It happened fast. As the sharp pain jolted up his arm, fizzling out at the elbow, Husk went through several different emotions in lightning quick succession; shock, confusion, fear, and irritation. Irritation at himself for being dimwitted enough to stick his hand within biting range of a caged animal. He knew better than that. Once again, he'd let his ego and pride blind him and make him stupid.
His eyes narrowed in an angry wince as Gamble purposely squeezed his new injury, growling low. But his irritation fizzled out before it was allowed to erupt into rage, the deal made. Besides, he couldn't be too upset... Gamble had grit, and he'd need that in this line of work.
"I'll take that as a compliment." he grumbled as he took his hand back, shaking it off, blood splattering on the floor and wall as he did. "Welcome to the family, shithead." Husk walked past the cage, already on his way towards the door. He raised his hand, snapping his fingers, and the bottom of the cage swung open with a heavy clanking sound.
"Casino closes in four hours, your work starts then. I don't give a fuck what you do until then. I recommend you don't cause trouble or try and run, though. Cause the next time I have to chase your ass down?" He paused at the door, throwing a glance over his shoulder. "You're gonna wish you could die."
Husk wasn't really the type to get off on torture, couldn't stomach it, honestly. But he had sinners working for him who definitely could and did.
Feeling Husk’s growl more than hearing it, Gamble throws out his wings in preparation to beat them against the bars. But the retaliatory violence he’s ready for never comes, and he is as surprised by that as he is by the sudden falling away of the floor.
He doesn’t give the overlord a chance to change his mind.
In a flurry of moss-green feathers he seizes upon his regained freedom, nearly knocking a bottle of expensive-looking liquor onto the even more expensive-looking rug as he puts as much distance as he possibly can between himself and that fucking cage. “No fuckin’ way you had this thing made special just so you could keep me in there for the two minutes it takes to make a deal! Shit ain’t cheap!” accuses the avian demon.
There are two doors in this room, and Husk is moving through one. He backs into the second, testing it without turning his back to the other winged sinner.
Locked. Figures.
His pale beak stays open, more adrenaline than anger now as the weight of his new contract makes the room feel much too small. He knows he should just wait, that Husk is giving him a temporary out that only requires a tiny bit of patience, but even a few seconds feels much too long.
With a fierce clacking of his fleshly-bloodied mouth, Gamble raises his voice to ensure Husk doesn’t miss a word of what he says next: “If you’re hoping to get your dick sucked later, I’m tellin’ you right now that I’ll bite it clean off, you hear me?”
The panicked rustling of feathers behind Husk caused him to pause and turn to watch him from the doorway. He looked a little silly, honestly, like he really didn't believe this was over. Like he thought he'd only been let out of that cage for a bloody game of cat and bird. He really had spent a small fortune on that cage for such a small amount of time, but only if Gamble played his game right. Gamble let him know that he understood that, loud and clear. Husk didn't feel the need to confirm his suspicions.
But the avian's real fear followed soon after, and it hit Husk so suddenly, so unexpectedly, that he couldn't help the short bark of laughter.
"Hah!" Husk folded his arms and grinned at him from across the room, despite the throbbing pain in his thumb. "... First of all, I'm not that kind of overlord. When it comes to that, if you gotta force it, it ain't worth it. But second of all?" He paused here to point at the door Gamble was currently pressed up against.
"That's some pretty big talk for a guy tryin' so hard to get into my bedroom quarters, Tweetybird." Husk spun back around and left as he chuckled, leaving the door wide open. Gamble could try and flee if he really thought it was worth it. Skip town, hide out in a friend's basement, but he'd be found. He didn't doubt that this guy was smart enough to understand that.
