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Post by spender on Dec 12, 2010 7:32:36 GMT -5
Spender crouched down low, watching as the Captain and the jills followed after Ocean. He didn't stay down for long. There was little conscious thought regarding the matter. The ferret simply began to follow after them.
Peskers grabbed his sleeve, yanking him back down.
"Didn' tyou hear any of that?" she hissed. "Caden's been kitnapped!"
"Uh-huh."
"And Ocean's..." The female screwed up her face, glaring at nothing in particular before fixing Spender with her ire. "Did you tell him? It's supposed to be a secret!"
"About wot?"
"Meeeee."
"Oh. Uhhh... no." Spender tried to stand up again, and again was tugged back down onto his rump. "Leggo, Pol. I gotta go help."
"But..." For now, Peskers decided, she would dismiss Ocean's comment. Knowing she was a female was bad enough, but knowing she was Spender's...? How could he possibly have worked that out? Still, that wasn't what was worrying her. What was worrying her was that Spender's vague little grin still hadn't left his face since they'd left the lakeside. And that he was, without so much as a fuss, trying to go off to rescue the beast he most often ranted about wanting to murder. It was unsettling.
"But? I owe 'im," Spender said. Peskers blinked. It was as simple as that. Spender owed him... that was true.
"You don't really believe in that," she gaped. "That you have to save him now? To make it even?"
"Aye. Fair's fair."
"It's not going to make the world make sense."
"It doesn't 'ave to," Spender decided. He pointed down the street. "We're losin' them."
Peskers bit her lip, then nodded. "Alright. You go help. But, Spender... if Caden's gone for good..." She shook her head. "No, nevermind. I... I'll come. I'll help get him back. For Elliot," she added, under her breath. Really, when was that beech marten going to own up? Peskers hated the thought that it was too late now. She wanted to see her fellow hidden female find what she had found in Spender... a true companion, real love. Elle deserved that. Caden deserved that.
The ferrets moved on, paw in paw. Only once did they pause, at the end of the street, to look back at the building.
"That's th'one?" Spender asked. Peskers nodded.
"We'll return later."
Spender was quiet for most of the rest of their time catching up to the others. Then he said:
"For a victory round." He squeezed her paw. "For us."
The mouse barely looked at Caden. She stared straight ahead, mouth shut tight, ears forward, unmoving. No moving, no trouble. No trouble, no pain.
But she watched him out of the corner of her eye. Unfocused, it was difficult to tell what he was doing, but it was clear when he spoke to her. She shook her head, almost too little to be noticed.
Don't tell me. Don't involve me. I'll give you a minute. Just one minute to get out of here, and then I'll raise the alarm. You are not bringing this down on me. You are not going to let them blame this on me. You are not going to escape. You will be punished. Just... stop... now...
"Don't," she whispered.
She felt that twinge in the back of her neck, the feeling of being watched. Of course she was being watched. She was the newest slave in the dungeon. Everyone wanted a good look at her... or was it Caden they were looking at?
The mouse didn't care. She didn't move, she didn't blink, she didn't think. She was furniture, waiting in storage. It was just nice to sit here, out of the sun...
Keinruf Wright padded carefully out of the castle, one paw deep in the pocket of his yellow coat. His claws carefully cradled each coin. So close... so close the burning pierced his skin and fur, the coins melting in his paw pads. He closed his eyes, just for a moment, and breathed.
He liked Tunis. He really did. It was the air. The clean, easy air, devoid of alcohol fumes... it just went in, and out, and in, and out, and he didn't have to worry that his lungs would give out, or that anything would swell up and constrict him, or that he'd take a whiff at the wrong time and wake up two days later in the gutter with strange new boils all down his chest.
He almost didn't want to leave, but...
"Da-da-daddy," Reisender chirped, tugging on his leash. "Da-daddy, I have to go, have to go!"
"Hold it in," Keinruf said.
"I have to go NOOOOOW!" A few buildings away, birds squawked into the sky. Keinruf's paw was immediately around his son's muzzle, clamping it shut.
"Ve vill find der priffy, ja?"
"Jaaaaa."
"Don't viddle in der street."
"Neeeein."
"Unless?" Keinruf moved his paw so the responses could be unmuffled.
"'less 's a snobby rude frump-rump who deserfs it!"
"Dat's right."
The pine martens moved on, heading, incidentally enough, in the opposite direction a certain other group was...
"Da-daddy, wot's an al-by-no?"
Keinruf chose his words carefully.
"A mistake."
Reisender beamed.
"Like me."
"Ja."
