Stench

[Dutch]

Jive gave the wolf a sympathetic smile as he mentioned looking forward to have something occupy his mind. He would hate to be in the position of Maverick; or to be the friend of any woman Dutch’s affections had extended to.

At that thought, Jive’s stomach sank a little. Dutch must have slept with, or slept with a friend, sister, or rival, or nearly every girl in Assassin’s Cove.

It was a veritable haystack of filth, and he was looking for a particularly crafty needle.

He looked at Maverick, planning to ask him where they should begin, but paused with a wince as a particularly intense spike of pleasure and excitement from his Tandem invaded his mind. Casting a poisonous glance back at the direction of the couple, he quickly walled off any connection with his bond mate and stalked down the gangplank.

“I suppose we’ll just retrace their steps since they met. Could you take us to the tavern you were at earlier?” he asked the wolf, hoping he had been spared from the effects of whatever had just occurred in the cabin.

[Giselle Danielle]

Maverick had a feeling that the task wouldn't be easy. If he didn't respect Giselle's wishes so much, he would have sank his teeth into the pirate's butt until he tasted blood. And perhaps he would have damaged a few of his 'precious' goods to make sure he wouldn't be able to cause any other girl pain. But, Giselle would probably toss the poor wolf overboard if he did any such thing.

Maverick caught the wince and cocked his head slightly in confusion. Then he realized that the fox probably had not already cut off all ties with his tandem. The wolf had been fortunate enough to have blocked all communication and feeling from Giselle as soon as he heard the door shut.

"Sounds good." Maverick muttered, starting down the plank. "This way."

He began to walk in the direction of the tavern at a quick pace. He wanted to get away from the ship as soon as possible. Knowing Giselle, she'd probably have Dutch yelling...or something. Either way, he didn't want to know about it and especially he didn't want to hear it.

[Dutch]

Jive debated silently as whether or not to tell his new friend of the pirate’s intentions, concerning the woman. Not his immediate intentions, of course, he doubted either one of them really wanted to know that, (though poor Jive already did, much to his dismay) but about requesting they come along with them.

As he followed the quick-paced wolf, he weighed the pros and cons of their accompaniment. On the one hand, Jive though it would be nice to have another Native around, and he liked Maverick. His usually spunky attitude would be a welcome addition. However, wherever he went, Giselle would go.

And that meant episodes like tonight. Repeatedly. Until Dutch inevitably pissed her off, which really wouldn’t be any less awkward.

Deciding to test the waters, which served the dual purpose of discerning Maverick’s reaction to a life at sea, and distracting the poor wolf, Jive perked up and kept pace side by side with him.

“So, I mentioned that I had once held your occupation; what about you? Ever tried being a pirate?”

[Giselle Danielle]

Maverick thought about the Fox's question, turning it over in his mind. He had never been a pirate, and he wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to be one. He knew Giselle got sea sick, very very easily. As soon as the ship would have set sail, she would be hanging over the rail until nothing was left. Though, he quite liked the vast amount of water. It seemed...peaceful.

"Unfortunately, I have not. It's quite difficult to find a ship that can carry a horse as well for cheap enough to buy with our money. Knowing Giselle, she'd rather be the captain or some high up to stay on a boat for long. She's also sea sick. But, I think the ocean would be a nice change, actually...perhaps I should bring it up with her." He thought for a bit longer before shrugging. "Hell, once we get tired with cutting that could very well be the next thing we do."

A question popped up, but he knew better than to ask it. Why was Jive asking him that question? Perhaps the fox was simply trying to pass the time, or distract him. Well, he had succeeded in both of those. But, was he hinting at something? Maverick decided it was best not to over think it and gave a smile to the fox before looking forward.

"That's the tavern up there."

He pointed up the street toward the tavern a couple hundred feet away.

[Dutch]

Jive remembered with a jolt that the wolf was a member of the Motre tribe, in possession of what may have well been the last horse bred by the lost people. There was no way they would leave the horse behind, and no way Jive, or Dutch, would try to convince them otherwise. And he doubted that a horse would be happy cooped up at sea.

Well. Dutch won’t like that. he thought wryly.

“Mmm. Poor Giselle. I myself suffered from seasickness the first time I was at sea, not being made for such travel. It went away after a while, but if I spend to long on land it’s always a bit difficult to regain my sea legs,” he told the wolf sympathetically. “And aside from the illness, being a pirate is actually quite enjoyable. And to be honest, we actually don’t do a whole lot of pirating; Dutch is good at getting money from people, and I’m good at preserving it. It’s a very carefree lifestyle.”

Jive looked up ahead at the establishment indicated, and set his face in an angry scowl he’d picked up from Dutch.

“Very well. Look like your on your way to kick someone’s face in, and we should have no troubles,” he told the wolf, though being an assassin, he was probably more experienced in extracting information than Jive.

Entering the tavern, Jive immediately located the barkeep and resident drunk, and set a gradual course to the drunk, while signaling the barkeep.

“Might my friend and I buy you a drink?” he asked in a non-asking manner as he sat next to him.


