Ellie waited, wondering what he was going to do. Was he to strike her? Was he going to punish her for something she couldn't control? It wasn't like it was her fault, his skin was rough on the back, causing her hands to chafe.

She was getting nervous by the second, shrinking the best she could, her eyes still snapped shut as tight as she could keep them. She felt him remove one of his hands from her own, then, he felt something warm and smooth touch under her chin. She opened an eye, feeling him tilt her head towards his direction, forcing her to look at him.

His head was cocked to the side, his thumb now resting on her chin, the talon that extended off of it lightly touching her lip. Lightly, he brushed it over the soft flesh, seeming more curious about that than anything. She felt her heart pounding up against her chest, making sure to keep her lips sealed shut as well as her eyes so he didn't get any ideas.

He let out a soft trill, his hand moving from her chin and lips to brush her hair out of her face slowly, ranking his claws through the thin black and green strands. Her hair probably wasn't the softest, seeing as she hadn't been able to wash it in some time, but he seemed to be enjoying it no matter.

He pulled his hands away from her, turning his attention towards the Hell Hounds once he stood, they seemed done with their meal, now just chewing on the remaining bones, even fighting over a few of them. Ellie looked to the ground, placing a hand over her heart as she tried to make it slow, her eyes wide.

He wasn't going to punish her, that was good. She looked at her palms, noticing they weren't as cherry-red as the had been earlier. Ellie looked back up to the taller being, trying to avoid staring at any of his muscles. He was powerful indeed, she was certain one hit from him and she'd either be dead or severely injured. She'd be sure to stay on his good-side the best she could.

She poked at the ground once the massive alien walked away to join the other two, they seemed to be talking about something, but what it was about she wasn't sure. They all nodded, then, her 'Master' called the Hell Hounds over, they all roared and began to chase after the trio once they cloaked and began running, at least that's what she assumed.

Now she was truly alone in the camp, unlike the last time. No guard-dog had been left for her, nothing. She stretched, slinking back towards her backpack as she curled up, resting her head against it. There wasn't any trouble in going back to sleep, right? It's not like she could run away or anything.

She slept for what seemed like a few hours, waking up but not fully. She listened to things around her, hearing it all, but her eyes remained closed. She heard rustling, expecting it to be one of the Hell Hounds, but no.

"Hey, look..." a voice whispered lowly.

"Do you think she's alive?" a woman spoke that time.

"I don't know. But we're not going to find out by just standing here." a low, raspy voice replied.

Ellie wasn't sure what was going on; she heard people, but she wasn't sure if they were actually there with her, or if they were just in her head. She felt a hand rest on her shoulder, lightly shaking her. She groaned, swatting lazily at it, not wanting to be disturbed.

"Well, she's alive at least. Don't know what she's doing with a collar around her neck..." the raspy-voice male spoke again.

"Well, obviously, whoever we're dealing with is into some kinky stuff." a new voice laughed before being hit, letting out a soft grunt.

Ellie opened her eyes, looking at her surroundings. She quickly backed away from the male that hovered above her. She backed up until her back hit the rock and she quickly shrunk the best she could, noticing all the weapons they carried, except for two of the group. One wearing an orange jumpsuit, a convict, and another wearing a red hoodie and also glasses.

"Hey, hey, it's alright. Don't be afraid." the female of the group spoke softly, walking over and crouching down. She was carrying some sort of sniper rifle, Ellie wasn't an expert on guns, so she wasn't sure about the specific name of it.

"...Holy shit. I know you. You're Ellie Arris, that cartoonist that vanished a couple of months back." Mr. Red Hoodie spoke, giving a soft smile to her, "Everyone thought you were dead!"

"A... couple of months? I've been gone exactly how long?" Ellie whispered, seeming a bit surprised about the fact she'd been gone longer than she thought. This planet could really mess with the time in your head, what with the days and nights being so long.

"About... three or four months..." the female spoke, tugging at the chain on her neck, "...What kind of sick, twisted person did this to you?"

"...Er... Well... He's not a person, per-say..." Ellie muttered, "I mean, he's human-like, but... He's completely different. There's two others, also! All three are tall, and very strong... The one that is taking care of me like a pet has these hounds too..."

"Really? Well, we just dealt with those hounds not too long ago. But we didn't see any other being commanding them." she assumed that the raspy voiced male was the leader of the group, just by how he acted and what he looked like. She could have been wrong, the guy with the death machine could be it too, just because of his weapon. But, it was better to guess that the other was it instead.

"Alright, well, lets get this chain off of you then we can get you out of here..." the other female smiled, helping her stand up. She grabbed the hook that connected the chain to the collar, attempting to get it unhooked. No luck.

"Let me try." the male with the Russian accent spoke, walking over. Ellie looked to the ground before looking back to him.

He smiled, lightly tapping his chest with three fingers, "Nickoli."

"...Ellie." she smiled at him, slightly flinching when he reached up to grab the metal clasp. God damn it, she hated that little twitch, it wasn't right.

He attempted, and nearly got it, but gave up. She slightly pouted, gently messing with the chain.

"Why don't we just, you know, cut the collar off of her? It's better than trying to get the clasp off, right?" Red hoodie spoke up.

"Not a bad idea." Nickoli nodded, grabbing a small knife out of his pocket, getting ready to cut the collar but Ellie quickly backed away, refusing, her hands shooting up to rest on the softness of the contraption around her neck.

"Are you mad? You're not putting a knife anywhere near my neck! You might cut me... Think of another way..." she muttered. Half of her was frightful that the knife might press against her neck too much and he'd cut into her, causing her to bleed out, and the other half just wanted to keep the collar on. It was nice and comfortable, oddly enough.

"We could just leave you here if you'd prefer that." Ellie shot a glare towards the 'leader', not entirely liking his attitude. He must have been a Mercenary, but that was just a guess.