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Post by Carrow on Dec 12, 2010 8:08:11 GMT -5
Selvis sighed again: a deep, trembling sigh that seemed to shake him to his very core. Good old Willard, he thought, I can rely on you to be your usual stubborn self almost all the time. That's about the only thing you can be counted on for. I just wish you were a little braver, is all. I'd let you come along with me if you wanted, but you've said nothing that indicates you'd ever want to put yourself at risk, even for a cause like this.
Then, suddenly, everything changed. Setiva Sylvaticus felt the limp form of Carrow twitch gently in her arms. Then the movements become more unstable. The mouse was tossing and turning, but she held him as best she could, beginning to cradle him once more. Back and forth she rocked her cousin, slowly and soothingly from side to side, hoping to ease him back into a comfortable slumber. Her words were as soft as thistledown, but there was a sort of power in her voice that ensured they carried back to Selvis and Willard.
Carrow was murmuring softly in his sleep, but his cousin knew she had to calm him down, otherwise he would wake and everything would be ruined. "Shush, Cerinus...," she said slowly. "Just go back to sleeep... everything's going to be fine... you're safe here... amongst friends..." She knew that the feeling of being held in her arms was unfamiliar to Carrow. He had seemed only to half-sense it back at the restaurant, and the last thing she wanted was for him to panic - to any degree.
Selvis moaned about as quietly as his frustration permitted. Oh no. The one thing he had been banking on not happening had just become a lot more possible. Setiva would be able to put him back to sleep, of course. She'd have to, as the only other creature who could do this was the longtail himself, and his paws were tied at that moment. In a way, though, the rodent's slight return to consciousness was good for him, as it helped the mustelid to make up his mind. He had been hesitating, turning options over in his mind as to how he would solve the problem, but now his path was clear.
His literal path was currently blocked by Willard and his obstinate nature. So Selvis did the only thing he could do. Turning for a brief moment to Elle, he whispered two words into her ear. Those words were, "Get going!" Then, he spun around on his heels and rushed at Willard, cannoning into him. The longtail was well-built, and quite strong too. Willard was one hundred percent the opposite of this. He hadn't really wanted to do anything like this, but well, needs must. The least weasel would most likely be floored by the impact. Whether it dazed him or knocked him right out, Selvis didn't care - the Welkinite had basically been asking for it. He had to get away from here. He had to reach Carrow...
His mouse companion, meanwhile, was falling under the charming Setiva's spell once again, powerless to resist her gentle nature. His senses hadn't fully returned to him just yet, so the thud that arose from Selvis's collision with Willard scarcely registered in his ears. Sighing slightly, he allowed the rocking motions to coax him back into a deep sleep. There was no question of him losing consciousness again, however; the way he had reacted after coming around had confirmed this. She resigned herself to the fact that Selvis would have to tell him sometime.
The Ferlusanian had cleared the flights of stairs in record time, with a turn of speed that would have left even a hare jealous. He was now quite close to leaving the ship, too focused on what he had to do to glance behind him and see how Elle was getting on. He saw the mice ahead of him, and put on a fresh burst of speed to join them. Soon, he was by Carrow's side once again, speaking softly into Setiva's ear. "Sorry about that - we were having some... trouble. I hope Elliot manages to get off the ship as well, really want him to come along with us..."
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Post by bookity101 on Dec 12, 2010 22:07:42 GMT -5
Miri was lost in keeping time with the spinning blades and nearly sliced her paw when Monty burst shouting into the bar. When everything was spelled out, she simply took her place behind Molly and nodded when Ladorak asked if she would be tagging along. And as the rest charged out, she paused for just a moment, turning quirk a brow at the male at the bar. He shook his head and gently tossed her knives to her.
“I’ve got a job to finish here, have some fun and knock a few skulls for me will ya?” She caught them and nodded in agreement.
“Good to see you again Jake. Got an address?” Jake gave her a look and she laughed a little.
“Right, loose as the wind. See you around cousin.” He tipped a glass to her as she spun and charged out into the street after her friends. It was good to see his again, even if she didn’t have time to stay and finish the set.
Miri skidded to a stop, and then regretted it as Ocean and Ladorak took off again along the coastline. She fell in step with Molly, reaching into her bag for her knuckles, and the knife attachments. Slavers were something she didn’t play around with.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Elle watched as Selvis barreled into Willard, his words echoing in her ears. And she did. It been surprising to her that there were so many nooks and crannies on this ship that it was easy for her to disappear and reappear behind Willard before the little weasel had a chance to get his balance back.
She stopped and looked at the little weasel. He was just being him. He was a little weird, and a far too attached to the Agamemnon to be healthy, but he was trying to what he thought was right…
‘And we need to do what we think is right…’ Elle took off down the corridor, keeping a good pace for someone who had recently been thrown into a wall. She laughed a little bit to herself when she heard Selvis’ query.