((you can have the drunk if you want. might make it more interesting if i don;t know whats goin on, lol. i'll reply to the temp board later tonight, work calls~!))

[Giselle Danielle]

Maverick listened to Jive's words as he spoke. Maverick never got too bad when it came to the sea. Occasionally he'd feel his stomach turn over and his face turn different shades, but never had he removed any of the contents of his stomach through being sick.

"Carefree...I like the sound of that." Maverick smiled, thinking it over. "Though, Giselle would never leave the horse behind...and his comfort is always placed before hers....so, if we were to go on the sea it'd only be for one trip."

Maverick tightened his face and narrowed his eyes as he entered the tavern, nodding absently to Jive's words. He had done this a couple of times. He followed the fox and sat down on the other side of the drunk.

"We'll buy you a couple of drinks if you'll tell us about the visitors of the woman with the white wolf."

He waved the bartender over. "An ale, please."

The bartender nodded and left, returning shortly with the mug and set it down before Maverick. The wolf slid the mug in front of the drunk and gave him a deadly smile.

"Of course, to prove our honesty, here's an ale to start off with."


The old grungy man grumbled to himself as he stared into his empty mug. His dull gray eyes looked up as he heard voices on either side and after a couple of attempts at focusing he was able to make out two men. One with red hair and one with white. For some reason, they both reminded him of predators. He gave a shiver and shook his head.

"G'way, I dun know anythink." He grumbled, waving a hand lazily.

Then he heard the magical word of ale. His mind quickly rewinded and listened to the white haired man's words. He thought for a moment before the image of a woman dressed as a man popped into his mind.

"Ah, yeh!" He exclaimed, right as a mug of ale was handed to him. His eyes stared over the liquid greedily before his hand quickly took hold of the mug and downed the alcoholic substance. He set the mug down with a large thud once he had finished, a burp escaping his lips as a wrinkled hand pounded his chest. "Yeh, I saw 'er. She was sittin' with that pirate for a while. Then 'e left and some angry woman came in and talked with 'er. She still 'ere I think, went that way."

He pointed to the stairs that led to the rooms.

"I dunno what room she be in. But, she was talkin' to 'erself the entire way up! I thin' there was somethink wrong with 'er 'ead or somethink." He shook his head. "One more ale and I might be 'ble to remember what she looked like...and maybe what she said...though, that one might take two ales."

He held up one finger, and then another as he spoke, grinning towards the two men to show yellowed teeth with a few gaping holes.

[Dutch]

Jive more or less sat back and watched the wolf work, doing his best to look violent, ill-tempered, and unforgiving. He was good at this, he noted. Of course, with his profession, that really was no surprise, but the fox still admired a cultured skill when he saw one.

He thought perhaps he had been spending too much time with Dutch, because his first instinct was to start methodically torturing him when he withheld the information, and punch his few, rotted teeth out when he requested more alcohol.

Jive felt nothing for contempt for the man, surrounded by his own cloud of stench and greed.

The fox growled menacingly and leaned forward to seize the man’s filthy shirtfront. “Perhaps we didn’t make ourselves clear. You will tell us about the woman, and you’ll do it before you drop unconscious like the heap of drunken mess you are,” he snarled quietly.

[Giselle Danielle]

Maverick's eyes darted over towards Jive and he began to respect the fox a little bit more. Jive had seemed a bit like the happy sort, the sort that didn't usually harm people. Of course, Maverick knew that he had tried to be a cutter, but it was a little bit different than knowing and seeing. He did his best to keep a smile from his face and drew in closer to the drunk.

"I'm afraid that my friend and I are not as patient as you may have thought. One ale is enough." A low growl escaped his throat. "So perhaps it's best that you tell us before we beat it out of you."


The drunk had been pretty sure that his plan would have worked. He was disappointed when his plan failed, and fearful when the red-haired man grabbed him by the shirt. His eyes widened at the man's words and he violently shook his head and weakly tried to push him away. After clearly failing he let out a small whimper and began to speak.

"I didn' hear much, I swear it!" He said, shaking underneath the fox's hands. "She said somethink about waking up alone and then how 'er Carl, who I think was 'er husband, beat 'er after finding out about some pirate and 'er and then 'e left 'er and the pirate was gone and didn' come back and she was sad." He took a deep breath, shaking still. "And I heard the barkeep tell 'er room six."

He just hoped they would leave him alone...he didn't want to get hurt.

[Dutch]

Thought as much, Jive thought bitterly as he released the man. Dutch was bound to cross the wrong woman some day. Or uncross, rather.

Giving the man a hard smile, Jive patted his chest where his hand had rumpled the stained, filthy shirt.

“There now. That’s better. Here, buy yourself another ale and wipe this unpleasant memory from your mind,” he told the drunk genially, as though he hadn’t just forcefully extracted information from him, and dropped a coin in front of him. “I think it would be best, for all parties involved, if you never met us. Agreed?” he said, still giving the man a smile that didn’t reach the ice in his eyes.

