Prey was interrupted from doing nothing by the blue ripple of magic unlocking the door. It opened and one of the two Pegasus guards came in bringing what could only be called a tray of breakfast.
Prey wasn't actually too sure, and had to look twice before he could confirm it. What was even more startling was when the Solar Guard passed it to one of the unicorns who then, instead of eating it, floated it over and dropped it in front of him. Prey cautiously extended a cloven fore hoof, "Is that an orange? And an apple? And... Bread?" He mumbled. The unicorn quirked an eyebrow under his helm at him, but said nothing.
Prey surreptitiously checked the food for poison as he hesitantly lifted the apple, something which required both his front hooves because of his size, sniffing it and checking its glossy red surface for contamination.
Not that he thought the Solar Guard would poison him, but old habits die hard.
Prey let out a muffled giggle, "Truly, they weren't lying when they said ponies were the privileged chosen." He mumbled to himself.
"Are you going to eat that or just sit there looking at it?" The unicorn asked pointedly.
Prey shot him a murderous look, cold enough to almost make the Guard take an instinctive step backwards, "You're so privileged and you don't even know it. It makes me feel sick." Prey told him.
Before the Guard could offer a reply Prey returned his attention to the food. With one last check for poisons, Prey took a small, neat bite. He just sat there for a while slowly chewing, face blank. He swallowed and looked down at the rest of the apple in his fore hooves. "And they don't even realise it." He mumbled to himself. Bringing up his hooves, Prey took a much larger bite.
------
Prey was slouched on the tower of cushions, idly shifting through reports. He was keeping up the appearance of looking busy while still managing to annoy his Guards, when the magical ripple flowed out from the door.
Prey didn't react, but his soft blue eyes keenly watched the effect. Every time he saw it, he got that much closer to figuring out what type of barrier spell it was. Assessing and eliminating possible scenarios until eventually only one would remain. He didn't know what the spell was, but he could figure out how to get around it.
In marched Sunshine and Gold Bit. Prey pretended to ignore them as they exchanged a salute with his other two unicorn Guards and a few whispered words that even Prey's ears weren't able to pick up. While they were doing so, Prey slipped a hoof under the desk. He lightly traced a different rune, letting the faint build up of stored energy from yesterday flow out into his newest creation.
The two unicorn Guards he didn't know left, and Prey caught a few of their words as the door closed; "-she even ate the orange peel." Then the ripple once again spread out as the door closed. Sunshine and Gold Bit took up their position either side of his chair and settled into stance.
-
Three or four of hours passed in silence.
-
Prey slowly grew restless. First, he began flicking through reports carelessly. That moved onto leaning his chin on one hoof and then the other and fidgeting with the chain, shifting the cushions under him into different positions, and swinging his legs.
-
Eventually, after the fifth hour, Prey tossed the current report he was leafing through back onto the pile and swivelled on his cushion pile to face Sunshine, "Well, not that this isn't riveting, but what's happening out there with the investigation? I'm bored." He said.
It was of course all an act. Prey had the patience of a snake. That's why he'd spent the last five hours visibly building up to this. The Guards would expect him to be able to keep going for hours, just as he first had when he got here. But now that he'd already sorted all the reports and given them the information they needed, he would be forgiven for acting bored.
"Not our problem if you're bored." Gold Bit stated.
"But I am your responsibility, so surely you won't object to just talking?" Prey asked. He'd asked it as a question to get a response, one which Sunshine provided.
"That depends."
"On what I want to talk about?" Prey guessed with a raised eyebrow, "How about what's happening out there with the investigation? You are still running that aren't you, or have you given up?"
"No, obviously we haven't given up. And that's restricted information." Gold Bit immediately replied.
"Even though I'm an integral part of this investigation and so far have done all of the work for you?" Prey asked with fake innocence.
Gold Bit scowled at him, "Did you secure the grounds or search the mansion? Have you stood guard over the victims or questioned the servants? Are you currently nursing and caring for Cedar Fields at this very moment? Did you personally search for clues instead of making clever guesses? Or did you just get fed all that from these reports, which were compiled by numerous other hard working ponies might I add? If not, then no, you didn't do all the work." Gold Bit retorted.
"Peace," Sunshine calmed him, "You're not the only one who's frustrated by this whole thing. If you want to rant, you can come to a bar with me later after we're off duty, I heard there's a good one around the corner." He suggested with a smirk.