“I’m right behind you silly well-” She put on a burst of speed and cut around him and was down the gangplank ahead of all of them. Smiling cheekily, she waited for them to join her.
“I was behind you.”
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Post by Ladorak on Dec 13, 2010 0:35:43 GMT -5
Caden shook his head at her. "I have to. I have a family...I have a dad waiting for me." he decided to put his newfound muscles to use. Lifting heavy shots day in and day out for training and the actual firing procedure had caused his arms to bulk up better than most of the rest of the crew (save for the other Loaders), and he tore at the chain where it connected with the manacle.
Perhaps he could just separate the two links...bit by bit he began to work the aged, rusted metal apart. He placed his footpaw on the chain, and began to yank. He stood up, pulling the chain and keeping it in place with his foot paw. "Come on...come on!" he whispered. The rusty old thing finally parted, snapping him backward and barely missing Solf as he stumbled and flailed his arms to prevent from going backward.
The slaves around him began to egg him on and cheer, but he raised a claw to his lips and tried to shush them...mostly to no avail. "Be quiet!" he hissed, running over to the door as he was watched like a hawk by Solf.
The albino ran up to the door and pushed his paw against it to see if it would budge...and not much surprise when it didn't. "Dammit!" Caden cursed, slapping the solid wood. There had to be another way out of here! If the patrols came by and entered in here he'd be finished! There either had to be a way to get this door open or maybe another way out of this room!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ladorak strode forward purposefully down the street. They were heading for the castle now, and woe to the slavers who stood in his way. He would kill them all if need be in order to free his ward...who he was more considering his son, just as Molly had stated. "Yes...no one will take him from us. I'll turn that castle inside out in order to find him. I'll cut down anyone who gets in my way as well. I'm going to celebrate the holidays with him just as I've done the past two years...and I'm going to celebrate his 14th birthday as well. He will not be taken from me." the stoat Captain stated determinedly.
Monty took station alongside Miri, checking her brass knuckles over. "It seems you're ready for a good thrashing of some slavers." the weasel commented. There were several castles on this road, but Ocean knew which one they needed to head to. It had one turret on the back...and only one.
The ermine took note of Spender walking alongside them...and Peskers. "What are you doing here?" he asked, surprised. "I thought you hated Caden. You constantly tell me that you want to hurt him or worse."
Ladorak hissed, though whether it was at the approaching castle or Ocean's comment wasn't clear.
"I mean...I expected you to head back to the ship and celebrate. What's in it for you?" Ocean queried curiously.
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Post by Carrow on Dec 13, 2010 7:24:37 GMT -5
Selvis blinked owlishly, wondering for the briefest of moments whether the stress of recent events had gotten the better of him and he was beginning to hallucinate. He couldn't quite believe how speedily Elle had seemed to recover from what had happened to her. Even emotionally she was in a far more stable place than the longtail. He admired this ability to bounce back. He'd seen it in Caden too, and was quite sure he wasn't taking whatever was happening to him lying down. This spirit was the one thing the weasel had gotten by on in the past more than anything else. He hadn't let things get to him and get him down because that wasn't his way. Carrow was different. He needed his friends for support when he was feeling low, because it seemed to Selvis that the mouse was becoming less and less able to pawdle things on his own.
Caden and Carrow's combined plight had rattled him sufficiently to make him lose the rag with Willard. Even if he had to admit to himself that such an occasion hadn't been too far off anyway, as the least weasel's frosty demeanour definitely did not mix with the normally extremely cheerful and easy-going Ferlusanian, Selvis still knew that such a reaction was most unlike him. He didn't regret anything he'd said or done, but he hoped that all that remained for him was to see Caden safe.
He glanced at the slumbering mouse (still wearing his flat cap, he noted with a smile) and then looked over at Elle, letting out a soft whistle, his blue eyes shining fiercely as he commented on the beech marten's amazing turn of speed. "You know, I thought just there that I had imagined that. Well done, Elliot," he murmured, "you're back to your old self at last." Setiva looked up and her eyes briefly met those of the longtail. The soft smile on her lips indicated that she had succeeded in her attempt to lull her cousin back into sleep.
The weasel's blue eyes widened considerably, as did his own smile. "How do you even *do* that, Setiva?," he asked incredulously. "I've never seen him sleeping as deeply as that... well, ever. I thought I was good at getting Carrow to sleep -" as he spoke, his eyes twinkled gently, in such a way as they would when he wanted the frequently-restless rodent to focus on them - "but you've really got a way with him. Mind giving me a few pointers?," he queried, his tail swaying gently behind him.
