapon again, then pointed to the woods; it was time for another break.

+

Sodre was silent again on the walk, and Lucky was talkative as before.
"So where are we going, might I ask?"
The man grunted.
Lucky sighed.
"I mean, we're not going to escape - you've made that much clear. So we're going to know eventually, when we get there. So it's not like it's a secret. You could tell us now."
The man grunted again, and Lucky wondered if he even knew. He tried another tactic.
"So these men are your brothers?"
The man grunted, but then spoke.
"All are brothers. Brothers in Unit."
"In unit?" Lucky asked, curiously. "Are you soldiers?"
The man chortled, suddenly and loudly, as if Lucky had said something very outrageous.
"Soldiers!" overcome with laughter, he managed to shake his head. "Only Sand be soldiers! Brothers definitely not Sand!"
This statement had no effect on Sodre, but it almost stopped Lucky in his tracks. Sand? His badi had told him about the Sand before....
"You're not Sand?" he asked, casually. "I thought you were." he finished confidently.
The man smiled so wide that his teeth were visible in the dark.
"No. Not Sand." he said, and hesitated, then added proudly, "Half Sand."

+

The magnitude of Sodre's curiosity regarding this exchange was constrained only by his fear of the weapon behind him and his pressing need to relieve himself. On the walk back, however, he tugged demandingly at Kel'luknar's arm.
"Sand?" he whispered. "What does Sand mean?"
to which the wolfe replied,
"Hush. Later."

Now it was later, and Kel'luknar and Sodre were lying side by side on the blanket pallet, and Sodre was demanding to know. The mystery had, at least to some degree, distracted the Layer from his abject fear, and so Lucky decided to indulge him.
"The Sand are the Chamos - the chameleon people."
Sodre looked alarmed.
"The ones who can change their shape - "
"Into anyone they want. Yes. Those. That's why they call them the Sand - it's what they say they are made out of."
Sodre looked around nervously.
"So these are - them? Half-thems?" he cocked his head. "How can that be? What's their other half?"
Lucky shrugged.
"Human, I guess. They look human most of the time. Chamos don't, unless they're trying."
Sodre shuddered.
"I don't like Chamos." he said, very quietly. Lucky patted his arm to comfort him.
"Well, these are only half-Chamos, so you only half need to worry." he assured, lightly.
Sodre furrowed his brow.
"So is that why they...talk the way they do? Because they're Chamos?"
Kel'luknar paused, thinking.
"Well, Sand don't talk at all. It's the easiest way to identify one. So they must have learned to talk from their human parent." Lucky shook his head. "I don't know why they would talk weird, then."
"Maybe they weren't with the humans most of the time?" Sodre suggested, and Lucky shrugged.
"Could be. Maybe they grew up with Sand? Had no need for language?"
"They talk to each other." Sodre observed.
Lucky shrugged.
"Alright, I don't know, then." he said, and Sodre looked away. There was quiet for a minute, then,
"I really don't like this, Lucky."
The wolfe shifted in his spot on the blankets and exhaled.
"I know. And we're going to get out of it. Don't worry." he promised, and turned his head to look at Sodre.

This was a terrible mistake. The second he turned his head, he caught wind of it - the scent again, the vision, the headiness, the tingling in his toes and tail spot and the urge to take him, take your mate, take him now. And suddenly it all made so much sense to Lucky that he didn't have the presence of mind to stop himself before he'd flipped over, straddled the Layer, forced one leg between Sodre's thighs, and buried his nose in the bend of his neck. The matter wasn't helped by the fact that Sodre didn't even resist - he just accepted Lucky's strong weight above him, and the hand in his hair and the leg between his, and laid his head back to bare his neck for the wolfe.

As quickly as it had come, it faded, and Kel'luknar was left bewildered, aroused, and atop the Layer.
"Mec'thal!" he swore, and fell off onto the hard floor.
Sodre raised himself on his elbows.
"Alpha?" As soon as he said it, he slapped a hand over his mouth and looked apologetically at Lucky through the darkness. "I'm sorry!"
The wolfe shook his head.
"It's OK. You can't help it." he looked down at himself. "I can't help it."
Sodre fiddled with the edge of one blanket.
"Should we just - get it over with, maybe?" he asked. Lucky glared murder at him, and he shrank back. "OK, nevermind." he said, quickly. The wolfe, realizing he'd caused offense, sighed and got to his knees.
"No. It's not that. It's just...I don't want to hurt you." he said, veraciously. Then he frowned. "Did your egg come back yet?"

In the mess, that minor commotion had been all but forgotten, and now Sodre lifted his shirt, getting a cool summer breeze across the skin. He pressed a tentative finger to the little white star that held his eggs and counted. One, two, three...only three. No fourth egg yet. He slowly put his shirt back down.
"No." A silence persisted between them. "I don't know why, but maybe after it regenerates, we could...?" he trailed off hopefully.
Lucky, who was feeling tired and confused and just a bit worn down by it all, simply nodded his head.
"Maybe."

+++++