"I take it that means it's going poorly." Prey said before Gold Bit could give Sunshine a response.
Both Solar Guards gave him a look, "You could say your mere presence here, instead of in a cell back in Dreverton, indicates as much." Sunshine dead panned, while Prey caught a mutter of "Criminal mind leech." From Gold Bit under his breath.
"Oh come on, am I really such a terrifying criminal as all that? I hardly strike fear into the hearts of ponies. I mean, have you looked at me recently?" Prey asked flippantly, spreading his small hooves wide and smiling at them.
There was a slight pause, the tiniest flicker of hesitance on the Guards otherwise stony countenances before it was gone. "Those who resort to the cowardly acts of criminals and discard their decency don't have the right to complain when they are caught and punished. You made your choice, and these are the consequences." Gold Bit stated firmly, flicking his ears dismissively and turning his eyes away.
"Punishment follows breaking the law, it's the natural way of things. This is your chance to repay society for some of the misery you've caused." Sunshine added to his fellow Guard's statement.
Prey decided not to bother arguing the concept of 'he who made the law decides what morals are'. He knew neither Solar Guard would budge in their loyalty to their duty. "Yes yes, you've already told me that multiple times before. I'm a dangerous criminal and I should be thankful to dragged out and press ganged into service to your princess." He retorted.
"Princess Celestia is the rightful ruler of Equestria-"
"No, she's yours. Tell me, does Celestia rule the Griffin empire or the Deer Kingdom? The Minotaur lands or the Dragon roosts? How about the Diamond dogs or the zebras? The yaks, hippogriffs, buffalo, camels, or any other sub-race?" Prey asked.
"Of course not, she simply rules Equestria, guiding it along a better path. She allows the other lands the right to govern themselves as they see fit." Sunshine confidently replied at the same time that Gold Bit muttered, "Hippogriffs?"
Prey pointed a hoof at Sunshine, "You see my point? Celestia does not rule the whole world, so why should I name her my ruler? What has she ever done for me?" Prey demanded.
"The princess raises both the sun and the moon every day and night. She keeps us all safe and rules with love and kindness, none go hungry and all are treated equally. She stands against the darkness and protects us all. The very bed you slept in and the food you ate was funded by her policies and government. Everyone is in the Princess's debt." Sunshine said, emphasising the word 'everyone' and not 'everypony' for once.
Prey laughed. It was a delighted sound, light and bubbly, "Heh heh. None go hungry and all are treated equally?" He laughed, "Heh heh heh. Obviously you've never been beyond your borders before."
Both the Solar Guards frowned disapprovingly at him, "You don't know what you are talking about. You are too young to have gone out there either. You're just repeating hateful phrases that you have heard others say instead of thinking for yourself." Sunshine told him.
Prey giggled harder, "You are so sure of your own inherent goodness that it blinds you to the blatant hypocrisy of what you just said. 'Just repeating what you've heard others say instead of thinking for yourself?' Ha! So what does that say about you?" Prey retorted with a grin.
Gold Bit snorted and turned away, "Don't bother arguing with the mind leech Sunshine, he'll just twist anything you try to say."
"I thought this was the land of free speech," Prey responded with a shrug, "But obviously you don't believe my words anyway, so I'll save my breath."
Gold Bit flicked an ear in annoyance at Prey, "You do that."
"You still haven't answered my question Gold Bit," Prey shot back at the Unicorn, "Aside from your personal dislike of me, what have I done that's so wrong?"
Gold Bit scoffed, "Stealing the thoughts and memories of others to use for you own twisted purposes like any mind leech obviously. We all read the file so don't think you can fake your innocence." He replied.
"Oh?" Prey perked up in genuine interest. This was one of the things he'd been aiming to learn from this conversation, and there was no harm in making that interest known. Either they would tell him, or they wouldn't. "So what did it say?" He enquired.
"What's it to you?" Sunshine asked suspiciously.
"Nothing really, I was just asking." Prey responded, returning to the piles of paper on the desk in front of him like he hadn't been that interested anyway.
"Illegal use dark magic, use of forbidden mind magic, theft and invasion of privacy, subduing and enslavement of ponies through said forbidden magic, threatening the general populace through reckless misuse of both dark magic and forbidden magic, non-compliance with existing magical laws and magical registration, indirect involvement with a pony's death, and numerous other minor law infringements." Gold Bit recited from memory.