"Oh, I do what I can," she responded modestly. "I'm no hypnotist, if that's what you're thinking of, but I've learned a lot about my cousin over the years we've kept in contact with Archie, and she's told us about what she's done to lend a paw with his sleeping issues." She paused for a moment, smiling. "Just look at him...," she said gently, "sleeping like a Dibbun... anyways, Cerinus is very susceptible to gentle treatment. Slow, steady rocking; a soothing voice in his ear, such as the one you have; things like that."
Selvis nodded, though he couldn't keep from blushing at the veiled compliment. "Eye contact, too. Having spent as much time with him as I have, I can tell you that he is influenced by looking into another creature's eyes. Probably something that's arisen from Archie's techniques. Thanks for the advice, Setiva. Between Caden and I, we've been doing our best to aid his difficulties. It doesn't seem that they can be fully cured, however. If *she* couldn't do that, it seems impossible that we could. His sleeping pattern's been all over the place recently: waking in the middle of the night, for instance. So he's told me at least."
The pretty wood mouse chuckled softly at her weasel friend's embarrassment. Then she turned to Elliot, all the while thinking of how she'd keep Carrow relaxed, and tired enough to rest. She'd need to think on her paws if she was to ensure he'd sleep for a while longer. "So then, Elliot. You said you have an idea of where Caden's being held. You take the lead, Selvis will be behind you, and I'll be bringing up the rear here with Cerinus. We'll follow you wherever you go."
"Not without us you won't!" Eviros's quavery tones reached his daughter's ears. She looked behind her and saw the older wood mouse heading straight for them, along with Artivis, who had seeimngly changed his mind as to his intentions for the last time. He looked quite resolute about all this now. Shy and nervous as usual, yes, but resolute nonetheless. The trio of mice stood with Selvis, as their relative slept peacefully on, deep enough to stand no chance of hearing what was being said. All eyes were on the beech marten as they awaited 'his' response.
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Post by spender on Dec 16, 2010 6:52:46 GMT -5
Willard, face down on the deck, slowly got his paws beneath him and pushed off. Blood dripped down his chin from his nose. He sat up and sighed, leaning against the wall, head tilted down to let it drain—head back just got blood all down the inside of your throat... someone had told him that... he was too dazed to remember who.
The bloodied nose didn't bother him. Willard was a fragile weasel, the kind of creature whose nose bled when they stayed up too late or got too cold or ate too much spicy curry. No; it didn't bother him at all. In fact...
Nothing really bothered him. His emotions, buried so deeply, did not currently effect him. He had done his duty. Done the best job he could with the tools available. He could see them now, through the gunport. The little window overlooking the docks let him see his crewmates vanish back into the heathen city, weaponless, aimless, and with a sleeping mouse to look after. Equipped with nothing but good intentions and kind hearts.
They would be torn to shreds out there.
Willard stood up. He wobbled, caught himself on a cannon, and then made his way to the main deck. With purpose, his little paws thumped the deck, and then thwacked the gangplank, and then... shuffled awkwardly down the dock a little ways.
He stopped. He looked back at the ship. He looked back at the city. He took another step. His heart raced. He closed his eyes. He held his breath and stepped again. And again, and again, and again, and—and then he sat down, put his paws over the back of his head, tucked his nose between his knees and hid his face with his tail, safely tucked between a barrel and the mainmast. Slowly, the weasel began to rock himself side to side, whispering.
"I hate you... I hate you, I hate you, I hate you..."
The peach-orange mouse stared. Unlike the other slaves, she did not cheer. She whimpered, a low keening that could barely be heard by even herself. Her tail wrapped about her, and her paws gripped the end, twisting it gently as her chin trembled.
Stop, she pleaded, her mouth moving, but making no noise. She risked another glance up as the pine marten slapped the door. Fool! Somebeast could have heard that from the other side...
Eyes wide with terror, she looked to Solf, the next-closest slave.
"M-make him s-stop," she whispered to the civet. "Bitte..."
Molly had fished her knife out as well. She gripped the blade in her teeth, happily grinding her incisors against the metal as she fumbled for her leather cosh. She was duly impressed by Miri's knuckles—jealous, even. Not to mention the weasel's juggling ability...
Molly tried to take a few mental notes, to get her friend to teach her, to find out who that weasel jack was, to find out just how far this "Boss" thing with Monty went... She didn't know if any of it would stick. Now was not the time to be making plans for future discussions. There should be only one thing on her mind: pure, unadulterated, unrestrained vengeance. These slavers were threatening her future family, and by doing so, were entering a world of hurt. Mayhap an entire undiscovered dimension of it.
Behind her, Spender was struggling.
It was one thing to have Peskers question him. But to have Ocean act so surprised, to expect him to just bug off, it kind of hurt. It almost hurt just enough to make him decide to heck with it; maybe he would just go back to the ship and celebrate with drink and cheer. No more Caden! Just what he always wanted.
But not like this.
