There was no telling how long he had been out, but when he came-to again he was in some kind of pit. On one side was an overhang of soil held in place by the curling fingers of a tree's roots, fixed in a fist, but where he lay now was exposed to the elements. He was a lump of tarred silver fur, his coat layered with dried blood and grit, dusted with falling ash. It was the smell in the air that truly roused him; something ruinous, bitter, like a smudge stick made of pine.
He coughed through the thickness in the air and expelled a wad of dried blood which had matted on his tongue. When Revui tried to lift himself to his feet he found he could not - the roar of a hungry belly gave him a way to estimate the days since he had been dropped here, and so did the crescendo of pain from his broken leg.
When the captive fell back to a prone position on his belly he sat there waiting, listening. Pretending he was still asleep so as not to arouse the interest of the volatile strangers around him. The young man needed water; with a slight shift of his head he peered around the area that had been alloted for him and saw a pile of green plants thrown messily beside himself, but no avenue to relieve his thirst. A breath snorts lightly from his snout, and he sinks in to himself, laying coiled like a dragon against the dirt while his head begins to pound.
Slowly it dawns upon Revui that he has made a mistake.
It became part of Black Hat's routine to check in on their newest captive every day after his morning walk. For days, the boy did not rouse and would not even move an inch, thus he never lingered. But today when he came to visit, the fool was contorted in a different position, telling him that he had finally awakened. He stopped just before him, peering down his snout.
He did not ask how he felt, for not only did he not care, but it was obvious he felt like shit. His leg was broken, he'd gotten his arse handed to him, and he was now being held captive in an underground criminal organization. Nor did he ask for the boy's name, for he found it unimportant. He was their captive, and he would refer to him as just that.
Welcome back, captive,
He spat venomously with an irritatingly smug grin on his face, wondering how the youngster would respond — or if he would at all. Deep down, he hoped he would resist him; it'd give him something else to break.
He doesn't like to be still for long periods - never has. Whether he was delegated patrols along Moonspear's slopes or roaming the westlands, Revui kept on the move, inspired by his basic drive to hunt, explore, and kill. He could do none of that here. He could not even stand up properly for all the weariness he felt, aided in no small part by whatever medicines had been forced down his throat.
When a voice came to him over the ledge of the pit, he turned an ear but did little else. The dull tone of the voice did not rouse his suspicion nor his ire, it just was. Revui glimpsed a figure lurking close a moment later, lifted his head, but said nothing. He followed the stranger with his eyes, those challenging eyes, looking very much like a hungry crocodile waiting at a watering hole. Except in this case there would be no meal, no further bloodshed, as Revui would not be able to catch his quarry.
The nameless captive's eyes were ever-challenging as they'd been before. He commended his spirit, but Black Hat was hellbent on shattering it like a well-tossed stone through a glass window. He sat down and made himself comfortable — mostly to taunt the other in his inability to do the same, much less stop him from doing so.
Tell me, captive, for I simply must know: What brought you here to Nightwalkers' claim? Why challenge us when you would so clearly lose? Are you that daft, or do you simply have a death wish?
If it were the latter, it was far too late for that. He was here, and he would be kept alive — whether he wanted to or not.
He wasn't going to answer him. Sore as he was, physically as well as mentally with the ego-reducing fight behind him, Revui had never been particularly fascinated by words and their use. He prefered grim silence, or the satisying noises of battle, the taste of a win, over anything words could provide. So the stranger goaded him, looming over the pit, giving Revui a decent spectacle to observe; he recognized the dark shape and found them appealing for their evident size and strength, but that was it.
Perhaps if the stranger came closer... Perhaps, if they were infuriated enough by Revui's inactivity and driven to some sort of extreme, the gagoyle could use their behavior against them. Catch them, pull them down in to the pit. He was hungry - and the stranger had enough heft to spare. For now Revui watched them in brooding silence, eyes hungry but full of loathing, focused on the stranger's duo toned eyes.
The corner of his lip quirked in amusement at what he interpreted as stubborn impudence. This was exactly what he was hoping for. It was out of sadistic desire as opposed to ire he leapt down from his perch, but he approached the captive all the same. Without another word, his nonchalant demeanor shifted as he lunged for the youngster with teeth aimed right for his scruff. If able to grab hold, he would tug and thrash and tear with his fangs sunk cruelly deep into his flesh until satisfied with the punishment dealt. Only then would he back up and out of range of any retaliation.
I rolled a D15 on the tabletop channel and rolled a 1, hope it's okay that Revui deflects his first try!
Revui typically goads his opponents, and it goes against his natural instinct to sit and watch the stranger so passively rather than challenge with overt posturing, snarling, pacing—but he can't really do anything like that in his current state, foggy as he feels with the medicine in his system, broken as his leg is. His nature is closer to these violent beasts than he knows; yet he can do nothing as the dark wolf lunges in to the pit, veering straight for him with gnashing teeth and a gaping, eager maw. Nothing except rise up and deflect as best he can, parrying the straight-line attack with a sharp turn of his head and the display of his own crocodile grin; it is enough to thwart this one attack but leaves Revui immediately out of breath, sagging against the dirt, bristling and adamant but ultimately useless if the man comes for blood again—and of course, that's exactly what Revui anticipates.
Perfectly fine! ♥ Rolled a 6 for the next go.
He did not expect the boy to have it in him to deflect his attack, but it seemed he was just full of surprises. Their teeth clacked loudly, painfully, and Black Hat pulled back with a hiss-turned-growl, tasting the blood from his gums. Now he was getting irritated. Flattening his ears as his temper steadily rose, he barreled into him with all of his weight and finally punctured his flesh with his teeth. Some cheeky crippled bastard wouldn't best him, he wouldn't allow it!
Finished unleashing his fury onto the grey beast, he backed up and panted until his breath caught up to him. You'd do well not to cross me, boy,
He rumbled, rough voice akin to distant thunder. Are you even capable of speech, you git?
Not one word had left this wolf's lips, far as he knew. It'd be just his luck, trying to pry information from a fucking mute!
He had deflected the initial assault but left himself wide open for more, which the boorish male took full advantage of. Buffered by the weight he threw around, Revui was knocked off-balance and tried to brace himself, faltering with a sneer as his broken limb burned. Next came teeth; grabbing, slicing, pulling at the tender flesh which had only just formed scabs. These were reopened while fresh tears were made to cross them, and Revui belched a bestial roar as he was subdued. He grit his teeth and sagged in the dirt, resolute in his silence, panting hard and waiting for the pain to ebb. He was of no help now - unwilling to speak, but beyond that, unable to, at least while pain bloomed throughout his body.
Still, the young beast held his tongue. Out of stubbornness or inability, Black Hat couldn't tell. He stared at his limp form while he pondered. The captive clearly wasn't going to comply, no matter what — with him, anyway. In due time, with someone else… perhaps. Leaving him to lie there in his pitiful state was punishment enough, he reasoned as he turned to leave.
This is far from the last you'll see of me, dear captive,
Black Hat crooned bitterly before he made his exit, scowl marring his features once his back was to him.