Aris assisted in yanking the girl's foot out of her boot to keep her from getting hurt even worse. She fell back on her butt when the boot let go. Nathaniel let out a huff, his arms folded and he was looking around. He didn't care to be helping this woman; he just wanted to get out of the woods and find a place to stay, somewhere safe.<br/><br/>Suddenly, the skittering of chains on the ground alerted Nathaniel, who whipped out his knife, and Aris turned her head in the direction of the noise. Nathaniel walked slowly, stalking about to see where the noise was coming from. He looked poised, like a hunter ready to strike. "What is it?" she whispered, looking nervous.<br/><br/>"I-urgh!" Aris' eyes grew wide as a thick arm latched around her companion's throat, holding him in a choke hold. Nathaniel began stabbing at the arm, leaving deep, bloody gashes until the guy holding him tore it from his hand. "Nathaniel!" she cried out, standing quickly.<br/><br/>"Don't move, dove." She grew stiff as hot breath hissed into her ear. Her arms were pinned to her sides and she shrieked, kicking as she was easily lifted off the ground. Six other slavers appeared, four bringing out rope and chain, the other two drawing swords. "Don't be so panicky; I'm sure you will all fetch hefty prices on the slave market," The one holding Aris grinned evilly, showing few teeth in his gob.