The ferret cringed a little as Ladorak hissed; foolish Ocean! Had the stoat no sense of timing, or perhaps volume? Go ahead and tell the Captain something like that... Grahhh.
"Nothin'," Spender replied. "I just owe 'im, is all." He glared over at his half-brother. "Ain't that enough?"
"Spender just wants to help because it means getting into a fight," Peskers offered. She kept glancing back, her step faltering. She had no score to settle. She didn't mind Caden, but she didn't want to risk herself in saving him, either. She was properly scared, both of being captured herself, and of the potential violence that could easily take her life... and Spender's. And that was it: as much as she would have liked to scarper with a 'See ya!', she had to see this through. If Spender was in, so was she. No one else cared enough about him to watch his back.
"Ooh, aye, an' that, too," Spender grinned. "A brawl! 'sides..." He lowered his voice so just Ocean and Peskers could hear. "If anyone's gonna 'urt Caden, 's me. Not gonna let no one else do it 'fore I can, eh, eh? Heehee. I don' mean that."
... although he probably did.
He quickly changed the subject.
"D'you like my new cap? 's a blue berry."
And then, catching a glimpse of yellow and green up ahead, the subject changed again. Spender tripped on his footpaws, only missing the ground because Pesker's arms had gotten in the way before it. Righting him back up, she frowned.
"What was that all about?"
"Ocean," Spender whispered. He pointed up ahead, at the scraggly pine marten—Keinruf Wright. "It's him... from my nightmares..."
The ferret began to musk a little. The Pine Marten in the Yellow Coat... his parents had told him time and time again, it was just a dream. Something made up from some story he'd heard when he was a kit. Not real, nothing to be afraid of. But that gaunt face, that grotesque yellow... It was all real now.
Thirteen years ago, as mere babes, circumstance had thrown these three creatures together. One harpsichord, one eternally-ermine stoat with a pawful of flame, one conniving ferretbabe, and one angry, angry pine marten with a doorknob, a set of pliers, and rope... He had hurt them. Not a lot. He had just been getting started. But he had meant to go the whole distance. Ocean had burned his harspichord, and Keinruf had taken him and Spender hostage, tied them up, and had been moments away from exacting his revenge before their parents had shown up and rescued them.
No real harm was done; no blood was shed, no bones broken... But the memory stayed, that moment of fear. It had hidden itself away in Spender, only coming back in the foggiest of night terrors, an indescribable horror with no understandable purpose. Not some story fed to him to make him behave, not something he'd heard about at school or in some midnight-graveyard dare—just a single image, a single feeling, without plot or meaning to him.
The ferret stopped walking.
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Post by Ladorak on Dec 16, 2010 14:12:28 GMT -5
"Ahahahahah! Stop him? And why would I do a thing like that?" Solf asked condescendingly. "It's far more fun to watch and see which one of them will win! The guards and slavers outnumber him at least ten to one...but he's got surprise and stealth on his side...for the moment. I only regret I can't follow him through this fortress! I'd much love to see which one comes out on top! Which one is stronger? Who can overpower who? If he's brought back a corpse or simply imprisoned again we'll have our answer...and if he doesn't come back we'll also have our answer. I want to see which flower can bloom first and choke off the other...so no...I will not interfere."
The civet closed his eyes, smiling to himself in the dark as he sat back against the cold and slimy walls.
Caden felt his paws becoming sweaty. He had to get out of here! His luck had been extremely good so far, but he doubted it would hold. Just how much longer it would shelter him with its cool shade was impossible to say, but Caden knew he had to find a way out of this room and fast. But wait!
He knew it was a long shot...and that unless these slavers were incredibly lazy, they wouldn't dare have attempted this...but he figured it was worth a shot. Snaking his arm out through the bars of the small window on the door, the stripling marten reached down, flapping his paw back and forth until they grasped rusty iron. Beyond belief! Sticking his tongue out in an earnest manner, Caden jiggled the iron bolt, turning it around until a satisfying click could be heard.
Testing the door, to his delight it slid open a crack. Yes! Those lazy fools had left the key IN the door itself! It made for easy access as all they had to do was simply turn it and leave it in the lock...but just in case a slave did manage to break his shackles, as Caden had done, it made for an easy getaway.
Peering out into the dark hallway, the marten could see nothing but stone stretching off in either direction. Stairs led up on his right, and alternately led down on his left. Which way had they taken him before this? He couldn't honestly recall, as he had only been half conscious. "Ooooh!" Solf crowed behind him. "The albino finds an exit! What happens next? Hahahah!" the laugh echoed behind him, the other slaves gasping as the door was opened.
