Why? Because He's a Human Being!

Ariel was tired, peckish and really just wanted to go home and scrounge up some dinner for himself and his siblings. Fiona was visiting Richard tonight which left Ariel, Orion and Penelope to their own devices. That wasn’t as potentially disastrous as it could have been had it been three other siblings. No, those three just ended up baking. Yes they made a mess of the kitchen and yes, Fiona was angry when she came home but it was good fun and they didn’t trash the house, Ariel didn’t throw any wild parties. He usually had Ollie Floo over too, just so he’d have someone to talk to. To really talk too. Usually, Ollie brought some beer too.

Vaguely, Ariel was sure there was a law preventing people to be intoxicated while looking after children.

Clearly Felix was off of his head or just completely exhausted. The latter seemed more likely than the former, somehow. Perhaps it was the fact that he was Naomi’s brother or maybe the man had just given up completely. Ariel did wonder why Felix would reveal his train of thought so easily. He’d given up, Ariel figured. That suited the Slytherin fine but he had no intention of leaving just yet. He had another hour to kill and he liked seeing the Animagus outside sweat.

“What did that Hufflepuff hoe do to you?” Ariel asked, throwing his cane up into the air. He caught it and began to twirl it around. “Don’t tell me she denied you, knocky? Oh you poor baby. Perhaps she’s not after...” Ariel pursed his lips and rethought his sentence, “perhaps she just prefers the blokes with muscles and nothing up top. How sad.”

They were an amazing pair. The Bulgarian that shagged everything that moved and the Hufflepuff that could have potentially been just as bad had she not been so picky. Now they were starting a family! Of course they’d move in with the Lupins because Lady Lupin had his balls tied to a post. Of course then in tow came the inbred cousins of plenty and all of those other fun relatives that the Bulgarian had. It was wrong on so many levels, all of it. For both of them to have died would have been no real loss. The child perhaps would have been a loss providing it was easy to manipulate. Then again, with that twat and her for parents, he would have had a job of it. “He” being whoever ended up with the child.

“I suppose it would be no loss to society though,” Ariel smirked and shook his head. He caught the cane for the last time and looked at Felix. “So...once you’re in how do you plan on getting out...or are you just going to sit there and rot?” Ariel unscrewed the top of the cane and peered inside to see the alcohol settle down. He brought the cane to his lips and tipped it up, drinking some of the alcohol which was stored inside. He took the cane away and screwed the cap back on. Ariel got to his feet and leaned purposely on the cane, tipping himself forward and back on his heels.

Felix stared at the kid for a long moment. He was being analyzed, he could see it in his eyes. This kid was sizing him up. Why was it everyone always made fun of how big he was? He wasn't puny! Sure he wasn't the biggest bloke on the block, but he sure as hell was bigger then Krum. There are things you notice when you are torturing someone, and it was things like that, not that every man didn't do it anyway, just to size each other up. But he wasn't small in any way, and these jabs at his penis size were really starting to irritate Felix.

Taking a deep breath in through his nose, and letting it out through his mouth, repeating this process, he started to snap with his left hand, before he sat up a bit straighter in his chains. "Hufflepuff had no fight to pick with me, except that she had connections to Krum.. there was nothing personal there, just to torture Krum a bit longer... I have no conscience towards the kid, and I never have had one. Just another way to hurt the people I had in my custody.

Felix gave the kid a scrutinizing look. "Are you aware kid, that this room very well may be bugged? They may well be listening to our conversation elsewhere, of course people of this kind.. it's obvious that they are not smart enough to do this, but there is nothing stopping them from putting their ear to the door and listening.. so why, in any way, would you think I would give my escape plan up?" He asked with a smirk. "Do you really think that would benefit me in any way? For they would cut off all access, I do have a plan, and they will rue the day they threw me in there, but.. for now, it remains a secret." He said lightly, his eyes fixed on the kid who was really starting to piss him off.

Hershel smiled at her and nodded. "Actually, when I found them they were pretty weak. They hadn't eaten in days I assumed. So if you want Barker at the trial I suggest you feed him a decent meal. He is a human being after all." he told her and Robert. He noticed the man was now taking the wand from Khaat. To be honest Layton was a little afraid she would blow something up. She was ill and her magic still wasn't quite under control. Plus if Layton somehow angered her he could be in the bed next.

He was relieved when the man, Blaire, took her wand. He didn't show it however as it could be insulting. He heard her question and answered almost immediately before Robert could speak up. "He has a few cracked ribs and a reall bad bump on the head." he told her chuckling.

