The Serpent & the Crow

((rip Cornyx))

That smile was anything but comforting. That was the sort of smirk a wolf had about it. He wasn't hungry. Wasn't properly cold, really, except for what he did to himself. He opted not to answer Gaius at all. Black eyes on the floor again, the Serpent Lord in his peripheral vision.

(Gaius isn't exactly a soothing presence. Cornyx is gonna have a bad time with him.)

"Nothing?" Gaius let the head of his cane tap lightly on the bars. "If not, I'll send down my apothecary to tend to you. She'll see to whatever needs you might have."

((oH REALLY
((I thought Gaius was just the homiest person in all the land, after all this time
((though what I will say is if any of the Ashes manage to get Cornyx's loyalty they're gonna have quite the power wrapped around their little finger
((I have missed Sera though, I'll be glad to see her again~))

"No, sir," he managed. His voice was thin but decipherable nonetheless. Eyes, still on the ground.

(Regulus or Mattathias might be bros. Gaius is gonna be a dad if he ever gets over himself)

(I missed Sera too. None of the other rps I'm in with Gaius feature her enough.)

"Then I'll see you in a day or two. I'll send one of my sons down sooner to chat." He turned. "Oh, and I suggest you do as Sera says. She's a force to be reckoned with."

((Does he EVER get over himself though XD))

He nodded. Silent. Wordless. There were times when he'd been quiet enough that people had questioned his capability. Thought him deaf or mute when, in truth, he simply didn't speak unless he saw proper reason to do so.

(Never ever.)

Gaius departed, stick clicking along beside him. That had been immensely disappointing, not to mention exhausting. He'd better get back up to bed before Sera bore down on him with her endless supply of herbs. She was right, he knew--he was far from well again, and his eating habits weren't helping.

((maybe one day a miracle will happen))

He relaxed only slightly upon his departure. Slumping back against the wall. He'd brought himself here, but had no idea how to go back. Sashka was almost certainly dead, or she would be soon. And now Gaius spared him, which was a blessing as much as it was a curse. He shuddered, pulling his knees to his chest.

The silence was almost perfect. The quiet of it. The lack of anything. Now, though, without that endless tick; now it was gone. Nothing left.

(What, the day he dies? *flashback to the Tavern*)

(Skip to Sera's visit?)

((NO))
((GET OUT))
((GET OUT OF HERE WITH THAT))
((I'm erasing it from my memory))

(And yeah, he'll probably just be chilling out in his corner pretty much as he is now lol))

(Remember how Fabian turned into him)

(Nice)

The next morning, Sera came down with a tray of food, some blankets, and a heavy bag of supplies. Her gray hair was pinned back in a tight bun, and her expression was as strict as ever.

((Ugh yeah
((We did a pretty rad job XD))

He stirred when he heard the footsteps. Raised his head up from its place on his knees, muscles stiff from the lack of use, then scrambled to his feet when he fully registered that the footsteps meant someone was coming. When she came to a stop before the cell, he was in the back of it, all six and a half feet of him against the corner. Watching her without meeting her eyes. Looking every bit as young and uncertain as he was.

(We did indeed. That was a good rp.)

"You're a big one, aren't you?" She unlocked the door and stepped inside, setting down the tray and blankets. "Your name is Cornyx?" Her green eyes darted over him, checking for injuries.

((It was epic))

Cornyx might've stepped back if the wall weren't already at his heels, and he nodded. "Yes, 'm." He seemed mostly in one piece but for the bruise forming on the side of his face and the blood that had dried around where the pommel had struck his skull. A few shallow cuts graced his arm and side but he was in surprisingly good condition given the nature of the conflict. He'd done a good job of self-preservation, at least until the end.

(Over a thousand pages.)

She approached, raising a hand and spreading his eyelids for a moment. "Pupils are normal," she murmured. "That's good. Odd coloring in the iris. Had any memory trouble since you were brought here, boy?"

He flinched back involuntarily at her initial touch, coupled with a sharp intake of breath. He forced himself into stillness, though, not wanting to interfere with her. "No, ma'm," he murmured, shaking his head. His eyes had always been strangely dark. Not even brown so much as genuinely black, a near-ebon shade of grey.