CW: monster hunters, being knocked out, death threats, cages, kidnapping
~Almost 8 Years Ago~
"Let me go you motherfuckers!" Remus shouted, his arms being held behind his back by the monster hunters. His hands were coated by a green haze, but before he could actually use his magic something hard and solid hit the back of his head, and he blacked out.
He had no idea how much time had passed but when he woke up he felt sore and groggy. He found cuffs on his wrists, chained together and black gems ingrained into them. Well that explains why he felt so weak, magic eating crystals. Oh, and being knocked out also does that to you.
He pushed himself up and looked around, finding himself in a cage. There was hay in the corner, and if it were anyone other than Remus they would have found being treated like an animal insulting. Instead, he was just insulted that they put him in a cage and chained him up.
"What the fuck?" he muttered, looking around. There were other cages, all stuffed together in what was probably a carriage. Some of the cages were filled with other magical creatures, though smaller ones. Wopletingers, a diamond scaled lizard, and even a phoenix.
His breath was caught in his throat when he remembered what happened. The hunters had come by the farm, just making sure 'everything was safe' or whatever bullshit reason. They had dogs, bloodhounds that had been trained to sense magic. That was the strange thing about animals, they somehow could somehow sense something they don't have themselves.
They were going to just interrogate Remus, ready to capture him, but the moment the dogs started barking at him and the witch saw the chains he attacked. He honestly has no idea how he could let such weak humans beat him in a fight, even with their dogs and guns. And now he's in a cage, surrounded by a bunch of other cages, most thankfully empty.
They were stopped for some reason, and soon enough Remus could hear talking and hissing outside. It sounded like several reptiles hissing, what kind the witch couldn't place. However soon enough the door opened and he looked over for answers.
The hunters were leading someone else inside, a burlap sack covering their head which moved and hissed as if snakes were placed inside. Then Remus saw the yellow scaled tail, and some other scales running up and down the man's arms. Oh... he was a gorgon.
One of the hunters stepped on the gorgon's tail, making Remus wince when he heard pained hisses.
"Jackass!" he shouted.
"We would be a lot more gentle if you had just told us where your nest is," the hunter told him. Another opened the cage before the gorgon was pushed down and shoved inside.
"As if I would betray my people! I will die before I do that!"
"Oh don't worry, we're not going to kill you. We need those pretty scales of yours to make poisons out of and sell. You're going to make us a lot of money."
Remus saw the gorgon tense up, his shoulders rising despite his arms being tied behind him. A hunter then turned towards him.
"Ah, the witch is awake," he said, walking over.
"Oh me?" Remus said innocently, acting like he was scared and confused.
The hunter leaned down, getting close to the cage. "You're not as lucky as that monster, once we get you back to the base your core will be cut out and crushed to make into pure magic. I doubt you'll survive the-"
Remus didn't let the hunter speak much longer and reached outside of the bars, grabbing the hunters shirt and pulled him hard enough to smash his face against the cage. The witch spit in his face as the other hunters moved forward to stop them. Just as Remus adjusted himself to be able to kick the hunter, the man was torn from his grip and a whip hit the side of the bars.
"Behave yourself!" the hunter with the whip told him.
The one Remus grabbed wiped away the spit on his face as the others laughed at him, walking away. He sent a glare at Remus, making the witch smile before the door was shut and they were locked in darkness again.
"Ah fuck," he cursed, leaning against the other side of the small cage. "How am I gonna get out of here?"
Nothing but silence answered him, the other creatures settling down from the scuffle Remus had made and the gorgon staying silent. The witch frowned as he looked in the gorgons direction.
"Hey! Got any ideas?" he asked.
"Quiet," was all the gorgon responded with. He sat with his legs crossed, but because Remus couldn't see his face he couldn't tell what the stranger was thinking.
"We can help each other out! We can escape and run away from those suckers."
"Shh."
Remus sighed and soon enough the carriage started moving again. It was silent with the occasional animal whimpering, the only light source coming from the phoenix's weak flame. Several minutes passed by before the witch sighed dramatically again.
The gorgon remained silent. He sighed again. No response. And he sighed again-
"Do you not know how to remain silent?!" the gorgon finally snapped. "I'm trying to concentrate!"
"If you're trying to use your magic, it won't work. They have magic eating crystals all over."
"The only magic I have is being able to communicate with animals and turning living things to stone, I'm not trying to use my magic."
"Then what are you doing?"
"Planning, and I plan best in silence when someone isn't bothering me. If you want to get out so bad, start planning yourself."
Remus huffed and folded his arms, or tried to but the chains stopped him. Instead he just criss crossed his legs and put his hands in his lap.
Several hours passed by and just as Remus started to nod off, the carriage stopped. There was a lot of talking and moving around outside before things became silent once again. No light came from the small crack from the carriage door, so Remus assumed it was night.
He looked at the chains on his wrists, and then he looked around to try and find a way out. He pouted when he couldn't come up with a creative escape, as if it wasn't a life or death situation he was in.
He heard slithering and hissing coming from the gorgon, making him look over.
"Quiet," the gorgon hissed.
The witch frowned. "I didn't say anything."
"I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to my snakes."
"Quit talking in there!" one of the hunter's shouted, making the gorgon tense.
Remus saw a yellow snake squirm out from under the burlap. It looked over to the witch in curiosity before moving to the back of the gorgon's neck. He continued to watch as the snakes squirmed some more, and then the rope around the burlap sack loosened suddenly.
Several yellow snakes filled out, biting and pulling at the burlap until it was off. The gorgon sighed in relief, before opening his eyes and looking over to the witch.
Remus tensed up and immediately looked away. He had to admit though... even if it was only for a second the gorgon was quite handsome. Well... gorgons tend to be very beautiful creatures so it only made sense.
"I'm not going to turn you into stone, though you are highly annoying," he whispered. "Even if I wanted to turn you to stone I can hardly see in the dark, snakes don't have the best eyesight, so it would be hard to look you in the eyes. Besides, I need your help to escape. So what do you say?"