Caden, despite feeling sorry for the slaves, could honestly do nothing for them at this point. Those keys in the door's lock were big, and didn't look like they went to manacles. More likely one of those slavers had those in his possession. If he ran into him...he might try obtaining them...but in all honesty Caden just wanted to be free. He couldn't care about that civet or that broken-spirited mouse in all honesty. Besides, the guards might notice if the keys were no longer in the door, so the albino slipped out, shutting the door behind him and re-locking it.
Now...to try and get help! He'd have to make sure the broken chains around his wrists wouldn't rattle too much, so he tried keeping them close to his body as he darted down the stairs to his left, hoping it was the right way out of here...and that his flimsy and so far ridiculous luck would hold out long enough for him to get outside...he couldn't trust the other slaves to not rat him out after all...particularly that civet. He needed to move and now!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They were drawing close to the castle now, and Ocean indicated as much by pointing it out. That was the one! The one with the solitary turret on the back side! Ladorak chewed his lower lip as he surveyed it. Great...a military base. But with any luck...it wouldn't be heavily manned, as Tunis wasn't really in a state of war.
He could see a particularly powerful looking jaguar guard at the rear entrance. Those were the Bey's shock troops...just perfect. It would require some...delicacy in getting around him. Ladorak didn't personally care if he started a political uproar in rescuing Caden...as far as he was concerned the Bey was already guilty of that for condoning this sort of slipshod security in his own forts.
Ocean shook his head at Spender's explanation. "Then in that case you're here for totally the wrong reason. I doubt Ladorak will let us participate...and besides, it sounds like you have no stake in this whatsoever after all, aside from fighting for the sake of fighting. Saving Caden only to hurt him again?" that prospect was funny to Ocean for some reason, but he didn't let it show. Besides he couldn't say he himself had much stake in this either in all honesty.
"Sounds like you really should just go back to the ship...besides...Caden could take you any day of the week." Ocean stated, smirking now, seeing if it would egg Spender on any. Caden had far more developed upper body strength at this point than Spender did, as he was involved in lifting heavy shots that weighed twenty-four pounds each.
Spender seemed genuinely spooked by something however, and Ocean tracked his gaze to where Spender was pointing. What the...
It was then that Ocean completely froze, as if ice had rapidly encased his entire body, and he was unable to function. His throat closed, a strange heat overtook him, and his eyes locked on the ragged pine marten that was ahead of them. Fortunately, he wasn't looking at them or heading in their direction...but either way it...was...him!
It was HIM! The one from Ocean's memories...far more distinct than Spender's. "I...I...I can't...I can't..." Ocean stammered, the flashbacks hitting him point blank in the face like rocks. "I can't..." he sputtered again, shaking his head. "I can't believe it! What's he doing here!?" He remained rooted to the spot, like Spender had. He could still feel those ropes cutting into his body...grinding against his fur...his struggles useless as he waited for the inevitable end...
Ladorak of course had spotted Keinruf out of the corner of his eye. Although he didn't much believe it, it seemed true. Well...if that torturer tried to interfere then the Captain promised he'd cut him down. That miserable wretch's life should've ended long ago...and fortunately he was walking away from them...but Ladorak had no qualms about killing a beast such as Keinruf. Nothing would stop him from saving his son. He glanced back at Spender and Ocean, the latter who quickly ran to catch up with the stoat.
"Ladorak sir...Captain..." was all he could say in a low tone.
"Hm? Molly..." Ladorak turned to her now. "We'll need a distraction. I plan to incapacitate that guard. Would you perhaps mind working some of your magic so I could get behind him? I'd rather not kill a personal soldier of the Bey but...at this rate I don't care, though I'll try and avoid it. We need to gain access to that fort, so perhaps you could put your talents to use?" true, the guard was a feline, and Molly was a mustelid, but Ladorak was willing to bet it wouldn't matter.
He looked down at the striplings. "I want you to stay out of it. I couldn't forgive myself if something happened to any of you. Combat is one thing...but this is different." Ocean worriedly glanced in Keinruf's direction.
"Can we at least stay close to you sir? I don't...feel comfortable right now out on these streets."
Ladorak paused, considering it. "Stay close to Jal Sylver and Jis Talian. I'm going in first anyway. You can follow if you want...but only follow...do I make myself clear?"
"Perfectly." Ocean stated, nodding. He hadn't been planning on joining in on the fight anyway. He had planned to get back to the ship to tell the others the Captain was working on rescuing Caden. But Keinruf changed things...until that marten was out of sight, Ocean wanted to stick as close as he possibly could to Ladorak Fugate.
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Post by bookity101 on Dec 16, 2010 23:18:19 GMT -5
Elle smiled a little at Selvis’ comment about her being back to her old self, careful not to let the wave of dizziness show on her features. Thank goodness she was good at acting, and at working through headaches… And her smile was quivery at best when she saw the others join. Thank goodness they were all focused on anybody but her, and by the time they were looking at her again her face was schooled back to her all business face.