It was slightly disheartening to think that Phaedra had been murdered in the hospital her cousin now stood in. Ariel had not really thought of St. Mungo’s in accordance with his cousin’s death for a long while. Now he was stood there, his mind relatively blank and liable to fall prey to polluted thoughts, and was astonishingly enough thinking of his cousin. He missed her. He missed her a great deal actually. She was a laugh at Christmas, real good fun. She couldn’t be anymore. It was an odd feeling, loss. As was guilt and sadness. Ariel knew that he’d probably ask Ollie to double what he usually brought round to the house when he got home. Sod getting tipsy. Polluting thoughts and belated mourning were as good excuses as any to get drunk.

Ariel glanced up at the ceiling as Felix spoke, no longer really listening to the prisoner of the state. Ariel sighed to himself and turned his eyes back on the criminal just as he was finishing his sentence. “You were only going to torture her?” Ariel asked incredulously. “Then you were going to end it all in an effort to push that stupid twat over the edge of sanity and into the depths of bedlam? No wonder you’re here. That’s completely uninspired.” Ariel moved back to the chair and sat down, this time sitting so his body was facing the back of the chair, his legs resting either side of the seat. “Krum is a selfish lover. He picks, he chooses then that’s his until he’s bored. He liked the Hufflepuff whore. She was, and I presume still is, his to have fun with. I’m sure rape isn’t beyond your capabilities. But what would you enjoy more? Her screams or his?” Ariel asked smoothly.

A glance around the room told Ariel that no, the room wasn’t bugged. It would have been illogical for it to have been bugged anyway. Ariel hadn’t exactly booked his visit. He’d more or less swept in of his own accord. “It’s crossed my mind,” Ariel shrugged, “It just doesn’t seem likely.” He looked over at the door and watched Rob Dent for a few more moments. Ariel flipped his cane up and pressed the bottom of it against his right temple. “They’re not that bright,” he said decisively. “Hundreds of brain cells would die if the mere suggestion of eavesdropping rolled around in their minds.” Ariel smirked. “Now you’ve said that, if the room was bugged then they’d make sure every possible exit was sealed. It’s a never ending circle of idiots and eavesdroppers. Then there’s you who is the unfortunate victim of this hideous situation.”

Felix stared at the kid. He was better then he originally thought. "What do you expect kid? The entire thing started out as a job.. so I took it to the next level..." He said with a small smirk, before he leaned back against the wall, trying to relax the strain on his wrists. "That's all.. nothing more then that, I may be a wimp.. but I don't see you running from the law for weeks on end... torture, starvation.. hiding, killing, there are quite a few more people who are dead, and aren't blamed by me then you think there are." he said lightly, and yawned.

"Also..." he said carefully. "When I was caught.." he glanced at the kid and then sighed. He had said it wasn't bugged, and so he decided to believe him. "When I was caught, I was hungry.. still am actually, weak, and the room was dark, I had just lost my wand, because I hadn't expected him to attack.. and I was taken out so easily.. man it pains me to think about it.." He said shaking his head. "I was tired.. I was cold, wet, dirty.. I couldn't save myself.. let alone Naomi.. but I did call my dog.. Hyde.. and he's smarter then a normal dog, he got her out of there in seconds, and when Layton turned around, she was already gone, just with a whistle from me.. I trained him well.." He said shaking his head.

"I pretty much thought they had caught her too, and my hopes were dashed, but when you came in, asking where she was, I realized that they weren't.. and they didn't have her... so kid.. is there anything else I can help you with? Just because I'm here.. tied to a wall, doesn't mean I can't be nice once in a while.. they just think I'm cold blooded, heartless man who deserves to rot in jail, but here.. I speak as an equal.." He said with a nod of his head. He then let it fall backwards against the wall, exhaustion threatening to overtake his senses. He was weak from hunger, exhausted from lack of sleep, and in every word of the term, he was almost out of it. If they didn't help him soon, he'd pass out, and then he'd be no help to ANYONE.

