#dyan

Ihuka had heard the great clattering of something in a room, even if it was far away. He wasn’t sure if they had just fallen by themselves, but when his master came to his room, he knew it wasn’t just him that was worried. His feathers were fluffed to make him look bigger, his teeth were bared. “Search.” Had been his master’s order, and so he did, hurrying after the source of the noise to be sure the castle was safe.

He found a man stuffing a sack full of shiny things, expensive things. That wasn’t allowed! They belonged to his master! Ihuka silently flew up to the ceiling of the ball room, using his height to stay hidden until he was directly above the man. Then he swooped down, just as he would for a hunt. He grabbed the man by the arms and lifted him into the air.

He screamed loudly, and in a higher pitch than Ihuka had expected, making him accidentally drop him. He wasn’t far off the ground, so he fell with a thud. “What the fuck are you?” he cried, eyes wide with fear. He scrambled back and tried to get up to run away but Ihuka pounced again landing on his back, pinning him down. “Get off me!” he yelped. “No, no, no! I don’t have time for this- get off me, you oversized pigeon! Back! Sit! Oh, come on!” Ihuka was struggling to hold him, but his master soon appeared to see what he caught.

“Good bird,” he said with a smirk. “Very good bird.”

Ihuka beamed, but he had to focus on the wriggling man. He was strong, but Ihuka wouldn’t let him go.

Avizon watched him for a moment and remarked, “Are you finished, thief?”

The man stopped struggling, panting, and Ihuka slowly relaxed. A mistake. As soon as he did the man used a gush of energy to throw him off.

No, Ihuka was not going to lose him. With a yap, he jumped on him again and bit him on the back of his shoulder.

“Ow!” he yelped. “Ihuka, back!” Avizon ordered calmly. “I doubt he’ll be able to get far now.”

The man groaned and tried to crawl forward, toward the window. Avizon stepped on his back, pushing him down with one foot. "You're either a fool, or incredibly brave to dare come here. I haven't decided which yet," he murmured. Ihuka watched him and tilted his head, licking the blood off his lips. Human blood wasn’t the best. He much preferred the meat from rabbits and deer, even from the cattle his master gave him

“T.that… is rude,” the man slurred, “C.could have at least bought me a drink first...”

Avizon rolled his eyes, “Oh, you’re one of the brave jokers,” he mumbled. "I've made up my mind. You're a fool. Ihuka, go and get the antidote. I want this one alive.” Ihuka frowned, but did so. When he returned with a bottle which he was sure was it if his letters were right, he found his master had tied the stranger up. His hands were behind his back but tied to that his arms were crossed and kept together, his wrists at the opposite elbow. And his ankles were tied to his thighs. 

Avizon picked him up like he were a hay bale and dropped him onto a chaise. He took the bottle from Ihuka, checked it, and praised him. Praise always made him happy, it made him as giddy as the liquorice root he ate. He knelt and waited for Avizon to force the unconscious man to drink it. Ihuka was glad he'd brought a pipette now. It made things a little easier.

"Well then, now our guest isn't dying, I fully intend to go back to sleep. Go back to bed, Ihuka, it's safe now. You did very well, I am proud of you. You've earned a reward tomorrow."

"Thank you, master," he peeped.

_____

Avizon watched Ihuka leave and then turned his attention back to the thief. He was a pretty thing, he had to admit. With lush red hair and emerald green eyes that had stared so wildly at him. The white line of face paint beneath his eyes seemed to pull even more attention to them. He smirked, he wasn’t used to thieves being so bonnie-faced.

Avizon was able to see, now that he was still, that he had a small part of the top of his left ear missing as if it had been bitten or cut perhaps. That didn't stop him from wearing an earring in his ear lobe. Perhaps a piercing had been the cause of the injury. He had a scar on his freckle-covered cheek and small shaved lines in his eyebrow.

Speaking of injuries, he would have to treat the wound Ihuka had left. He went to collect some salves and turned the thief onto his side. He rolled his shirt up to apply it. He paused seeing a tattoo, and not just any. This was a magic tattoo, a rune of protection, invisibility. No wonder he'd struggled to locate him. To most magic users he'd have been untraceable, but he was more powerful. Still, this was an ancient rune. He hadn't seen this for a very long time. "The Northern Mountains… you are a very long way from home, thief," he mumbled.

The wound was small, and with the salve, it soon stopped the bleeding, acting almost like a seal. It would do. He wanted him alive, but that didn't mean he particularly cared about him. As long as the venom didn't kill him that would be enough.

