Nancy
When she was told to shut up, Marsila rolled her eyes towards his attitude. She hadn't asked him to save her and because he had already planned on hunting down Atovar after witnessing his earlier encounter with the Captain, the shifter didn't feel as bad for the situation they were in. However, she did listen and ceased her talking. 

She watched in silence as the scene unfolded, unsurprised by Atovar's actions as he called for the hooded figures to be shot at. It didn't end well for the Mercenary captain once the Alchemist was hidden and had lost his connection with the much larger rat, allowing the two a chance of freedom and safety. 

Knowing it would only anger him, Marsila kept her mouth closed so she was mute as Rogh found a way for them to escape. She was impressed with how he was able to travel through the corridors, aware of which path they needed to take until they reached a hatch they had slid through. 

Witnessing the so called 'rats nest', the shifter's eyes widened. She didn't enjoy the thought of being so close to the headquarters of those hunting Rekkan and herself down, evident by the way she tightened her grip on the Warrior's back. 

"Somewhere far from here." Was her simple reply, agreeing that they needed to find some place to rest.
Vanessa
The Rat's Nest was eerily calm, but Rogh didn't plan to go deeper into it. If Atovar's threat was real, the chain and sickle warrior was also being targeted by the families for his breaking of one of the fabricated tenets that were more a way of sheltering the favored and what they defined their property. Rogh was eccentric and wild mannered, distant from the rules that made up the criminal underworld of Hexkrate. He agreed that they shouldn't lay low in the ruins' center, but too far away would be a bad decision. He thought that staying close to the headquarters gave them an edge on the movement of the people after them.

He used his last efforts to navigate through the outskirts of the ruins and slip into one of the old and derelict houses. Porcelain and wooden debris were scattered around the floor, but there was an old creaky bed still standing in one of the rooms. Rogh took advantage of it and laid Marsila on her stomach, so the bolts were standing hard on her back. He wrapped his fingers around one at a time and pulled, trusting in the shapeshifter's regeneration and endurance to survive the pain and heal.

"What the fuck was that back there?" He asked Marsila, trying to take the pain off her mind. "Was that man really talking to the giant rat?" He wanted to make sense of everything, as tagging along to hunt Rekkan made him walk a road of magic he never treaded on before.

But the rats were no longer under control. The giant leader of the mutated beings declared the hunting season open and its descendants swooped down on the sewers with a barbaric viciousness to them. Deprived of actual sentience, the creatures expanded to define their territory and prey on any who'd walk down to the sewers. It wasn't necessarily a war zone, but the guard of Hexkrate responded to the problem as a strange infestation.

The Alchemist was stranded in the middle of a mountain of shit. He made another attempt to connect with the rats that were his creation, but somehow they were blocking his transmission. He thought that the blood he infused the alpha with and then ran in its children's rotting bodies was the cause, and he wasn't wrong. He had given birth to monsters that were hard to kill through conventional means, if not outright impossible.
Nancy
Her skin had managed to heal over the entry wound made by the arrowheads until it reached the wooden shafts. If he was to pull the arrows from her body, he would need to use a great deal of strength. 

Marsila couldn't help but groan loudly in pain as she clenched her teeth together with immense pressure. It was difficult to answer his question as she was doing her best not to scream, fearing it would lead either Atovar or the rats right to them. It felt agonisingly slow as he would have been forced to pull it multiple times before they were finally removed. The bleeding was quick to stop as her body began to heal once but unfortunately, it also made the shifter lose any energy she had remaining. 

"I have no idea."

The shifter was finally able to whisper her answer after she managed to gather enough strength to speak. She was completely exhausted and it seemed her torture never ended. Even though Atovar was nowhere near, he still managed to find away to cause her agony. 

Her mind wandered to the rats, never having seen anything like those monsters. She could care less that she was covered in rat shit, knowing it disguised their scents as she couldn't find Rogh's. There was no doubt the man who was communicating with the largest of the rats was an alchemist.

Her thoughts became distracted when her stomach began to cramp out of hunger. Marsila felt as though she hadn't eaten in weeks and the more she was forced to heal, the more pain she had to suffer through internally. She was literal hell. 

