On the Road Again

[Erasmus Reynard]

He was gone for a couple of minutes before returning. A dagger covered in blood was in his right hand. He silently went back to his place. He wiped his dagger than resheathed it. He didn't even look at her. Didn't seem he cared at the moment. There was nothing childish about what he was doing really. He was breaking her of her pride. From there... well only he knew what he wanted to do. He continued to eat the rabbit.

He had nothing against the animal. In fact, he liked animals more than he liked people. He despised people. But just like her horse. He couldn't let any sort of trail, lead anyone to him. The dog was disposed of clean, and quickly. Then the body discarded in a river a few hundred yards from the cave and left to float down on it's own accord.

He'd finished his rabbit, and set it aside. He looked to her rabbit. If she wouldn't eat it, then he would. He grabbed it and began to tear into it just like the one before.

[Isabelle Leonette Lucian]

The silence was unnerving and as she sat there awaiting the return of a man who killed puppies, or so she assumed, she felt her stomach curl into tighter knots. She was relieved when he entered the cave empty handed but at the same time couldn't help but think of an innocent creature robbed of life and for what reason?

Exhaustion, both emotional and physical, the strain of fear, the throb in her head, all of it weighed down on her like a heavy shroud she couldn't shuck off. She forced deep breathes in and out of her lungs as hot tears threatened to overcome her. She wasn't going to let this be the thing that made her crack. The man was a monster but she didn't have to give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd managed to strike a cord.

Lowering her head she couldn't stop the steady stream of tears that now coursed across her dusty cheeks. She could have had a banquet of the finest foods in Trymere set out in front of her and she wouldn't have been able to eat a single bite. I'm sorry, father, for not being strong enough to find the truth of the matter. The thought echoed dully through her mind and she tried to pull from her memories an image of her father prior to his death. His smile, words of comfort, something that would offer her some sort of reassurance but nothing she thought of seemed to work.

[Erasmus Reynard]

After a time he leaned back, and set aside the remaining rabbit scraps. He wiped his hands and mouth clean and finally looked at her. His head shifted slightly when he noticed that she was crying. He then shook his head.

"All the same..."

He lowered his hood and folded his arms over his chest.

"If you try to escape. I'll cut the back of your knees and ankles. Then... I will go back to that quaint little inn... find your companion... You know... Lady Pontefore..."

He wouldn't tell her what horrid things he'd do to her. He'd let her imagination do it for him.

He dosed off, but he was never fully asleep. He'd be surprised if she made it past the traps.