masked man || OPEN, WOUNDED

[Jervis]

With a snarl, he backed away further. "I don't need help," he repeated. His fur rose up to the sky. Furious, he snorted. Noa's calming tone enraged him. Hazy and confused, Jervis could not see the positivity and care within their words. They wanted to help him. Yet the ardent threw the offer aside, not even acknowledging the benefits for himself. After all, everyone seemed against him. Glory came with it's downsides. Thankfully, he knew how to protect the prize. Isolation was the best option. Instead he chose to lash out.

His golden eye narrowed towards them. 'A vacation,' they mentioned.  Their words seemed misleading to him. What they really meant was for him to step down... for him to leave. Everyone seemed to be against him. How dare they? The vulpine's only desire was power and they wanted to strip that privilege away from him. With the thought racing through their head, Jervis attempted to push Noa to the floor and pin him down belly up. His paws would try to rest on their shoulders with claws engulfed in their skin. Whether his attack hit or not, he'd let out a vicious growl. "That will be my downfall then."

As Kydobi spoke, the fiery fox remained uncomfortably still. His trusted advisor. One of his finest. There was something about the panther that he had always admired. Their calm and content manner was respectable, but to Jervis was unnerving. For someone with an uncontrollable attitude, they differed greatly. The ardent had never doubted the panther's intentions, but their greed to absolve the position of vicar had bothered him.

There was something that Jervis could agree on though. The Pitt had a problem that that needed their attention immediately...

A common enemy. Yes.

But who really was that enemy?

Finding himself unable to respond to Kydobi's points, seeing that they ultimately reinforced his wishes to be alone, the bloody fox just glared at them with a golden eye. His expression, infuriated but pleased, was enough.

Though Redvox's first statements got lost in the mixture, his last words appealed to him. They were rightfully putting the attention on him and his power, suggesting that his wound would cause them to lose the upcoming battle. Rightfully so, Jervis couldn't deny the claim. His posture loosened a bit, yet he was still on alert. "If you really think so," he grumbled underneath his breath. It was unlikely that he was going to admit that he was in the wrong.

Finally, his savior had arrived. In came the hellhound, trying to push the others away. Truth be told, he was biased towards Fourthwall and was grateful for their urgency. After all, his point was made quickly. There was no muttered phrases or underlying to his words. All he practically said was 'go away' and Jervis dearly appreciated that.

There was no lie in Fourthwall's thoughts. Even if Jervis didn't know it, he was definitely cracking under the pressure. The ardent only wanted the glory and fame with being a leader, not the distressing duties. It was not uncommon for him to push his responsibilities on others, especially towards his marauders. This was one out of his many breaking points. As per usual, he would continue to spiral downward.

Unusually, the malnourished Tanglewoodian had wandered in. Hostile and defensive, Roy seemed ready to attack. As always, obedient slaves or brainwashed weapons seemed to be in Jervis' favor. With a hidden smirk, the vulpine made no comment and just stared at them with approval. If anyone stepped towards their direction because of their affiliation to Tanglewood or sudden appearance without prior context, the ardent was perfectly willing to have the Siberian tiger maul them.