Retrospections of a Poetic Cutthroat (H. S. AU)

4. Venatio

Heeey. Right back at ya with another instalment. Sorry for any grammar mistakes. Enjoy!

*****

Venatio (lat.)
hunt, chase

*****

"Fancy seeing you in this desolate place."

He is as easygoing as he was the first time around. He feigns sweetness when in reality he is rotten to the core and he knows it better than anyone.

Harper finds him in his glass box doing push-ups at a frantic pace. His shirt is nowhere to be seen and in the artificial light she can spot tattoos all across his arms and forearms. His skin is marred with an array of thin scars and she briefly wonders where he got them from.

He stops when he hears footsteps and plops down on the floor panting slightly. His smile is already present as his eyes meet hers and he gives a tiny wave but makes no move to sit up straight.

"You sure don't like it here. It's better than a state prison, trust me. In here there's only the VIPs so to speak. You should feel priviledged." She mocks easily.

"You ever been to prison, Harper? No matter the conditions, prison is still prison." Harry states blankly, his tone betraying the grin on his face. "But you should know better than me, sweetheart. You've been living in prison ever since you got caught. Bought your services for freedom? Seems like our definitions of 'free' are very different."

She forces herself to breathe evenly, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her riled up. Harper wishes that his words wouldn't affect her as much. Deep down, tough, she knows he's right.

"Last time we met you were surprised to see me and now you seem to know a lot more about my predicament. Someone's feeding you information, right?"

Her changing the subject does not phase him in the slightest. "Are you asking or stating that fact, Harper?"

Her laugh echoes in the empty hall. "Just what are you even trying to prove, Styles? That I'm a dimwit? Not competent enough perhaps?"

"And that right there, sweetheart, that sounds like you're doubting yourself." he gestures wildly, as if to emphasize her words. "Not to be a total prick, but compared to me, you're just a naïve little girl who grew up too fast. You got taught by the right person but swang with the wrong crowd and look where that lead you to..."

"You don't have any right to talk about me like you know me." she snarls through gritted teeth. "Not one-"

"I'm not quite finished yet, love." he cuts her off quickly. "It seems you aren't one to accept constructive criticism which further proves my statement that you are yet to experience the hardships of life. Well, I'm not saying that you've had it easy until now, but you're still a long ways to go before you reach the level of a worthy oponent.

"You're overconfident, brash and as hard as you try to shut off your emotions, you're failing miserably. Probably you've never had someone oppose you so much, otherwise you wouldn't act so cocky," he laughs lightly. "With a little bit of polishing here and there, you have the potential of becoming someone who'll be able to do anything they ever wanted. You could hold the whole world in the palm of your hand, Harper. And I can help you."

"What could you possibly offer that I don't already have?" she inquires. "It's not as if you'd be able to do anything from inside that cell."