To kill a queen would be madness but madness was a thing that Blackthorne rather enjoyed tampering with. How would the world explode if the little forest Queen died at his doorstep? Good versus evil, light versus dark, what a tale it would be to see the pair go head to head in a fight. She is a pretty thing too and a lot less brash with her words and in any case, while he was itching for mischief, it was not of the kind that was aimed in her direction. No, there was a certain white wolf that had earned his rank among the top ten disliked wolves of Blackthorne. Zelda, while disdainful, was merely a fly that had come to pester the viper, albeit with much more class and grace than he had expected.

The Darkbringer moves around the prisoner boy, highlighting the fact that Aspis has grown, that he is not rail-thin like one might suggest. While Blackthorne did not gorge the children, they were not starved. Merely rationed with the option for the boy to better their stakes if he would just listen. If he would but try. It was an experiment that the Darkbringer was carefully watching. So far, Aspis had failed his daily task, but he had successfully managed to feed the girls a few times without much help or guidance. Impressive. A scrapper and survivor - one did not need to be taught such things. They need only learn. Blackthorne had.

There merest flick of ears catches the charcoal eyes of the Darkbringer, his lips coiling at the very edges only slightly while giving a droll glance at Zelda. She was merely looking for an excuse to call him a liar, he thinks, but his words are carefully crafted, his mastering of speech poetic almost. Certainly clever. At least she was not as truculent as the female she had sent before her. He was not sure whether to be disappointed or relieved.

The emerald gaze of Aspis flickers between the forest Queen, who he has realized is the aunt he had never met, and back to Blackthorne. There is a seed of hope within him that she will manage to get the girls out. It was not that the Darkbringer had done anything to them, it was only the indefinite word YET that stuck in his mind. Archana was persistant and he had seen the patience of Blackthorne fray swifter than the swipe of a viper's fangs. When would enough be enough?

I detest bloodshed, she spouts, and Thorne feels a flicker of his disgust burgeon across his face. A peacemaker indeed. Where would she be if she was not as lovely as she was? Dead most likely, he thinks. Three, she says, and he sinks back so that most of his weight is on his back legs though he is still standing. The last bit of her speech is broken but a sudden sharp bark of laughter that rolls condescendingly from his lips. "Reason? Do we speak of the same father who ignored my warnings to try and save his child? Aspis, was that not your father?" His head snaps around to focus his laser gaze upon Aspis. The boy reluctantly nods, eyes flicking towards Zelda, feeling a sort of heaviness. "Your mother... was she not the same wolfess who declared enemies with Glorall over what? A petty feud that we never heard of? Nothing came of it, by the way," the Darkbringer adds, as if everyone here did not already know. His lips were twisted into a macabre smirk. "She had her kids then and a pack if I recall and still she persisted in becoming a problem. No. I don't think your word or reason is sound nor good enough, Forest Queen."

He turns abruptly, as if to end the negotiations right there and Aspis sways a bit, unnerved and uncertain. Did he follow Blackthorne or was this some ploy? At the moment that he lifts a paw to turn the obsidian male jolts back around. "Hmm, lucky for you, I am in the bartering mood. You cannot give me the whole of what I wish so I cannot give you the whole of what you wish. But two. I will give you two of the three and you will give me your word that the wolves of Taviora will remain distanced from Iromar and will not join with my enemies. The White King of the North will no doubt seek to reclaim a throne somewhere. I would hate to hear that this bargain was null and void by you making some sort of pact or alliance with him." His lips peel back slightly, the tips of his fangs showing and the black of his gums.

"This is my last offer. I grow weary of this conversation and these children. Pick two and accept my terms or leave empty pawed." A glistening of his eyes gives away a certain eager look - if she left, would one of the parents come parading in with false bravado? He was itching for the taste of blood. Maybe they could be the one to provide it.