[ P ] nothing to lose

Vague whispers of the dungeon's new arrivals spread quickly along the channels regardless of how he imagined his father tried to conceal it. Well, there was a pause, a cautious turn of the eye, so efforts were not so fruitless that rumors were traded without some hesitation. But, this only caused him to become more interested.

Trailing the steps to where he had been informed one of the two resided, his lavender eyes shimmered in anticipation of what he would find there, what words held weight and what ones were simply to mislead his investigation. Shouldering the closed door, the intelligence officer slipped through, using his heel to gently close the door behind him.

"Luciel Argent," he voiced in greeting, lips finding themselves curling in definitive prove while he stared down at him curiously. "Name's Asher. I've come to ask you a few questions."


@Argent

code by claerie

LA.
fall on your sword...

Steps echoed through the hollow dungeon hallway, claws clicking as paws made their way closer to his cell. His neighbours were few enough that he waited in anticipation, steely silver eyes glaring from between the bars like a caged tiger waiting to pounce. The ex-captain stiffened when a familiar earthen pelt drifted by. "Mer-!" her name caught in his throat when he realised that his visitor was a very large male and not his beloved. He growled in frustration and disappointment, hobbling away to his favourite corner and scowling at the man as he entered his cell. The fake Merrin announced that he was here to ask him some questions and introduced himself as Asher. The name meant nothing to him and neither did his desire to ask him questions. "Who the bloody hell are you?" he questioned him. A name offered him nothing. He needed to know the man's rank and affiliation before he gave him anything. If he gave him anything. Argent could be extremely stubborn when he wanted to be and his current predicament did nothing to soften his rough edges.

He had her eyes. That pissed him off more than it comforted him. It was making it hard for him to keep his composure when all he wanted was to know if Merrin was okay. Instead he was forced to deal with a man wearing her features.

code by claerie

The fleeting ghost of recognition in his eyes, the twitch of his lips that began a breath in exhilaration spoke what the prisoner refused to. He had wondered in passing what such familiarity would cause a man in such a high-stress situation. Humming slightly in retaliation to the ex-soldier's dismissal of his arrival, Asher's sight shone in contrast to the dimly lit hole in the wall they found themselves in.

"Who the bloody hell are you? Argent questioned him, as any right would allow, and the imperial officer found a spot some distance away from his quarry, sub-consciously keeping his place between the individual in the corner and their only means of escape, to sit.

"I'm an intelligence officer of the imperial army." Even more he was a purveyor of information that could tip any scales to favor what side he deemed necessary to support. It was always such an interesting aspect that so many played their roles physically when words could crumble resolve without trying.

"Merrin was whom you were thinking about when I walked in, right? Worried about her?" He paused, a violet eye tossing his focus to the side to land on the wall before lowering to settle on the older man's "What's your relationship with her?"


@Argent

code by claerie

LA.
fall on your sword...

Rage blazed through his grey eyes like clouds gathering before a storm. The man, Asher, was here to question him. A subordinate of Nalik's, Argent figured, there on his orders to squeeze what information he could out of their unfortunate prisoner. The arctic veteran had no intentions of cooperating even if it meant a lengthier sentence for him. The law no longer had the weight to make him obey like an obedient hound. His collar had snapped the moment he bared his fangs at Nalik and bit the hand that feeds.

"That's a fancy way of saying spy," Argent remarked, making no effort to hide his disapproval. He hated that such shady ranks existed in the Imperial Army. He was too honest to ever approve of the underhanded methods in which he suspected Asher employed in his line of work. "Go back to your master I won't give you anything," he warned the spy, eyes as hard as stones glaring at him.

Hearing Merrin's name on her impostor's lips was a pressure point that hurt enough for his anger to falter and reveal the fear beneath. "Bastard," he growled, certain that the man was baiting him for a reaction. "You should already know that unless you're shit at your job," was the answer he gave to his question.

