Marion turned, eager to hear what he might have to say. She could count the number of times he'd initiated a conversation with her that didn't involve food or shopping on a single hand. She shot a look towards the stage, irate at the menacing figure of the auctioneer as his voice boomed out over the crowd.<br/><br/>And then she realized which of the slaves was going up next. On one hand, it would mean that they could get out of here that much quicker, something she quite looked forward to. But on the other, once he had his new acquisition, she was certain he would disappear into the lab for weeks, barely to be seen in passing, leaving her much as he had the last year.<br/><br/>She watched as, without so much as a flinch, the slave Revi nearly beheaded herself at the centaur's bidding. She felt a little ill at the sight, never having seen quite so much blood at any time in her life, even counting some particularly ill-advised vid she'd caught with some friends as a teen. She couldn't help but stare, curious to see how it was that the downed creature would repair and revive.<br/><br/>She was just turning to comment to Kasey when she heard his voice cry out beside her, the eager bid making her wince. It was obvious that he'd never attended an auction in his life, both the speed of his bid and the amount letting everybody know just how eager he was to acquire that particular item. And while the sudden high bid would scare off the types of bidders who might get into a bidding war with him, it would make the shills in the audience, of which she was quite certain there were a few, eagerly push the bid up higher than they might otherwise dare.<br/><br/>If she were less civilized, she might slap her palm to her face in reaction, but as she was a woman of breeding, she allowed herself only a sigh and a wince at his naivete. As it was, neither of them saw nor sensed the predator that came up from behind, his kick quite neatly sweeping her feet out from under her, causing her to fall back with a startled yelp into his grasp.