So Avizon used his powers to lift him and carried him downstairs to the old dungeons. They'd been empty for a long time, but it seemed they still had their uses. He put the thief in a cleaner cell, leaving him on the old stale bed and untied his legs before leaving, locking the door behind him. He heard the thief groan, but he paid it no attention. He was going back to bed.

_______

Avizon woke early but he felt rested enough to go downstairs, check on his birds and serve them their breakfast. He ate his own meal and only then did he go to the dungeons.

It seemed he'd timed it well; the thief was only just starting to wake up.

"Ow…" he mumbled, still half asleep. "Shoulders… what…" "Wake up, thief," he called impatiently. The man yelped in alarm and tried to turn over, succeeding in falling off the bed with a painful thunk. "Ow…"

Avizon couldn't suppress a smirk. He watched the man turn onto his back and strain to sit up. He paused, seeing him standing there.

"Um… hello?" he gulped. "Don't suppose you feel like untying me? Not the most comfortable thing in the world."

"And why should I untie the man who tried to steal from me?" Avizon raised an eyebrow. "Do you even know where you are? Who I am?" The thief stood up with difficulty. "You don't have wings like those other things so I'll wager you're human- and very good at tying knots," he grunted trying to wiggle out of the bindings.

"Those 'things' happen to be cloudwalkers, and they deserve the respect of a human. Then again, you are from the Northern Mountains. Cloudwalkers aren't native to that land," he grumbled.

"H.How did you know that?" he gulped. "Your tattoo." "My… oh. Right. Magic people tend to know about magic things…"

Avizon struggled to hide his smile. It was strange seeing someone so naive near him. He appreciated the change, but this man needed to know who he was dealing with. He needed to fear him as everyone else did. He wasn’t used to talking to anyone any differently.

"An astounding deduction. What's your name, thief?"

"Ma always taught me not to share my name with people who could kill me, sorry," he answered warily. "Even if I untied you?" Avizon raised an eyebrow. He thought for a minute. "That's… fair."

Avizon opened the cell door, watching as the man stuck his chest up, raising his chin.

He grabbed him by the arm and turned him around, pinning him against the wall with a hand on the back of his neck. “Steady on!” he exclaimed, but Avizon ignored him. He kept his focus on the knots, unpicking them and unravelling some of the rope but not all of it. “Well?” Avizon said. “The name’s Flint Stirling, I’d call myself a master thief, but I’d feel a bit stupid considering you’ve caught me… Who are you then?”

Avizon smirked. He grabbed the two ends of the rope and pulled them tight in one hand, while the other reached around, grabbing Flint by the neck and jaw, pulling his head up close to his. Flint froze, but Avizon could practically hear him thinking, planning, scheming.

Avizon leaned in close to his ear, “I believe in the north they call this castle the Palace of Everblood, the place where the rivers flow red...” Avizon felt the man stiffen in his grip, felt him try to get his arms free, and he couldn’t help but get some satisfaction out of it. He felt him gulp in his hand. The bottled up panic.

He leaned in a little closer. “Ah, familiar with the name? I wonder what stories made it so far north.” Flint shuddered in his grip. “I am Avizon the Terrible, killer of Royals, destroyer of Kingdoms. And you had the gall to try to steal from me.” Flint gulped, “How silly of me,” he murmured, his breath hitching. Avizon saw him grit his teeth. “That a knife in your pocket or are you enjoying yourself, Mr Terrible?”

Avizon was unable to hold back a splutter. He had not expected for him to say that. Avizon couldn’t lie, he enjoyed holding him, having that control, but it had been becoming too intimate and now far too awkward. He shoved him away in disgust.

“It was liquorice root, thank you very much,“ he retorted. He couldn’t quite find his words. This one had courage, that was for sure. “This time, I will let you go free. Let it be known, Flint, that no unspeakable amount of money is worth even a drop of life. Don’t waste yours.”

He stepped back and allowed Flint to wiggle out of the rest of the ropes and cautiously walked past him to the door. “Tell me,” Avizon said, unable to resist the question. “What did you plan to steal from me last night?”

Flint hesitated at the doorway. “Anything I could get my hands on… Let’s just say I’m in a lot of… debt.”

Avizon inclined his head. “You might find work in the village.” Avizon hoped he took the hint that he wasn’t welcome to stay here. “Is there nothing I can do for you here? Please, there has to be something. I’m desperate-”

Avizon shook his head. “Go. Out the door, up the stairs and then left. Be grateful you’re leaving with your life.” Flint’s posture deflated. “Yeah… lucky me.”

Avizon frowned, but decided against arguing with him. He let him leave and assumed that would be the last he'd see of him. He sighed to himself. He was getting too soft.