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As such a demeaning word hissed through the prisoner's lips, Asher felt his own twist into a grin, laughing softly at the meager understanding of what it was he did. "If that's how you feel, shall we consider infantry sacrifices necessary and soldiers fodder," he quipped back, his smile never once leaving his disposition, violet eyes shining amusingly. It appeared the man in front of him was confused, as all would be given the corroded and stuffy space they offered him to waste away.

He leaned forward as though to offer him a secret. "If a master held my chains, Luciel Argent, I would likely not be here. Whether that was enough for the man to settle down was unlikely. Nalik was the reason he was here and he wouldn't dare trust anything - not like this. And while some part of Asher did enjoy the aspect of watching this unknown man - his mother's lover - seethe in a dark pit, that wasn't why he was there in the slightest.

As he pressed into the nature of this visit - wanting to know answers that he was never given - the gray male obviously refused. As expected. Even now he remained guarded, but what exactly had he gave to make him comfortable? "Knowing from whispers on the lips of mewling gossips is different from hearing at a source. I'm not interested in running risks for extravagant lies and I'm rather good at knowing the difference."

Becoming serious the more he explained, his jaw clenched slightly before nodding resolutely. He really hated talking so much. "You seem to hate me mentioning her by name, meaning you possibly fear that I'm using her as a way to get you to reveal something I don't already know. Additionally, considering my appearance, you likely think the imperial army - or maybe even the one who put you here - had the idea to employ a lowly spy in her likeness to waver your resolve. I admire your caution, truly, but I doubt anyone has placed that much thought in this situation."

With a pause, Asher shifted to look him in the eye. "She's fine... by the way. Likely still in a cell, but uninjured, though I imagine as exhausted as you given what's happened."


@Argent

code by claerie

LA.
fall on your sword...

It wasn't often that Argent lost his cool, but once the words sacrifices and fodder left his lips there was no reigning in the beast. Cold steel eyes burned with silent fury, hot enough to make someone's skin prickle with unease. "You smug bastard!" he snarled, slamming his weight thoughtlessly on his injured limb as he stepped towards the spy. His foreleg buckled and he slumped against the wall, breathing heavily with pain and anger. "Every scar, every broken bone in my body, was for King Adamh. How dare you trivialise our sacrifices for your own amusement," he retorted, tone full of loathing and venom. Asher had no idea what Argent had endured for the Royalists so for him to speak of it so lightly as if those thoughts belonged to Argent himself was a grave offence.

"Why would I believe a spy? You're here for Nalik," he pointed out, glaring at the man unflinchingly. He might have looked like Merrin, but he was completely different. There was nothing of her gentleness in that smug insufferable face of his. "And why would I tell you anything? You have nothing to offer me," he stated coldly, putting up a towering wall of stubbornness between them.

"So this is all just a coincidence then? I don't believe you," he told him, shaking his dirt and blood streaked shaggy head. The bubble of anger inflating inside of him popped when the spy told him Merrin was fine. His body sagged with relief, but his guard was still firmly in place. He truly was exhausted. He never thought the next time he entered the Barracks would be as a criminal in the dungeon. The last time was when he'd been discharged and formally retired from service. The coin truly had flipped to the other side and he was terrified of what that meant for his unshakable loyalty. He'd never doubted the law or the Imperial Army before. They were supposed to be infallible, the epitome of righteousness and justice. He couldn't look upon it with blind faith anymore. He had failed his king and his duty.

code by claerie

Asher couldn't help the scoff that filtered through his nose as Argent raved about his comment seemingly all without the distinction of why the comparison was there to begin with. He certainly had the attitude of a soldier. "You trivialize my life when it suits you but I cannot do the same without it being for my amusement? Heh. So, Luciel Argent, should I then be offended by being called a spy? Should I rant and rave and stomp my feet as you are or would that then be me trying to intimidate you into speaking?"

Rolling his shoulders, the officer stretched his neck before returning his focus on the cornered prisoner, remaining completely still " So many double standards, I'm kinda jealous for those who play the victims. Me? I couldn't handle the guilt of the manipulation."

