It was the gasp of relief and joy that made him look up from the key growing from his palm, and he took in Avis' face with his currently one-eyed gaze. She was staring at him through bloodshot eyes, the feathers around the top of her head matted with days of sweat. But the happiness in her gaze made her eyes shine despite their mildly abused state, and Nevin shifted, an acute awareness of the flow of his blood informing him of the fact that he was now blushing upwards from his neck. The flush of red crept up his exposed chest, easing some of the stark contrast between his normally pale skin and the vibrant red lines that ran across him.

Thankfully she gave him an out, reminding him of the fact that though her eyes were now free, her hands and feet were still bound. He waved his hand sharply, the key breaking free and falling to the ground with a strangely wet sound, then knelt down and picked up the dagger he had dropped. He flipped it over in his hand repeatedly as he thought of how to get the guard over here.

Calling out, telling them that Avis had gotten free would not work, though that was his first idea. That would just raise the alarm immediately and have the guard call for reinforcements. No, he needed something else, something that would cause concern but not outright fear. A vicious grin split his lips, distorted by the swelling and framed on one side by blood.

"Go hide in the corner alright?
These hunters are concerned by the money they're getting from you, so thinking you're dead would probably make him freak out and come running." He swept a hand towards the shadowed corner she had been in when he was dumped in here. Pale fingers curled tight around the hilt of the blood-dagger, pressing the blade up against his sleeve, obscuring it from easy view.

"Once he's in here, he won't leave.
Not when he's one of the ones responsible for your current state." This statement came out thicker than he had intended as his anger at what she had experienced surged, the icy fury threatening to swallow him up for a moment. He shoved it back down and made his way over to the cage bars, checking one last time to make sure she was out of easy sight from the bars of the cell before calling out.

"Hey! Hey, goat-buggerer!" The man down the hall snorted, his head swinging up to look in Nevin's direction. "Yes you you ugly sack of potatoes!" The man pushed away from the wall he was leaning against and started walking towards the cell, pulling his club from his belt. Nevin's hand tightened on his dagger.

"Just thought you might want to know that I think the other prisoner's dying or dead. She started making these choking noises and I thought I heard her collapse, but I'm not going near it in case it's a trick to get me close enough to attack. Not that she'd really need a trick but hey, your sorry fat head doesn't need to know that." Nevin's last sentence was said under his breath, possibly loud enough for Stare to hear, but not enough for the guard to. What he had heard made the guard speed up drastically, breaking into a light run.

Within moments he was unlocking the gate, and Nevin started to turn in his direction - only for the guard to lash out with the club, smashing into the side of the alchemist's head. It hit the gouge that the head of the hunters had made earlier, making the wound bleed more freely even as Nevin's head smacked against the cell bars. The Alchemist staggered backwards, his head now drowning in a fresh wave of pain.