RP:Allegation and Indignation

Part of the Thy Kingdom Come Arc

Summary: Ayras, in prison for being caught red handed at the scene of a murder, gets interrogated by Sjovald--a frost giant and a lieutenant of the guard. The giant already seems fairly certain of Ayras' guilt. Ayras maintains his innocence and doesn't give the answers the interrogator wants to hear, so Sjovald leaves, for now.

Prisoner Cages

Ayras reclined against the bars of one of the human cages as best he could, his wrists shackled and suspended over his head by a chain. The giants had not wanted to take chances with him, most of them having seen him train within the walls of the fort. He seemed resigned, that vampire, his eyes shut and his ruby-haired head lowered. He heard them, every now and again, curious giants that would pass by to see the man that was typically a silent but present figure in the city now locked in a cage. He even heard the jeers of a few that frequented the tavern with him. He didn't care. He did his duty to the city, and now he would reap the rewards of his service to her and her Steward.

Footsteps approach, and the guard at the door springs to life, leaping up and quite alert. "Sjovald, sir." Keys jingle, the prison door creaks. Should Ayras look up, he'll see a giant dressed in official city garb, his black and blue uniform standing out boldly against the prison's grey, dank interior. His fur-trimmed cloak waves behind him as he sweeps in past the guard, and his rather unimpressed expression sweeps likewise over the various cages. Sjovald spots Ayras, and the vampire might perceive condemnation in the giant's wrinkling brow. "I see they're taking no chances with you, prisoner." The guard hurries in behind him with a giant-sized stool that he sets beside the cage, and Sjovald nods his thanks. He takes a seat. "You're in a lot of trouble."

Ayras opened his eyes when he heard that door, though his head did not raise. Silver eyes shifted up, and though his face was set neutral, the angle of both his eyes and his face made the vampire look as though he were passing as much judgement upon the newly arrived giant as the giant was him. Electricity sparked at the vampire's hand for the briefest of moments before it fizzled into nothingness; enchanted manacles stole the vampire's ability to use his magic. No, there were no chances taken with this one. With no other choice afforded the redhead, he stood before the man in his small clothes, his armor having been stripped of him and cast aside unceremoniously within the jail, a clear sign of disrespect from those who had thrown him there. No words were given in exchange for those levied his way; he would not justify the indignation of his position by pleading, nor feed the giant fuel for his fire by flinging insults. Not yet.

Sjovald's eyebrows raise at the sight of the sparks, and he raises a gloved hand. "Don't bother demonstrating. I've heard all the reports, and now," he leans around, looking and sounding pretty unperturbed as he tries to catch a better glimpse of Ayras' face through the bars, "I'm here to hear yours." If Ayras does chose to look up, he'll see Sjovald's sturdy brow, the scars across his nose, and bored-looking eyes that don't seem to expect any surprises from this particular captive. "As I gather it, you pounced a giant and tore his throat out, then, blood still on you, assaulted the guards that caught you. Sound about right to you?"

Ayras grinned at the accusation laid before him, his shoulders shaking in a silent laugh. Finally his head raised, those dangerous fangs of his gleaming in the light of the jail. His body was still caked in the dried blood from the previous knight, his mouth and face the bloodiest of all of it due to the beating he had received. Did it sound about right to him? He had earned a nickname under the last Queen after he had slaughtered an entire hamlet before her very eyes. "After all this time," came that lilting, baritone voice of his, "you lot seem to think I'm going to decide to start killing citizens of this city all willy-nilly." His laugh was not so silent this time, a raucous sound that echoed off the walls for its volume. "If I had decided to start killing here, there wouldn't have been any of the guards left to have captured me." The mirth left the vampire, his trademark smirk no where to be seen as a scowl plastered itself on his face. "One corpse would have become seven."

Sjovald props his elbow on his knee and his chin on his knuckles, bending a little closer to the captive, though not close enough for Ayras to have any chance of biting him through the bars. A twinge of discomfort bends his impassive stare for a moment, prompted by the noisy laughter, and he waits for the echoes to die out before going on. "Times are changing, though, aren't they. Eh?" He throws the vampire a knowing look. "Hildegarde kept you on your leash, didn't she? Now she's gone. The cat's away, and the mice will play." His chin raises, and he sits akimbo on his stool. "Figured you could get away with some casual killing. Let your appetite get the better of you. Or maybe," Sjovald's tone lowers, revealing his true suspicions, "there's folks like you with reason to dislike giants, these days."

Ayras stared at Sjovald like he was a flaming idiot. In fact, to the elf's mind, the giant was. "You lot really have gone daft," the vampire retorted, incredulity written on his face. "Hildegarde held no leash on me. I have loved this city since the Queen Satoshi sat the throne, and not once in all these years have I fed from its citizens. Nor would I spit on Hildegarde in such a way as you suggest." It was at that point that he spat on the floor just outside the bars of his cell, a fire in his silver eyes turning them molten. "You, on the other hand, you and your master deserve far worse than what your kind have been doing to both of mine for what you have done to this city since Hildegarde died."

Sjovald tilts a ear at Ayras' words, making an obvious, somewhat theatrical show of listening; when Ayras spits, however, the giant sits back and crosses his arms, looking fairly nonplussed. "If you're trying to butter me up, you didn't get very far with that one. Harsh words and tough talk." the giant chides him. Standing, he picks up the stool by a leg and swings it to tap the hefty wooden seat against Ayras' bars, clanging dissonantly. "Remember your manners next time. I'll give you a chance to cool off." Looking back to the guard, he throws a nod at the prisoner. "Don't let anything happen to this one." The two begins walking back toward the prison exit together. "We'll need him to sing if any more of ours turn up dead."