“Right, it’s this way.” She turned and slowly jogged away, heading back the way she came.
‘We’re gonna find you Caden. And we are going to do everything we can do to get you back.’ ****** Fifteen minutes of walking, jogging and dodging pedestrians brought them to the spot where Caden had been kitnapped. In the alleyway, she stopped.
“This is where we were Selvis.” She turned to him, hoping he would see how hopeless this was at this point. Unless he saw something she couldn’t there was no way they would be able to find Caden on their own. That was why she came; this is why she insisted on coming, hoping to keep Selvis from getting himself hurt.
“What do you suggest we do now?”
-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-
Miri had finished her preparations for the fight, staying quiet as she listened to the plan being outlined. She glanced over at Molly when the Captain asked Molly for her help with the guard. Thankfully she wasn’t the one being asked to do that part of the plan.
“If that doesn’t work, you can always knock him out.” She shrugged a little as she dug around in her shoulder bag, “Quicker that way.” Ah! There they are… She turned to the three young ones, sizing them up and deciding what to do with them. She knew they could take care of themselves, and Spender was a true-blood Imperium beast so…
“Here you lot, take these.” She pawed a simple fighting knife to the older stripling, expecting him to be the one who would be able to handle the knife best. Spender got a small paw-sized cosh that would go well with his lack of follow through in the thinking department. Peskers, or whatever her name is, got the other small cosh, hopefully she would be able think and keep herself out of trouble if things got messy. Speaking of messy…
“Hey Boss, do you still carry that little two shoter?”
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Post by Carrow on Dec 17, 2010 10:23:09 GMT -5
Selvis completely froze in his tracks when he saw where Elle had led them. It was an ALLEYWAY, of all places, that she'd last seen Caden? He groaned, sighing and shaking his head. Suddenly feeling totally paralysed, he could only stare at her for a moment. Then a feeling of helplessness overwhelmed the weasel once again. He had seen that look in her eyes, and it told him that as they were now they didn't have a hope in Hellgates of rescuing their friend.
The longtail sank slowly to the ground, easing himself into a sitting position and burying his head in his paws. Truth be told, he felt worn out by now, and he'd had to lower himself down extremely carefully in order to keep from going to ground, swamped by a combination of uselessness and utmost despair. There didn't seem to be anything they could do, not as they were anyway. He refrained from answering her for a moment, racking his brains as much as his current condition would allow. It was hopeless, unless... wait.
He didn't have much hope that his idea would even be viable, but it was all they had left. He knew that if he didn't do something (or at least be seen to do something) he would begin to feel like he was of no use - and there was nothing Selvis Frenata hated more than feeling useless. Well... cowardice was up there too, but it was a distant second. He always tried to help other creatures after all, and when he couldn't do his best to aid others he felt as though he wasn't trying at all.
"I don't know, Elliot," he admitted. "I honestly don't know for sure. The only thing I could see us trying to do is to perhaps see if we can get one of the locals to lend a paw in guiding us. We'd need assistance like that, but the chances of that ever happening are really quite slim. We don't speak their lanuguage, and it's not really plausible that any of them should speak ours. Don't worry, though. You did the best you could, and I'm proud of you for that. It's just that I know we have to go forward somehow. We can't go back, otherwise Willard will see we failed, and I don't want that to happen. I've no clue where we might have to go... what we might have to do to get him back..."
Carrow had been sleeping deeply throughout this exchange - or so Setiva thought. He looked quite relaxed where he was now, but the only reason he hadn't come around when his companions had been talking earlier was that theirs had been the only noise around. Tunis was a veritable hive of activity, however, and fifteen minutes of passing through busy streets had done rather a lot to rouse him from his state of deep slumber. He looked very relaxed, sure, but his mind had slowly been inching its way back to full consciousness as the minutes had passed... and it was Selvis's words that finally woke him up.
He yawned, drowsily enquiring, "Get who back...?" His brown eyes slowly creaked open, and it was a most unusual scene that met his eyes. He found himself looking up into the smiling face of Setiva... but Elliot had been injured somehow and... wait, what was Selvis doing THERE? Why did he look so upset? Now Setiva was walking over to the weasel, crouching and putting the disoriented mouse into the distraught-looking mustelid's arms. Artivis and Eviros were there too, next to Elliot, not really sure what to say.
Carrow innocently put a paw up to Selvis's cheek, stroking it a little. "What's wrong?," he asked softly, having no idea why his weasel companion looked so upset. It troubled him slightly, as he never seemed to be troubled by anything. Then, he spoke the two words every creature present had been hoping he'd never have the chance to: "...Where's Caden?" It seemed odd that the pine marten wasn't there with all his friends. Had he gone back to the ship as he said he would?