Prey took note of that, 'Good recall. He hasn't shown any previous aptitude for a eidetic memory, so it seems likely he read the report multiple times, and recently too. Something must have made him want to double check on me to reassure himself. Was it wariness of my abilities, or uncertainty about what they're doing?' Prey wondered.
Sunshine nodded in agreement at his fellow guard's words, "What he said."
"Is that it?" Prey asked lightly, "You forgot a few things from that list." Sunshine frowned disapprovingly at Prey's words. 'Many many things.' It seemed that for some reason the Solar Guards really didn't have an accurate report of him. There was one way to be sure.
"How old am I?" Prey asked.
"Huh?"
"How old am I? I lost track of time in Dreverton, but it can't have been long. I'd like know how old I am. So what did it say in that file of yours?" Prey asked.
Gold Bit narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, but didn't respond. 'He doesn't know.' Prey thought. 'Unsurprising, considering how little they seemed to actually know about me, but still interesting.' Prey turned his attention to the other guard for his answer.
Sunshine thought for a moment, his eyes regarded Prey uncertainly, "You can't be older than than ten. If you were in there for, say, at most, three years, then that means..." He trailed off, " Seven. So young." He muttered to himself. Prey wouldn't have caught any of that if he hadn't been Prey. He often found that those without excellent hearing often underestimated those who did.
Prey hid a grin at their confirmation of his suspicions, "It's alright if you don't know, it's not really important. Why don't you just tell me about something else instead to pass the time?" He suggested.
"We already told you it's not our problem if you're bored." Gold Bit repeated.
"Be honest. The real reason you don't want to talk with me is because you're afraid you'll let something of vital importance slip, and then the next thing you know I'll have taken over all of Equestria. You're just being paranoid, what words could you possibly say that would lead to my escape? But since you're paranoid, you've decided it's just better that you don't say anything at all. Isn't that right, Gold Bit?" Prey asked with another infuriating smile.
"Better safe than sorry." Gold Bit groused, while Sunshine hid a cough.
Prey just gave Gold Bit another bright smile and turned to a Sunshine, "How about you or are you also afraid?" He asked.
"You certainly don't act your age." Sunshine noted dryly.
"What can I say? I'm young at heart." Prey joked.
Prey was once again getting the impression that although the Solar Guard took his job seriously, he perhaps didn't take Prey seriously enough as a threat. In fact none of them did. They didn't seem to realise that he was a threat because of his small and weak appearance. They let him speak out of turn rather than beating him into silence every time he did, like they'd done in the Resistance whenever they took a prisoner. But Sunshine more so than any other of the Solar Guards. That was why out of the two unicorns, Prey had been subtly politer to Sunshine, in the hope of influencing the unicorn to do the same.
He was still going to kill both of them though.
"That's not what I meant." Sunshine said.
Prey shrugged, "Never mind then. So are you going to answer my question or not?"
Sunshine hesitated, "No, I can't. We're under strict orders." He said.
"But what's the harm-?"
"No." Sunshine repeated firmly, "Don't you have work you need to be doing anyway?" He asked.
Prey decided not to risk what he'd gained by pressing any further and instead answered Sunshine's own question; "No actually. I've already found out all I can from these reports, so unless new information is brought to light, there is nothing further I can do right now. That's why I'm bored and trying to talk to you."
It was the truth, he didn't have anything else he could learn from these reports. That he hadn't quite shared everything he'd learnt was beside the point. Prey knew when to hoard bits and pieces to use as leverage later on.
Sunshine 'humph'd' and shrugged his well muscled shoulders, "That's your choice. But if you can't provide anything further to this investigation, I doubt Captain Valour is going to keep you around much longer. You might want to think about that before saying you have no work to do." He said.
Prey gave the unicorn a patient look, "I cannot work with old information to make new discoveries, and it's you Solar Guard's who are the ones who gave me this 'job' in the first place. Besides," Prey added with a sideways tilt of his head and a smirk creasing his soft white face, "I never said I have noting left to offer to your captain."
------
Sunshine had asked what he meant, where as Gold Bit had demanded that Prey tell them what he'd found. What Prey told them was that they'd have to wait until their Captain came in person.