[Giselle Danielle]

The man's eyes slowly relaxed to their original size and he looked towards the coin with happy greed. Everything from before was quickly put into the back of his mind and forgotten. The coin, which he now held in his hand and quickly gave the bar keep was what made the two men gods in his eyes. Anyone who gave him a drink he was thankful toward, even the jerks.

"Thank you kind sirs!" He said, grinning up at them pleasantly.


Maverick looked at the man and then to Jive as he stood. He was happy they made the man's day, but there were more pressing matters to be done with. He had absolutely no problem killing the woman. He planned on at least helping Jive kill the woman in room six.

"Let's go." He said, nodding to the fox as he made his way toward the stairs. "How do you want to do this?"

[Dutch]

The fox watched as the drunk’s eyes fastened on the coin and looked at the men who had just scared the lights out of his eyes as though they were the most generous, upstanding men in Arcynica, and pity tinged the contempt in which he held the man. What must it be like to have nothing, no cares or worries but your next glass of blissful inebriation?

Jive stood with the wolf and walked with him to the stairs, grateful for the company. He didn’t really like killing. It wouldn’t bother him over much if done for the right reasons, but he wasn’t really the assassinating type, which was a part of why he and his Tandem were no longer cutters- aside from Dutch’s insatiable libido, of course.

“As quickly and quietly as possible,” he replied, climbing the stairs. “If we can get it over with before she realizes, all the better.”

It wasn’t difficult to find the correct room, and he paused outside it, looking back to the wolf.

Ready? he mouthed.

[Giselle Danielle]

Maverick nodded. Quickly was easily done, but quietly? It would have to depend on how the omwna was sitting or standing in the room and what she was doing. Though, given the amount of paid women in the bar, he was sure that a scream would be mistaken for one of pleasure than one that came with death. All in all, it was a perfect location.

Maverick didn't need a dagger to kill, nor a weapon of any kind other than his hands. He, however, didn't think he would be the one doing the killing. He would help, yes of course, but he would not kill. This was for Jive, not for the wolf.

He looked to Jive and nodded once more before he opened the door slowly and carefully. He relaxed when he saw the woman sitting with her back turned towards them, muttering to herself about a man named John and was fumbling with a cheap looking wedding ring. The woman was certainly off her rocker.

[Dutch]

Jive felt a rush of relief as the door creaked open and revealed the target facing away from them, absorbed in her own little world, and Jive immediately took advantage of the situation.

Covering the distance in a few long strides, he silently crossed to her and wrapped his hands around her head, one covering her mouth to muffle any possible screams, and twisted sharply to the right, the sickening snap of bone ringing in his ears.

Quickly releasing the corpse, he wiped his hands on his shirtfront and took a deep, steadying breath. It was necessary. She put a hit out on Dutch, and she didn’t live to brag about it. No one harms my Tandem, he told himself sternly, and picked up the woman’s corpse, slinging it over his shoulder.

“Maverick, would you open that window? It’s impolite to leave a body in an inn. Makes for bad blood the next time we visit,” he said evenly.
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[Giselle Danielle]

Maverick watched Jive quietly, wondering how the fox would do it. He was silently pleased when he ended up just snapping the woman's neck, but he had a feeling the fox was trying to assure himself that he had done the right thing. There was no point in saying it was alright by killing a man or woman, for no one had the right to say yes or no to something like death.

He walked forward and opened the window as requested, looking at the fox a bit worriedly. Maverick always wondered, every time he killed someone, if it was right. The answer was simply no, but he needed the food on the table and so did Giselle. There was only so much rabbit they could stand, and sometimes there were no rabbits and no deer.

"You did both Dutch and her a favor...you put her out of her psychotic misery and Dutch doesn't have to worry about her placing another hit." He said, trying to cheer the fox up. "You alright?"

He had some coins left, he'd treat the fox to some alcohol. He looked like he needed some.

[Dutch]

The fox unceremoniously tossed the corpse out the window to the alley below, where scavengers and rats would dispose of it before long. He felt no compunctions about it; it was simply a decomposing heap of flesh now. Any consciousness that had once inhabited it was now gone. He’d never really understood the human need to mourn over the empty shells of a passed loved one. He supposed it was the logical fox in him.

He gave a scoffing laugh as Maverick said he’d done Dutch a favor. “Bah, I only did myself a favor; Dutch is too dim to realize he should be worried,” he said jokingly. He appreciated the wolf’s reassurances, but they both knew it was still wrong. He gave the wolf a grateful smile.

“I’m fine, just out of practice, is all. It’s been some time since I’ve had to kill someone, usually a good roughing up is all that’s necessary. I’ll be alright after a shot or two,” he said with a smile.

"Thank you, by the way," he told him sincerely. It would have been much harder without his new friend.

“Think I’m going to need to find another tavern, though,” he sighed. It wasn’t as though there was any semblance of law in Assassin’s Cove, but it was still unwise to hang about somewhere you had just killed someone. Jive tried not to think about if the woman had anyone who would miss her.