Selvis started, taken aback by his rodent companion's quick return to consciousness. He didn't seem fully awake yet, but he had certainly come around and seemed to be regaining his bearings a little more with each passing second. He whimpered a little, wondering if he had the strength to tell him what had really taken place. He couldn't lie to him... he never lied to his friends... Sighing deeply, the mustelid spoke. "Caden's not here... he... he's been abducted..."
Carrow completely froze for a moment as the impact of his friend's words slowly increased in intensity, taking a moment to sink in before they finally hit him full force. He was robbed of the ability to speak, so shocked was he by Selvis's revelation. The mouse did the only thing he could do to react. In front of everybeast, he began sobbing uncontrollably, kicking violently as though he was no longer in control of himself. In truth, he wasn't. There had been a well of intense emotion that had remained untapped for quite a while, and now he was powerless to keep it from spilling out.
Caden... gone. And they were here in this alleyway, completely lost. He knew in his heart that they didn't know how to get him back, otherwise they'd have been on his way to rescue him by then. One of his friends had been taken from him, and Carrow's friends had become his world. Caden, Selvis and Elliot were each a significant part of him, but now the pine marten had disappeared, he felt more incomplete than he had in years. If the longtail or beech marten had suffered a similar fate, he would have been in pieces too.
Setiva had turned away, burying her face in her paws. She had grown so fond of her cousin in such a short while that she absolutely could not bear to see him in such a state. Her brother and father were both quite touched by their relative's reaction to the news. Neither had they realised how much the mouse stripling cared for his albino companion. It was like he almost couldn't survive without even one of his friends there.
The tears were flowing down Carrow's cheeks now, coming so thick and so fast that the mouse thought he was drowning. Drowning on dry land, his vision entirely obscured by cascading rivulets of tears. He was too lost in his despair to notice that Selvis had, in the meantime, lifted the rodent and placed him over his shoulder, as he had done months before in Naples. Neither did he realise that the mustelid was patting his back slowly and rhythmically, trying his best to soothe him. Such was the volume of Carrow's anguish that he knew anything he said wouldn't be heard. So he remained silent, doing all he could to calm the wood mouse down, and trying not to sink into despair himself. At least for now, there was nothing they could do.
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Post by Ladorak on Dec 17, 2010 15:32:16 GMT -5
Caden stole down the stairs, creeping around corners and trying to find his way out. This castle of course might be locked from the outside, so getting out would prove another problem entirely. But that's only if he could make it to what looked like an exterior door undetected.
The young marten froze however as he heard approaching pawsteps on the rock corridors. No! He whirled around, but there was really nowhere to go! Ahead and behind him hallways stretched off in every which direction. It was like a torturous maze, and he was stuck in the middle. Jerking his head back and forth, he finally settled on trying to retrace his steps and get back to the room...but at that instant a polecat rounded the corner, and shouted something at him in the foreign tongue.
The fellow was clearly a slaver from how he was dressed, not looking like a soldier at all, but to Caden it made no difference. He darted back down the hallway, running as fast as he could go but unsure where he could head to and just how he could get away. Unless he found a big room or someway outside, his chances of surviving in here were very slim.
His legs pumped just about as hard as they could, but he could hear pawsteps behind him, as well as frantic clamoring...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ocean tentatively accepted the dagger. He really wasn't sure if he had planned to participate at all in the rescue of Caden. It wasn't something that had struck him on the way over. But then again...he was a Volunteer Class I...would it be expected of him to act more like an officer and less like a nail that didn't stick out of the woodwork at all? Yes...probably. Besides...he needed to ensure that he rose above Spender...to a position of authority where he could keep a better eye on his brother. He would probably have to do this.
"Make sure you recollect those at the end Jis Talian...they aren't allowed to have personal weapons on board after all. If you don't, the Marines will conduct a search at the gangplank and they'll go into my personal collection. Keep that in mind if you wish to hold on to your weapons." the Captain informed her. It was Spender he trusted the least with a weapon of any kind. Off duty, on shore like this, Ladorak wasn't bound to the Articles of War, and if Spender did do something to Caden, the stoat was in every right to give it back to the ferret ten times worse.
"Also, I don't want the striplings involved in heavy combat. There will be a time for that...but not here. Once again I emphasize that they will follow after us...well behind preferably." Ladorak stated, patting the hilt of the Midlight Hammer and getting ready to draw it when he saw Molly approaching the soldier. They needed to get in there...they were wasting time. Who knew what perils Caden might be facing?
Monty nodded at Miri, and pulled out the two shot derringer from his inner coat pocket. "Here it is Jis Talian. Why do you ask?" he displayed the very small pistol for her, turning it over in his paw.
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