"You know, death is starting to sound like a good idea about now." She muttered, losing any hope she had previously as her mind began to cave in.
Vanessa
Rogh peeked through the cracks in the wall to the outside of the house and found nothing but more ruins and debris. The city they were in was ancient, a shadow of a civilization long lost to the sands of time. It must have been bustling with people thousands of years ago, before the foundation of the first quarters of Hexkrate. They were in the outskirts, probably in some former slum turned into a hollow block like many others. The drifters of the capital found their way out of the sewers either to the surface or the ruined city, and occupied many empty buildings scattered around the poorest areas of the capital or the outer rim of Rogh and Marsila's location. They chose a vacant area, luckily being the only ones in the vicinity.

"You really like to talk shit, ey, shapeshifter?" He said, not turning away from the cracks. "Well, you can choose if you want to die or not. Take your own life! Like I care. I will go out and see if I can find any food either way. If you're dead by the time I'm back, well, more food for me."

The warrior walked out of the room Marsila stayed in and then out of the house. He followed the cracked cobble road into the city center, ever closer to the colosseum where the heads made their headquarters. He had no intention of actually going there, preferring to skirt the den of wolves to visit one of the black markets. He hoped he wasn't identified by someone affiliated with Atovar or the Diplomat especially.
Nancy
This man was a complete asshole. She narrowed her eyes towards him before turning her head the other direction which faced the wall. Even if she wanted to, it was close to impossible for her to take her own life. 

When she listened as Rogh left her alone to her thoughts, Marsila's mind began to drift to her parents. Her eyes began to water as she feared she may never see them again, or apologise for running away. They had given her a chance in life, caring for her after her biological parents had abandoned her as an infant. Even when she experienced her first shift and almost harmed her father by accident, they continued to love her like she was their own. 

Using Rogh's absence to her advantage, Marsila rolled to her side and readjusted herself on the small bed. She brought her knees to her chest and curled into a ball, hugging herself before releasing all the built up sadness and anger.
Vanessa
Rogh was cautious, but one can never be too cautious, nor is always one aware of his surroundings. One of the trappers that Atovar hired to capture Marsila spotted the chain and sickle warrior from the crowd and tailed him. He noted that the man was acquiring some much needed food and followed him all the way to what the inhabitants of the Nest called the badlands.

Rogh took a sharp turn to an alley, when the trapper peeked from the corner into the narrow street, he was introduced to the weight of the iron ball that was chained to the sickle through a quick throw that made his left eye go inward as the skull around it was shattered with the pressure of the throw. It was possible the shards of bone stuck into the brain, but the sticky eyeball latched onto the ball as it was reeled back until the speed made it detach and roll on the floor. The trapper's body fell to its knees and then forward, slumping against the wall before collapsing on its side on the ground.

"Bastard." Rogh had a bag full of food under his left arm and the ball being twirled on his right. He walked around and out of the alley and towards the house Marsila was left behind in. When he entered the first room, it was clear to him that the other trappers would come and look for their friend, then use the tracks left by the warrior to find him.

"Here!" Rogh dropped the bag next to the bed and turned his back to the bed, heading out the door and staying in it for a moment. He looked back at the shapeshifter. "Eat up and get away from here as soon as you can walk! If you follow the main road out, you'll find an old statue of a woman with a tunnel leading up to the sewers! Take a left and you'll eventually find a ladder leading to the surface! Don't get yourself killed, dig?!"
Nancy
Marsila had no tears left to cry when Rogh returned, carrying a large sack filled with food. Drool began to flood her mouth as the scent wafted through the air, grabbing the shifter's attention almost immediately as she turned to face him. 

When the bag was beside the bed, the female lowered her arm and reached into the bag, wrapping her fingers around the first thing she touched. With newfound energy, Marsila pulled the bag in front of herself and began devouring every edible item presented to her while listening to Rogh give her directions. 

She didn't blame him for leaving. He wasn't obligated to care for her and she knew she had been a thorn in his side since the moment he saved her. Though before he left, she gave him a short nod to show she'd been listening.

She ate in silence, never having the chance to taste what she ate as practically shoved the food down her throat. Every chew she took, the shifter could feel herself regaining the energy she had lost. It excited her, knowing she would be able to move on her own. However, she knew it was too risky to shift into her panther form. It would have taken too much energy and she would have lost the clothes Rogh found her. 