As Nalik's name was prepared as an assault against his ears, accusation of him being nothing more than his puppet, the man sneered, but said nothing in response. Like hell he'd work for him, especially for this. In fact, he moreso believed that his father wanted nothing to do with them anymore. Lock away, throw away the key, out of sight, out of mind, that sort of thing.

As the older man's walls seem to lower after the nugget of information he could provide, Asher gave him a moment to collect his thoughts before he continued. "I'm an intelligence officer. In my line of work, I investigate situations, how they are handled, who it's involving and put together information that can be used to ensure mistakes don't happen twice. My purpose here is to keep those who have been wronged safe, to answer and give them closure."

He stepped forward. It didn't matter what his relationship was with Merrin, this was simply a time where his profession and his home life dramatics meshed too far. The stitches could barely be seen now. They were civilians that needed just as much protection as he offered those within the ranks of the army. "Call me a spy if that makes you feel better, they're all empty words in the end. The only thing that matters here is the truth - your truth of what occurred between you, Merrin, and the colonel."

@Argent

code by claerie

LA.
fall on your sword...

The spy had a way of ruffling Argent's fur that he had only encountered before with Nalik. He didn't know if it was his own bias that made him arch his back and hiss like a cornered cat at this man, but there was something that kindled such passionate dislike within him for this so-called intelligence officer. "You really think that gives you the right to insult your fellow soldiers.You would not dare say such things if you had been on the front lines. If you had seen the bodies pile up, felt your flesh tear, blood spill, bones b-br-" he stopped mid rant, memories flashing through his mind. His breathing grew heavier, eyes glazed over and distant as his body trembled. He turned away and rested his forehead against the wall. The rest of Asher's words were like a distant buzzing and he only reacted when the man stepped closer, he let out a shaky growl.

Asher insisted he was here for the truth, for Argent's truth of what happened between him, Merrin and Nalik. He didn't believe him naturally. His stress levels were far too high for him to trust someone on the other side of the bars. "I saw Nalik reaching for Merrin so I tried to pull him away from her. We fought, Merrin joined in and another soldier intervened. I don't know what happened after I blacked out," he said gruffly, scowling at him and waiting for more questions. He just wanted the spy to leave him alone so he could try to sleep.

code by claerie

He was reactive, easy to insult others and be insulted, signs of field trauma causing any reason he may have had to be settled beneath the enormous chip on his shoulder. This was a given, as easy an analysis as one could be in such a situation. There would have been no speaking with him, not civilly, and as the older man travelled back to those moments he couldn't wash from his memory, Asher remained quiet, a shadow in the corner.

Whomever Argent was fighting when he spat the incredulous accusations of him being insulting and trivializing the lives of soldiers... certainly wasn't him. Anyone could have stood where he did and they likely would have received the same treatment. He needed to remember that.

As the truth tumbled from the man's lips on what had happened between the three, his lips pursed in contemplation. "So, it was in alleged defense... I see. Did Nalik do anything to Merrin that would justify the action against him?"


@Argent

code by claerie

LA.
fall on your sword...

The lack of a response from his angry rant towards the spy irritated him. Argent didn't know why he suddenly grew silent. Perhaps it was the sudden attack of anxiety that gripped the worn out prisoner that led to it, but in the aftermath he felt frustrated and petulant like his words went unheard. He let out a gruff sigh and lowered himself to the ground, one silver eye narrowed at the intruder in his cell. He was tired and wanted to be alone. The subject shifted to the incident and he let out a scoff when Asher asked him if Nalik had done anything to justify Argent's actions. "He scared her. I don't care if it was a crime. I will always protect her," he stated firmly. It was a solemn vow from a broken knight.

"That's all I have to say so run along to Nalik," he growled, still not believing that he wasn't one of his subordinates. He deliberately turned his back on Asher dismissively, facing the wall and curled up. He needed to rest after that exhausting encounter and didn't have the patience to answer anymore of his questions. He didn't want to give Nalik the pleasure of knowing that he was crumbling. He had no doubts that the spy would tell him about his anxiety attack and that made his fur bristle. Why couldn't he have kept it together?

Fade to exit

code by claerie