If Onca's mind hadn't been so occupied with suppressing the urge to yell from the sensation of his leg currently hosting a foreign skewer in it, he might've noticed the slight glimmer of a white creature up above the shady leaves. But no, he was entirely focused on hiding the excruciating pain while having a stare-down with his captors.
"You really don't know your shit around here, do you?" one of the men jeered. The leader, perhaps? He didn't wear anything to indicate any higher status above the others, but then again, what kind of poacher would brazenly flaunt his criminal status for everyone to see. The others seemed to give him the leader treatment, though, looking at him for direction and letting him speak freely. "I'm not really sure in what world any part of you would cost more than the work my boys here put into digging this whole setup." He leaned in, propping up his elbow onto his knee as he peered into the pit.
This world, Onca thought dryly. "It's messy," he retorted back. He didn't see himself winning this fight anyway, so he figured he might as well go out dissing them before whatever they did to him. "Would ruin the carcass."
The man up at the top smiled smugly, looking back at his men as if to prove a point. "See what I mean," he sighed at them, turning his head back down to Onca. "Hunters like you remind me of beggars. So desperate to squeeze every drop of worth from a filthy damn animal or you can't even feed yourself." He chortled. "I bet you even sell the shit from its innards to boil as tea. Waste not want not, no?" Not even two minutes in and Onca was already thinking of ways to beat the guy's theatrics out of him.
"Get to the point. What do you want," Onca barked out. He knew he was a sturdy individual, but even he wouldn't be able to save his leg from sepsis if this splintering wooden spike stayed for too long. "So useless you need another man on your team?"
"Mm, I do recall an open position." The leader crossed his arms thoughtfully. "We don't exactly have anyone willing to risk themselves to start the flush in Ravensway. That is, if you're still even able to run."
Onca's eyes narrowed. He suddenly made sense of their proximity, as they were currently skirting near Ravensway. They were aiming for fae-touched fauna. Anyone sane knew not to fuck with the faerie folk, so these men had likely set up a trap further out to try and snag a straggler further from its borders in the hopes of getting away fast enough. Their sloppiness suddenly made sense; an animal's powdered bone and teeth alone on the black market would be enough to pay for the entire team's legs being skewered by shit wooden stakes if the animal had ties to the fae. But of course, nobody wanted to risk earning the wrath of any local in Ravensway by actually chasing magical creatures out of there. Shit, Onca wasn't even sure if their plan would work. It wasn't like any fae coming after them would suddenly stop at the edge of Ravensway. He wasn't about to turn his own hunting grounds into a magical wreck.
"Not being your fall guy," he gritted out. "Try again."