When she had finished eating, Marsila didn't waste time and immediately left to follow the main road as Rogh had instructed. She had been paranoid the entire walk to the statue the warrior had mentioned, her eyes darting through the crowds in fear that Atovar would make an appearance. She also made herself aware of anyone she felt may be following her, taking continuous detours to confirm her suspicions,
Vanessa
The man smirked at the shapeshifter and went the opposite way, towards the core of the ruined city. He found it best to meet with the ones that would surely follow his tracks, so that Marsila could have time to escape. Hopefully, she wouldn't come across any rats or the men that hunted her. Even though he was an asshole towards her, Rogh found himself caring for her future, because he disliked Atovar and what he had done to her face. He disliked torture, being more of a true fighter than a common thug.

Rogh stopped short of the entrance to the center of the ruins and met with the two trappers standing a few meters away from him. He could see by their faces that they were angry, quite the norm for who had just lost their companion. He grinned at them and gripped the sickle's handle with his left while his right hand held the chain and made the iron ball twirl on his right side.

"You sure you wanna pick a fight with me?"

The two trappers attacked together. They zigged and zagged in their approach, but Rogh cut their advance with a horizontal swing of his ball that made their bodies swerve back to evade the iron of doom. The ball came around to rotate around his body. They took the opportunity of the wind up to attack with their swords, but Rogh was expecting that. He used the curved blade of his sickle to parry a blow while pulling the chain to have the ball closer to his right hand as it was spun even faster. Fast enough that when he released it, it struck the sword of the other and hit his chest in the ricochet. It lost some momentum, but it was still enough to crush the thorax and knock the trapper back. The sickle that parried the other sword was whipped to slash at the face and remove a bit of the nose of the first trapper, making him groan as blood poured from his open nostril and cheek.

"Seriously! You're just boring!" He taunted, shooting the ball low to wrap around the leg of the one he hit on the chest. He tugged on the chain and made him fall to the ground, then swung the chain high to lob the sickle and make it stab the crushed thorax. The other trapper tried to thrust at the side of his gut, but Rogh sidestepped to feel the edge of the blade slice a bit of his bandages and cut the skin in a shallow wound that drew a trickle of blood. He let go of his weapon to drive an elbow at the trapper's side and make him lose his balance. Then, he grounded the man and pounded him with several punches to the face. Finally, he grabbed the weapon of the trapper and stabbed him multiple times in the chest until he no longer drew breath.

"That's that, huh?!"

Rogh collected his weapon from the other trapper's corpse and wiped the blood of the sickle on the dead man's clothes. He was about to continue on his merry way when men approached from in front and behind him.

"Ooh, hello there!"

Rogh's grin faltered when Atovar appeared. He was seemingly unscathed, having survived the rat attack a couple of hours ago. "Did you really think you could hide from me, Rogh?!"

"Nay. Bootlickers are always gonna be privileged, dig?" The chain and sickle warrior stated with a more serious expression.

"Where is she?"

"Long gone, faggot! And you're about to be long gone too! I'm having my revenge now!"
Nancy
The shifter had found herself walking through the sewers, making sure to take a left which led her along another path. She found herself lucky that no one had followed her, knowing she would have heard them enter the sewers after her otherwise. It also meant Atovar had no clue to where she was. 

She felt rays of hope at the thought of making her way back to Rekkan, even if she had a while to go. She could only hope the Captain had been eaten by the rats, thinking it meant Rekkan and herself would be free from being hunted down. Marsila was naive to the fact that Atovar was merely a pawn, oblivious to the Ticket Master's existence. 

As she neared the ladder Rogh spoke of, Marsila's steps faltered when she could hear the screeching of rats ahead. She couldn't guess how many there were as they're twisted shrieks were louder than the average rats. It was bad fortune they were heading towards her ,giving her little time to reach the trap door. 

Marsila instantly began sprinting, thankful the warrior had given her enough food to replenish her. The female had barely reached the ladder when she noticed abnormally large rats race towards her and began climbing like her life depended on it, which it did. She could feel the adrenaline created from the fear of being eaten alive help her reach the trap door that lead to an alley, missing the zombified looking rats by inches.

Closing the door after her, it slammed against the head of the first rat that climbed after her, causing it to hit the others on its way down. 