Gold Bit had then tried to order Prey to tell them, but he'd just giggled at them, even when it looked like Gold Bit was getting ready to blast him with another stunning spell. It's not that Prey wasn't terrified of the unicorns magic, because he was. It's just that he hid it and pretended he didn't care. Much can be gained from a perceived position of invulnerability. If you acted like you weren't scared, then they believed that you weren't scared.
Eventually, in the face of Prey's stubbornness, Sunshine had opened to the door and told one of the pegasus to send a note to Captain Valour. Prey caught them saying something about the Captain being in Canterlot for; 'an important meeting with Captain Shining Armour and Major Hard Hoof,' and that he wouldn't be back util later that night.
Gold Bit had once again tried to order Prey to tell them what he 'd learned, but Prey brushed him off saying, "It's not time sensitive and doesn't relate to catching your thieves. You can wait." This had annoyed both the Guards to no end, but they couldn't do anything short of beating it out of him.
Despite his seeming indifference, Prey was keenly aware of time.
He was counting down every hour, working out how many more of the remaining six untouched mansions the thieves would hit. How soon? Which approach would suit him best? Prey tried to analyse it all. He estimated that he had another two days, possibly two and a half at the minimum, and six at the most if they only hit one a night.
Prey hoped the thieves decided to be cautious and took it slow. The longer they delayed the longer Prey had to work on his escape and come up with back up plans. Like the runes he was carving into the underside of the desk right now for instance.
Prey kept his face completely blank as he pushed his hoof into the wood, ignoring the still recovering hoof's twinges of pain as he did so. His hooves had stared to harden up again after being released from their restraints, but it was a slow process and they were still quite tender.
That didn't matter though. This could hardly even be called discomfort, let alone real pain. Besides, in a little while he'd have to spill some of his blood for a couple of the more special runes. Still only lower tier runes, but as he had no other available energy source, (and wouldn't have risked tripping the magical alarms even if he did) the life energy from his blood was his only choice. If it didn't set off the alarms. He still wasn't 100 percent sure about that, not knowing exactly what alarms were being used.
"What are you thinking about right now?" Sunshine abruptly asked.
"Home," Prey immediately lied, "Not that it's any of your business."
"You're the one who said you were bored and wanted to talk." Sunshine replied.
Prey decided to run with this conversation and see what happened, "I suppose I did." He offered a shrug, "I was just wondering what home looks like right now, how it's changed over the years. I wonder if thorn bushes have over taken the fields. I imagine vines have covered the well by now too. Maybe grass has grown over the ruins, the New Moon knows we tried for long enough to get grass to grow."
Gold Bit rolled his eyes derisively, "Stop being precocious and melodramatic, you're still just a lamb. It takes more than a few years for buildings to collapse anyhow. The sheep flocks living from wherever you came from rest easier at night now that you're safely locked away mind leach." He snorted.
Sunshine picked up on something else, "You said, 'we'?" He took a step closer to where Prey sat, "You're file made no mention of gang participation or gang action. What was the name of the gang? There has recently been a crack down on gangs, this might be useful."
Gold Bit looked up in interest, "You're right, that might be important. What was your gang name and who was its leader? Was it disbanded after your capture?" He asked aggressively.
Prey shrugged, "No idea, because there was no 'gang' as you so quaintly put it. Not by the end anyway. It was just me left in the end. Me against everyone else." He paused for a moment, the amended, "And the Deeper Green. We were all against the Deeper Green, and it was against all of us."
"Deeper Green?" Sunshine asked.
"You didn't answer my question." Gold Bit said.
Prey flicked an ear over his shoulder in annoyance, "That's because you misinterpreted my words. When I said 'we', I didn't mean a gang."
"You're village then?" Sunshine butted in.
Prey looked at him coldly, "Yes, but no. I meant my old home and farm." He answered.
"Despite their criminal lamb, I'm sure your family is doing fine. Parents and siblings won't be punished even indirectly for their child's crimes. There is also a self help charity set up in place to assist loved ones cope and face the reality of their family or spouse being a criminal. Face it 452, they're better off without you." Gold Bit said with a dismissive motion of his hoof.
Prey had stopped tracing the rune's under the desk half way through Gold Bit's little speech on fairness, and turned to give the unicorn his full attention and a blank smile.
