I can almost hear
Your heart in the darkness.
How fast it is beating?
How close you are to me.

I can almost hear
How tensely you are breathing,
Out there in the darkness,
Listening for me.

I can almost sense
Your skin on my fingers,
Tension and the fear,
Anticipating me.

I can almost see you
Somewhere in the darkness,
Praying for advantage,
Clinging to a chance.

-Retaliate, VNV Nation

Rook, being how monstrous he is, has a tendency to attract a lot of unwarranted attention. In particular, those who call themselves "Heroes" have a tendency to gun for Rook, seeking fame and glory to bring down the Hydragryph. The closest anyone got to actually -killing- Rook actually came when a group fired ballistae at him while he was in flight, sheering off a wing and causing him to go into an uncontrolled fall for a thousand feet or so, the resulting landing breaking both legs (he managed to get them under him to absorb some of the fall), his other wing, broke several skulls and necks, fractured multiple ribs, and damaged nearly every internal organ. For a day he laid where he fell until his body knitted enough of itself back together to move, luckily avoiding said group of Monster Hunters before they found him while so injured.

In a straight-up fight fight, however, it's easy for Rook to win as his multiple heads give him excellent reach and along with his heavy talons, he can tear into the most well armored of person without many issues. But sometimes, it's not enough to get victory.

Sometimes you have to go beyond victory. Sometimes you have to retaliate.

Artwork by   commissionsbyj
Character by    Sparra