Marsila took advantage of the little time she had before they would reach the trap door and dragged a large metal beam over it. Hopefully that would hold them off long enough for her to run further into Hexraxes, unfamiliar with her surroundings so she was unaware of the direction she headed but made sure to avoid any main streets.
Cassie
"I'm surprised that you didn't read the 20 treatises I wrote from the 20 expeditions I had went through. Then again, who has time to read 20 of those things." He muttered. "Anyways, the one thing you have to understand is that this bird loves to suck the life force out of human beings."

"That's the thing, really. It only sucks the life out of humans and, presumably, gets stronger with each human life. But as for other animals like rabbits and wolves, they use their talons and sharp feathers to cut it down and directly eat it."

"As to why this happens, I don't know. But I can tell for a fact that this bird definitely hates humans."
Vanessa
While Marsila was making her escape, Rogh was locked in a situation he knew would be a gritty challenge to get out of. The mercenary captain didn't appreciate the name calling, feeling his blood hot with rage as he drew his rapier and signaled his men to stand down. He was confident in his skill and eager to get rid of a thorn on the side of his plans.

"You will beg for a swift death when I get my hands on you, Rogh!"

The chain and sickle warrior didn't let Atovar close the gap, quickly swinging his ball in wide arcs that made a perimeter he could shorten were the fencer trying to get closer. Atovar's three steps forward found the ball swinging mighty close to his nose, with the intent of ripping it off were he not fast enough to draw his head back. However, right after he evaded, Atovar pressed on to find the sickle coming from above. He dodged with a quick step to the right.

The way to Rogh's exposed left flank seemed clear, but the chain and sickle warrior turned his wrist and pulled, making the sickle tilt and be leashed back with its sharp blade aiming for the lower body of the mercenary. The sizzling sound of blade cutting wind was a warning for Atovar, but that alone wasn't his problem. The dexterous fighter used his other hand to command the other half of the chain and make his ball flow horizontally to smash against the shoulder of the captain. Atovar rolled to the left, springing into action to thrust with an extended right arm and upper body. Rogh used the outer, blunt side of the curved sickle to knock the blade away. His ball came back from an overhead twirl from left to right behind his body and right to left in front of it. Atovar turned his face and felt the iron ball graze his ear as it shot a boom of sound into the eardrum and reddened the cartilage of the ear.

The sickle followed to take advantage of an unbalanced duelist, yet Atovar found the footing with his left foot to push himself back and away from the sickle that still scratched his forehead with its dreaded tip. Infuriated, he released a swing with his right arm that ripped through the bandages of the warrior and revealed a large gash from his chest to his gut. Atovar furrowed his brows and stepped back, catching his breath and waiting for the buzzing sound on his right ear to stop.

"Look at that! Is that what the swordsman did to you? I might just continue his work then!"

Rogh grunted and ignored the blood that made his gash tingle. It was close to a burning sensation as the rapier needled the previous wound and made the chain and sickle warrior's body heat rise.

"I'll be honest with ya! You're not half the man that guy is, dig?!"
Nancy
Her heart raced as she sprinted through the alleyways, finding it similar to a labyrinth path when she managed to become completely lost. Every turn the shifter took would eventually lead her to a public space crowded with people and possible trappers. She doubted she would blend in well with the crowd as the back of her shirt had been torn and covered in blood. Not to mention she still smelt of manure from the rat's nest. 

Her eyes caught sight of a banner in which she recognised Ibethiel's house sigil decorated on it. It relieved her somewhat as she knew it was only one kingdom over from North Feyshore. 

Her stomach began to tighten as hunger began to set in once again. Even though she had eaten recently, the running had done a number on her seeing that she didn't have much energy in the first place. 

As she walked along a quiet path, Marsila carefully listened to each house she passed for any signs that someone may be inhabiting it. If she was unsure whether it had been abandoned or not, she would seek out any scents that would inform her if someone had been occupying the house. It took her awhile but eventually, the shifter had found a house that had been deserted. 

Upon entering, the door frame hun unevenly and almost broke off from the hinges. Marsila however, could care less as she made herself welcomed inside. 

The first thing she did was hunt down any clothing that may fit her, scouring through the bedrooms and the trunks until she was satisfied with her findings. She had found a well worn shirt that had probably been sitting in the trunk collecting dust and began undressing her top. 

Her plan was to hide in this building until she could figure out a plan for her way back to Rekkan.