Now Prey started to giggle, then laugh, hooves clutching his thin sides. The laugh was just as light and happy as before, but now it held an edge, "Well you're not wrong there!" He laughed, "A charity for the families of criminals? Heh Heh Heh! Brilliant! Of course, it's exactly what you ponies would do, Ha! Why don't you dispatch them at once? Just give them directions to the village of Rush Weed and they can get right to comforting all those bereft families. Heh heh heh! Oh I haven't laughed so in ages." He chuckled, pushing a droopy ear out of his face. Laughing had made his split cheek start to hurt again.
Prey sighed and settled back down, that blank smile still in place as he looked up at Gold Bit, "Oh you have no idea how sheltered and privileged you really are." He repeated softly with a shake of his head.
------
Prey was lying with his head on the table, ears folded out of the way, pretending to be asleep.
He'd been like that for the last hour, one foreleg cushioning his head and the other tucked limply under the desk. Millimeter by crawling millimeter he continued with tracing out the runes, his movements so gradual that they were unnoticeable. The Solar Guards hadn't said anything after his small laughing fit. They had remained stoic and composed, (they were the Solar Guard after all) but he'd seen in their faces that he'd unnerved them, even if only slightly.
"Do you think?" Prey heard Sunshine ask softly.
"If you mean, 'do you think the prisoner is actually asleep?' Then yes." Gold Bit answered in an equally quite undertone. Prey could already hear everything they were saying perfectly, but he focused his attention to listen harder anyway.
"Then are you holding out?" Sunshine whispered. Although Prey had his eyes closed and didn't hear Gold Bit answer, he could clearly imagine the questioning glance that Gold Bit returned.
"You know what I mean; are you still managing to stay impartial?" Sunshine asked quietly.
There was a pause, then Gold Bit gave a small sigh, "Yes I am. But for the opposite reasons than normal."
"Because he's just a lamb?" Sunshine asked.
"Yeah. It's not what I expected from a mind leech. Usually criminals just make me angry, not...Angry and uncertain." Gold Bit said, clear irritation in his tone.
"Are you sure you're still impartial as our job dictates?" Sunshine questioned jokingly.
"Of course I am! I'm well aware it's a mind leech who'll try anything to escape, I'm not totally stupid. It's yourself that you should be worried about." Gold Bit replied.
"Good job that I'm not worried then." Sunshine returned lightly.
"Are you sure? If not, then you should speak to the captain." Gold Bit said.
"Yes I'm sure. Just like you, I'm not totally stupid. It's just hard sometimes-"
"-To not be stupid?" Gold Bit interrupted in a rare display of humour.
"Hardy har har. No you idiot. Sometimes it's just hard to associate a mere lamb with everything he's done in the file. In my books, criminals shouldn't look so innocent when sleeping. Or like a filly." Prey heard a quiet chuckle and the movement of armour as Sunshine shrugged.
"You know I'm required by protocol to raise any concerns to the captain if I'm worried you're no longer impartial towards the prisoner. Especially something like him." Gold Bit stated somewhat reluctantly.
"Don't worry, if it gets to that stage I'll speak to Captain Valour myself and ask for reassignment. I was in the briefing, same as everypony else." Sunshine reposed gravely.
"That's good to hear." Gold Bit said, much happier now.
"No worries." Sunshine replied easily. Both Solar Guards lapsed back into silence.
Prey stayed where he was, unmoving aside from his soft, rhythmic breathing of feigned sleep. That had been most...Interesting. He'd just been thinking about something similar, when the two Solar Guards had confirmed quite a few of his suspicions.
It was very convenient, which of course made Prey wary of taking it at face value, 'Did they know I was listening? Was it a staged conversation?' Prey considered it carefully, before deciding that it had indeed been a genuine conversation. Unfortunately, it seemed the Guards were already aware of their breech in self discipline, and were working to keep an eye on it. So in the end, he'd gained almost nothing he didn't already know.
------
Another hour passed and Prey drew out three additional non-active runes on the underside of the desk. These weren't passive runes, but either triggered or activated runes.
Essentially it meant that they currently were turned off. Prey was fairly certain turning them on would trigger the magical alarms, so he'd only get one use out of them before the Guards came running. But he wasn't quite ready for that stage of his plan.
A further hour was already well on its way in passing them by, with the time was fast approaching for the Guard shift change. That was when the now familiar blue ripple of magic spread out from the door.
"-Princess Celestia's prodigy." Captain Valour said, finishing of his conversation as he stepped in through the open door, "I received the message. Anything concerns to report?" He barked to Sunshine and Gold Bit.
