There was silence for a while. Only the click, click of Stare's claws, the clump, clump of Vitruvion's cane and the pitter, patter of the elf's feet on the floor as they walked through the halls. Vitruvion went first, his hand still grasping onto the fine rope attached to the elf's neck, shortly followed by Raevin. The elf trailed after, a generous length of space granted to her, but her hands still tightly bound behind her. Stare strode, eyes dark, mind considering all the possibilities, just by her. And behind them all Brer dwadled, rather happier than everyone put together.
Eventually Vitruvion looked at Raevin and began to question him.
"Where did you find her?"
"In a harbour town in Corone. She was in a state. And with that blood mage," the captain answered, honestly.
Vitruvion blinked. "In a-"
"Hi."
A voice from much closer. Female, soft and slightly different from others here. Stare turned her head slightly to the elf and fixed her with a single dark eye. The girl was smiling.
"... Hello," Stare replied, hesitantly.
"I'm Ophelia," the elf whispered. "You must be ... Well they call you Stare."
Stare grunted, "My name is Stare. And yours isn't Ophelia, probably." She blinked long and hard, as the elf's face fell. But Stare personally knew the inevitability of losing one's name here. "So?"
The elf swallowed slightly and her eyes fell to looking at the ground. "He calls me Sable."
The kenku's eyes went up to look at Sable's hair - fine and black as her own feathers - and she grunted. "He's got so much imagination," she drawled sarcastically.
But Sable didn't answer. She looked entirely sorrowful and lost. Disappointment was clear - in Stare. Clearly she had been hoping to find a keen ally in her.
Sucking in breath Stare then sighed and murmured back. "Adapt to the name. It'll make things easier. I know it is hard but you come to accept it as yours." She paused. "Avis died a long time ago. Stare has been living for months."
"But how - how did you do it?" Sable whispered in a suddenly back-to-inquistive tone. "How did you persuade him to free you? Blaze said that you - you tried to escape. How did he forgive you after that?"
"Just because I no longer live here, does not mean I'm free," the kenku replied quietly, meaning each and every word. Her eyes knotted into the god's back. "But I understand him more now. I owe him respect and loyalty."
"But ... why?" The elf was incredulous. "He's ... He's a rapist and-"
A sharp tug on her rope made her fall quiet. Both women glanced up to see Vitruvion making a sharp exit to the right, Raevin already holding the door open for him. Sable stumbled a little with the jerk, gasping under the pressure of it. Pausing, Stare let her pass in, and stood there for a while outside the room she used to know so well.
White stone, the same as the whole Hollow. Large and rectangular with three doors in three separate walls. Tables, chairs, chains and stocks littered the room, as a place meant to instill horror.
A jab at her elbow, and she looked to see Raevin cocking an eyebrow. She grunted, and then followed the god and elf in, Brer coming after.
"Stare," Vitruvion suddenly said, and then he threw something at her. The end of the rope. Stare caught it out of instinct, but was honestly surprised. Glancing up she saw him looking at her, his white hair framing his face like a renaissance portrait - proud and defined was he.
"What?" she questioned back.
"Take Sable back to her room," he smirked at her. "You can take off her bonds, then lock it. You should know where the room is. It's your old one."
