The brute standing in front of me was clearly not all there. Not that I could hold that against him of course. In fact it made me warm to him a little. He showed no compassion for the state I was in, standing there broken, basically snapped in half. Again, that should have pissed me off but it made me respect him. I couldn’t say that I would have shown him any sympathy if I needed something from him. I thought back to our battle. It had been an epic fight, one that could have quite easily have gone the other way. I could have been the one who walked away bitter and defeated, rather than victorious. I remember the feeling that we could have been friends if we didn’t have such pride. Perhaps camaraderie could finally be an option now, perhaps we could work together. He clearly had a bone to pick with the crazies, and I wanted out. I couldn't face them any more, I couldn’t fight for the insane any longer. It would kill me to leave my dove behind, but I was sure she was doing fine without me. She had most likely even forgotten my existence, or more probable she hated me for leaving her side.

His attitude towards me made me stand a little taller, prouder. Even at my lowest point, he still saw me as someone to ask for help. It didnt matter that I was most likely a pawn, someone of little consequence, but still, it meant something, and it gave me something else to focus on. I watched as he struggled to explain himself. He seemed confused by himself. It seemed that we had more in common than either of us realised, and were too stubborn to admit, even to ourselves.

I listened as he started to explain himself, and what had been happening to my clan whilst I had been away. He struggled to keep the disdain from his voice, which I was assumed was for the fact that I had absconded. It was more than fair really, I was a deserter after all. Which was supposedly punishable by death.

As he spoke, it slowly started to click that he was talking about Eris. Eris had taken his, well really my position within the Asylum. But I couldn’t care a less that he had jumped in my grave quicker than a cat on hot coals. But it gave me an excuse to fight them, to jump ship. It meant risking the wrath of the rabid bitch, but hell, I didn’t have much to live for any more.

I just had one question before I joined forces with my supposed nemesis. “Okay Oxy. I'll help you, on one condition.” I rumbled. “Can you tell me how the blackend dove, the seeker is doing?” It made me look weak, sure, but he couldn’t afford to be picky right now and I just had to know, so I could let her go. She had to be okay. “Whatever you have planned, I need to know she won't be harmed.”

I might be a broken shell of myself, but it didnt mean that I had forgotten just how deeply I cared for her. There was no way I would let her fall into harms way. I would kill the brute before it came to that, even if it meant I fell to my death. At the least it would be an honourable way to die. I wondered what exactly he had planned for the ones who went bump in the night...