Some job this was turning out to be for the poor bloke. “I take it you’re not getting your Christmas bonus,” Ariel quipped with a smirk. It all sounded tedious to Ariel. He would definitely have made it less obvious had he been the one doing the job. He would have Obliviated Miss Lupin if he had to let her go. If he didn’t then he would have probably cut off various limbs and Owled them to her father. Yes, he was sure that would get a response from her band of nitwits. From what started out as a job for poor Felix was now turning out to be something akin to a nightmare. But then again, he had a backup plan. “I wouldn’t put myself in the position where I’d have to run for weeks from the Ministry. There’s something advantageous about being a Greyback. There is always a pack ready to take you in. Everyone wants a little bit of Fenrir’s insanity. If it would keep me safe then I’m sure it wouldn’t have taken much to display it. Even Naomi belongs to a pack, one that has clearly fought for rights to her. Did they seek her out or are they as bloody useless as the rest?”

The tale of Naomi’s escape was vague but if vague was all Ariel had to work with then he’d take it. He’d be looking for a blonde and a ruddy great big dog. But with all of the wanted posters hanging around, Naomi wouldn’t be stupid enough to go out into the open and expose herself. It seemed as if the Ministry weren’t as useless as Ariel believed if they reduced a ‘notorious’ criminal to next to nothing and scared a Greyback senseless. There was one mistake the Ministry always made though no matter who was in power: they always underestimated their enemies. Ariel was quite willing to include himself in that band. His distaste for the Lupins was hardly front page news and his disappointment in Felix for not killing the Princess was clear. Regardless of the fact that Felix had abducted people and tortured them, the tables had turned. The pre-trial torture would begin in a few hours and hypocrisy would reign.

Ariel got to his feet. He reached into the pocket of his coat and took from it, a small circular item wrapped up in a piece of kitchen roll. He placed his cane under his arm and unwrapped the kitchen roll from the food inside it. He broke the biscuit inside in half and held it between his thumb and forefinger. “Don’t try and be nice,” Ariel said, striding towards the man, “You owe me nothing. Plus, you might hurt yourself.” He held the broken half of the digestive out within reach of the man if he was to lean forward ever so slightly. “Eat. They’re not going to be willing to part with food until the trial and even then I think it’ll only be enough to keep you conscious and perhaps even coherent. Won’t you be a lucky thing? I’m not trying to kill you. It’s food.” Ariel waited patiently for the man to move. “Out of curiosity though, ever since I came in...has it crossed your mind that I could be lying to you? That everything I’ve said is complete and utter bullshit? Not that it is, it wouldn’t help me in any way because I do plan on finding my sister. I’m just...interested I suppose.”

Felix stared at the kid as he spoke of packs. So he was a werewolf, Felix was to tired to even register that.. man he really needed some sleep, and some food. But here he was, in the presence of a werewolf, and he hadn't even noticed. The second he thought werewolf though, the second his mind went back to that snowy night, leaving the tent, and seeing Naomi, face to face with a werewolf. His entire body hidden in shadow, except for the muzzle, which was dripping saliva. It's eyes glowed in the eerie quietness of the clearing, and Naomi was standing transfixed as it stared her down. It had all been so clear, Felix would have put his hands over his head had been able to, but all he could do was wince slightly and look away from the kid.

Seeing the bit of food, Felix found himself sitting up, trying to smell the biscuit before it had even gotten to him. The kid was feeding him? He didn't trust it.. but what choice did he have? He definitely wanted to stay conscious even if it was just so that he could backtalk whoever got their hands on him.. he wanted to be alert, and this bit of food could be his lifeline. When the kid came up to him, and stood just within his reach, Felix realized he did in fact have a bit of power over this kid, he wouldn't come any closer, just hold it within reach. So he was scary... somewhat.. that fact almost hurt Felix as he stared at the food, and then slowly reached forward, the chain just long enough that he could grab it and tear off a tiny piece, putting it into his mouth, he savored the taste, it may be the last thing he had that would taste relatively like food, he needed to savor it.

When the kid asked a question, he glanced up at him, and sat up straighter, it was amazing how food could change your way of thinking, even if it was half a biscuit, it was still food, and made him act like the animal they all thought he was, holding the biscuit tenderly, holding it like it was precious to him. Felix bit his lip and then shook his head again. "Of course it has kid... that's why I didn't say anything that either wasn't common knowledge, or easily found out.. you knew about the aurors already, my dog took the girl away, I don't know where she is.. if you tell them that.. then it's true.. about me? Well... kid, I feel like we are sorta the same.. except you were smart and didn't get into a business that ruined your life... and besides, we share a common bond.. Naomi is a good person.. you take care of her if you find her okay? If you can.. send her my love.." He said and felt something break inside, he turned his attention back to the roll, taking small bites, savoring the flavor of such a plain thing.