Basileus had learned quite early on in his captivity that there was nothing to do down here in the hold. When he'd been unwell he'd simply laid there and rested, but now that he was healed he ached to do more. He thought of the outside world like a starving man thought of meat. His days were filled with thoughts of grass underfoot. Of running across wide open expanses. Of fresh air and sunshine. And of revenge. Oh, how he ached for that too. With a hiss Basileus got to his paws. He was so used to being still that his joints now ached whenever he moved. He felt like an arthritic old man. His thoughts shifted from sunshine to torture vengeance and he began to pace along the far wall. Basil had been careful to keep one side - the side with the hatch - clean. Or, rather, as clean as it could be given that he was stuck in a metal box with no drainage for the inevitable filth that came with holding a living, breathing, shitting creature captive. That was the side he now paced along as he fantasied about gutting the man who had wronged him. "Talk" "You" Think

The ancient ship that stood like like a giant in the very center of Niente's lands was interesting to Ásvor, though for some reason she had been avoiding it until now. Perhaps it was simply because it was unfamiliar to her, and things that were so deeply foreign to her held an odd threat, or perhaps she simply hadn't been interested in it - she really wasn't so sure herself. But today it caught her eye, and she padded around the section of the structure that jutted up over the land, sniffing precariously at it. Why Enrico had chosen this terrain to settle in, she really wasn't certain, but what she did know was that it likely had a reason even if she didn't fully realize it yet. Some kind of tactical advantage, maybe? Or perhaps he'd just chosen one of the more desolate landscapes. Curious, she veered around the structure, though something within suddenly caught her attention. A sound, however slight, came from within the ship's hull. The metal sound was unmistakable, and the Finnvi woman frowned slightly as she scoped out the ship. Slowly, carefully, she began the precarious climb to a higher section of ship. Asvor smelled another wolf up here and she couldn't quite tell if the scent was simply fresh or if somehow they remained. Finally pausing at a conspicuous looking hatch, she put her weight down on it, sniffing all the while. "Hello?" She called out, completely oblivious to the fact that someone was trapped within the ship, figuring perhaps someone had ventured into one of the cabins up here.

OOC: I'm sorry about the wait!! D:

His nails, now long and beginning to curl, clicked loudly on the metal floor as he paced. A rare burst of energy propelled him faster and turned his shuffle into a trot. Basileus nearly bounced from wall to wall as a new idea took root. He was determined to escape and he couldn't very well do that, could he, if he allowed his joints to seize up and his muscles to wither? No, he had nothing but time to condition himself. While he may have been limited in what he could do, Basileus would make the best of it. There was nothing else he could do. "Hello?" Basileus skidded to a halt as the muffled voice filtered through the hatch. He stared at the hatch first in disbelief, then wariness. Until now the only voices he'd heard were from Enrico and his companion. He almost didn't know what to make of it. Against his better judgement Basileus found himself racing to the hatch. He jumped up on his hind legs and stretched until he was standing as tall as he could. "Who's there?" he called loudly. "Talk" "You" Think

Weird. For a moment, Asvor had resigned herself to the fact that she'd simply been hearing things. Surely nobody was foolish to get themselves trapped in such a contraption, though the way the hatch shifted beneath her weight made her double-guess her initial assumption. Tilting her head toward the ground, she definitely heard the sound of nails scraping somewhere below, and her curiosity was only further piqued. To her surprise, someone spoke from within the vessel, nearly startling her. What the hell? The voice was louder than she'd expected, and she flinched back somewhat involuntarily from the hatch.  "I'm not sure you're in any position to be demanding much of anything, even my name," Asvor responded easily, loudly enough for him to hear her, leaning down closer to the hatch.  Was he trapped in there, or had someone purposefully thrown him there? Asvor had no clue. "How'd you end up down there, anyway?"

"Not a demand," he corrected gently. "A request." He wasn't exactly in a position of power so he was going to try to set aside the temper that had become a staple of his personality and coax back the manners that used to be in its place. Basileus couldn't afford to anger the woman and risk her walking off so he was determined to behave even though he found her pithy response to his simple question off-putting. Her question gave him hope. Did she really not know how he'd gotten there? He forced down his suspicion that it was a trick and allowed himself to think wishfully. Perhaps if he played his cards right he could get her to help him. Basileus forced a self-deprecating chuckle, then said, "Walked straight into it. That's what I get for not paying attention." He sighed. "Been trying to get out for awhile now but the walls are too slick." "Talk" "You" Think

Hm. How unusual. As the stranger replied, she lowered her snout and managed to wedge it beneath part of the hatch, using the strength in her neck to help hoist the thing up. She flinched slightly at the sound of the metal as it fell backwards and clanged loudly against the ship, though she was less interested in the hatch itself as she was in the male trapped below. Squinting, she peered down at him, trying to get a better look at him. She doubted he'd be able to get up on his own - honestly, she was having trouble thinking of how he'd get up at all - but she was curious nonetheless. "Give me yours and I'll give you mine," she decided was a good answer to his request, smiling simply as she caught a better glimpse of his dark coat down in the shadows. It was hard to read his features, so she couldn't tell what on earth he was trying to do, but she didn't fully believe him.  "You mean to tell me you just... accidentally waltzed across pack borders and fell down here? How unfortunate." It wasn't likely she'd have sympathy for him regardless, but she felt even less sympathetic knowing if he had fallen down here on accident that he'd done so knowing he was trespassing.  "What do you intend to do about this predicament of yours?" If anything, she was curious and mildly amused at the predicament. She wondered if anyone else knew he was down here - if not, she'd have to find Enrico and let him know.

"Give me yours and I'll give you mine." That was an easy enough request, but should he lie? If she left him to go find help and gave out his real name, it was possible that his hopes of escape would die there if Enrico caught wind of it. And if he did lie, would that not bring the whole pack of them running to deal with an intruder? Honesty, it seemed, would cost him nothing in this instance. "My name is Basileus." "No." Although she probably couldn't see it, he shook his head. "I live here now. Enrico accepted me yesterday. The ship is just new territory for me, signora." Alright, perhaps a little charm would help his cause. "Well, now that you're here I'm hoping I can get help from a packmate. One as lovely as yourself can surely find it in her heart to help, yes? " "Talk" "You" Think

All the squinting in the world wouldn't help her really see him down there in the shadows, but she was determined to try anyway. A vague silhouette was all she could really make out, but somehow it was better than seeing nothing at all when trying to communicate to this stranger. "And I'm Asvor," she responded fluidly after he introduced himself, finding no reason to lie either, especially not when she was the one within the safety of her pack. He'd joined yesterday? Interesting. Perhaps another packmate would've been more sympathetic to his tale, but Asvor wasn't, even if she decided to entertain the possibility of him being honest about how he'd gotten down there. "How unfortunate." The slight smirk that pulled at her lips was audible in her voice. It was hard to feel empathy toward really anyone, and she felt even less for this stranger. If he truly was a member of Niente, surely someone would come help rescue him, right? He'd only been in here since yesterday at the earliest, if he was being honest at all, and she wasn't being that cruel by leaving him in here. "Personally, I ought to think you need to spend some time in here. Curiosity is a dangerous thing. Basileus." With that she swiped a paw up to close the hatch with a loud, deafening thud. Though she'd been briefly entertained by him, her interest was waning and she had no issue letting his man be someone else's problem. - exit Asvor -