"Nothing of importance sir." Sunshine answered smartly, Gold Bit echoing his words a moment later.
"Good work." Captain Valour came to a stop across the desk from where Prey was still pretending to be asleep, "Get up prisoner 452!" He roared.
Prey flicked open one eye and looked up at the massive unicorn, "Yes captain?" He asked politely. The familiar sight of Captain Valour's face looking like a pot approaching the boil greeted him. Captain Valour wore that expression a lot when speaking to him Prey noted smugly.
"Why are you sleeping and not completing your task?!"
"As I already explained to your Guards, I am unable to make new discoveries with old information. Unless you give me something new to work with, I am limited in what I can do." Prey replied evenly, keeping his tone, if not respectful, then at least neutral.
"I will not tolerate lies 452, nor laziness. You will work, or I will return you to Dreverton within the hour. Is that understood?" Captain Valour threatened.
"Alright." Prey answered after a moment.
Captain Valour narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Prey's easy surrender, obviously having expected more of a fight. Without breaking his gaze the captain addressed Prey's two Guards, "The message said you had something, what was it?"
"We don't know sir, the prisoner refused to say until you arrived." Gold Bit answered.
As expected, Captain Valour did not take this well, "How dare you! You think this is some game? That you, a criminal, can decide with who and what you want to share? You forget your place prisoner! What about your position gave you the illusion that you have any say in the matter? You. Will. Do. As. I. Say. When. I. Say!" The captain bellowed into Prey's face.
Prey rubbed his ears to try and alleviate the ringing, "And I have been. You just never said anything about doing as your lackeys ordered, and as you're here now I see no reason to continue-" Prey was cut off as Captain Valour grabbed the chain attached to his inhibitor collar and savagely yanked him across the desk, scattering papers.
He was still struggling to regain his breath when Captain Valour bore down on him, nose to nose, "Your constant excuses and attempts to find loop holes are as transparent as your lies and twice as annoying. Are you that deluded that you take me for a fool? I know your kind, I have brought many of you filthy scum low during my time. Now you will tell me what it is you think you've discovered, and pray for your sake that it's good." The Captain's brown eyes shone with barely restrained righteous fury, as he glared into Prey's own where the sheep lay on the desk.
Prey swallowed and took a moment to get his breathing back under control, 'This is all temporary and part of the plan, I'll kill him later, I will!' Prey reminded himself. He took a deep a breath as he could with Captain Valour's face still filling his vision; "I know a way to restore the victims memories and find out who these criminals are." Prey hurriedly said.
Captain Valour's gaze grew even more intense if that were possible, and Prey could hear the other Solar Guards leaning in closer in interest, "Tell me." Captain Valour demanded.
Prey took a steadying breath, then shakily tapped a hoof against the crystal studded collar, "Just take this off and I'll fix them for you." He told them.
------
"-And if you so much as even think of touching them again I will break every worthless bone in your runt body! I will have you thrown into Tartarus itself! You will never have access to them to twist their minds to your wretched schemes! Your threats are meaningless-"
"Captain," Broke in Sunshine, "I think the prisoner is running out of air.
Prey was busy scrabbling at the collar around his throat as he dangled in the air, swinging back and forth on the chain as he struggled to breathe. His back hooves were only an inch off the desk, but for all his frantic kicking, he couldn't quite reach it to alleviate the pressure on his throat. Captain Valour paused in yelling into Prey's face and regarded the sheep where he swung on the chain. The coils were firmly bunched around his armoured hoof that he'd used to yank Prey into the air with.
'Part of the plan, part of the plan, just keep up the act and don't give in to fear.' Prey repeated to himself.
After a moment, Captain Valour let go of the chain and Prey dropped back onto the desk with a clatter of chains. The unicorn captain glowered down at Prey as he gasped and panted, scrabbling back to get out of hoof's reach. Prey wasn't nearly as winded as he let on. He knew he could have remained conscious for at least another three and a half minutes before fully blacking out. The collar had only restricted his airway, not cut it off entirely, but he played it up for all it was worth.
*'gasp'* "W-what-", *'Cough cough cough'* "Is that how-" *'wheeze'* "Treat those-" *'cough'* "-Offering to help?" Prey gasped out as he curled up on the far side of the desk, nursing his throat. A furtive glance at Sunshine and Gold Bit saw that although slightly grim faced, neither seemed inclined to disagree overly with their Captain's actions.
