(Untitled)

[emptyyourself]

[Who:] Severus Snape, Mozenrath
[What:] Gratuitous violence
[When:] Just before the end of the flood
[Where:] Level 7, room 8
[Warnings:] Wizard douchebaggery ahead.

Comments

[mightymorbid]

Mozenrath had ventured out very little in the previous days, only ever to fetch food when he had to. He was fasting again, but not to the same extreme as before. He squirreled a little food away and only ate enough to take the edge off the hunger. It was hellish, but a worthy risk to take when it was known that he was "affected". Part of the reason for this was the desire to avoid his Warden while he was in this state; he didn't know if he feared him or rather what the aftermath would be of fighting with him, once things were back to normal. He also distinctly sensed there was something definitely wrong with this man, and his sense of self-preservation had become surprisingly acute in the last few days

[emptyyourself]

If he hadn't hesitated, things might have gone very differently. However, he had spent the past four days underestimating those who had been affected, and now he was more cautious than he might have been. He knew Mozenrath was stronger than his inmate, and that meant he was quite possibly more dangerous.

It was that hesitation that would give Mozenrath an edge; he didn't immediately raise his wand. He first took in the look of his old inmate, then sneered and drew his arm back to cast the Cruciatus curse. In another time and place, slicing hexes were his specialty; in this life, he had been too much a coward to step outside his protective box, had never tried dark magic until he came to the Barge. He thought Unforgivables would help cement his position as a warden.

[mightymorbid]

Mozenrath did look indeed a fair bit different from his former Inmate. There was a defined confidence in his stance, though he was still obviously cautious. Two years spent eating regularly (though slightly dwindled in the last few days) and exercise put more meat on his bones. He was healthy. He was active.

He would have told anyone else that he was dangerous. But there was no blocking charm that he'd mastered for the Cruciatus curse. He and Snape had attempted it once and had abandoned the notion almost immediately. Though now he had tried to fire a bolt of energy at him to stun him and stop the spell, it was half a second too late, and he doubled over with a scream that choked and delayed itself for several seconds of stubborn defiance.

[emptyyourself]

Snape let it carry on for only half a minute; he knew too long would leave Mozenrath completely broken and insane. He had seen what it would do to the inmates here. He wanted his inmate's counterpart to know what it was to suffer, to surrender here. What it was to experience enough agony that anything - anything - was a good alternative.

He lowered his wand and snarled, "Get up!"