"You're lucky to still be breathing after threatening to turn those poor victims into your mind puppets." Captain Valour growled.
"I was offering-" *Wheeze* "To restore their memories and fix what's wrong with them." *Cough* "All I'd do is go inside and undo the trigger that turns them into raving lunatics, if you'd just take this collar off." Prey protested. Actually, he could already do that if he could just lay his hoof on the victim. However the Solar Guards still thought the collar was what was restricting his mind magic, and he needed to keep up that appearance.
"Your blatant attempts at tricking us into freeing you will not work-"
"I'm-*cough* Telling the truth!"
"-And your vile attempts to play off our sympathy towards Cedar Fields and the other victims condition is disgusting. The Solar Guard is sworn to their protection. As much as it pains me to see them like this, I know that letting you loose on them would be crueller than death. For you would not undo the damage, only appear to, and secretly enslave them to your will through your disgusting magics." Captain Valour spat.
"That's not true! I would heal them and leave them exactly as they were before." Prey lied.
He could do that, in fact he doubted it would be hard. From what he'd seen, Cedar Felids memories had only been suppressed and not erased. And to fix the issue of the trigger memory relating to the stolen books, he could simply reset the victims memories to the night before the attack ever occurred and leave them none the wiser.
It would be a bit more complicated than that, but not that hard to pull off in the long run. Prey could do it. He hadn't been lying about that. He just wouldn't do it. If the Solar Guard captain had indeed been foolish enough to let him 'fix' the victims, he would have done just that. Except with a few hidden touches of his own left behind.
Captain Valour gave Prey's protests of innocence all the consideration they deserved, "You're despicable." He snorted in disgust. With a clump of armoured hooves he turned and headed for the door, "Prepare the prisoner for transport. He's tested both my patience and wasted my time. We're sending him back to his cell in Dreverton immediately."
"Hang on, I was telling the truth-" Prey shouted over the joint chorus of "Yes sir." As Sunshine and Gold Bit jumped to their Captain's command. Prey knew he had to act quickly, this was he risky part. Either the Captain would listen or he would not, but he'd needed to distract and unbalance Captain Valour with a feint first.
"-And besides, that wasn't all I called you here for, I also know how to figure out where the thieves are going to strike next." Prey called.
For a horrible moment, Prey thought he'd over judged the captains thirst for retribution on the thieves , but after three more steps the Captain Valour came to a halt.
"If this is some further trick in an attempt to buy yourself time..." Valour began.
"There's a further connection between the attacks! I have a theory, but I don't have the information that I need to be sure. But if I can get it I know I can find it for sure and predict the location of the next attack down to the hour! Please, just give me a chance!" Prey frantically babbled. He wanted to come across as desperate, that was part of the plan. Captain Valour needed to think that Prey was too panicked at the prospect of being thrown back into Dreverton to come up with a lie. He needed to think that he had the upper hoof, so that he wouldn't even think to be suspicious of Prey's real intentions.
"I just need some information, that's all! With it I can definitely find out where the thieves are going to strike. I can prove it, if you'll just give me a chance." Prey hurriedly told Captain Valour, the words all coming out in one breathless rush.
The Solar Captain didn't turn around or say a thing, he just waited.
Prey drew a shaky breath and continued; "A list of the nobles and their families and how many servants they roughly employ, the furthest and closest distances the mansions are from each other, and a street and plan of the shops around those mansions. If you can, then also which nobles are planning to go out of town, and, a-and also if they've hosted a party or banquet recently. That bit could be very important." Prey said, cringing as he finished the list as if expecting a blow.
Captain Valour was silent, brooding on what Prey had said. The prisoner cast an anxious glance at Sunshine and Gold Bit, but they stood unmoving, waiting for their captains orders.
"Fine," Captain Valour said, "We lose nothing by at least letting you attempt to find them, but that is all. I will decide what to do with you further once you have presented your findings." He nodded to the other two Solar Guards, "As you were." And then he marched out the door.
Prey felt the smile building, the queasy fluttering feeling in the stomach of the hunt growing. He knew the sickly, unpleasant tingling well. He'd experienced it many a time fighting the Border Guard. It was the feeling that came after tracking your prey, locating it, and next began the stalk closing in for the kill.
'Oh how I hate and love this feeling.'