Stench

[Giselle Danielle]

((At least he's cute ))

Giselle relaxed as he traced patterns along her back and side. She enjoyed his touch, a bit more than she would have liked. She almost purred in content, goosebumps rising across her skin. As his hand moved across her thigh, her leg tightened around his and raised slightly.

"A very tempting offer." she cooed, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. "But there is work to be done." She kissed his chest before resting her head back down against him. "But I suppose we could stay here a little longer..."

She closed her eyes, planning on sleeping.

~~~

Maverick took slow sips of his tea before painfully lifting his head to look at Jive. He didn't know if he should stand, didn't know if his head would split open or not. After a bit of internal debate, the wolf slowly lifted his hand to grasp the other's and heaved himself up.

"The walk is not going to be fun if it's far..." he sighed as he took the candle and soot. "I never would have thought of this..."

He took the soot and smeared it on his eyes. He poked himself in the eye, however, and a new line of curses left his mouth before he sighed.

"Sooner we get there the better." He offered a weak smile as he rolled his shoulders.
He had a feeling this was going to be a bad day.[/size]

[Dutch]

Reaching to capture the fingers she’d passed through his hair, Dutch smiled down at her and brought her hand to his mouth, pressing a soft kiss against her fingertips. Bah. To the crows with work - what was another day at port and a few more coins when compared to the time spent with the beautiful woman wrapped around him?

Grinning, he slid a hand around her thigh and quickly rolled her over, poising overtop of her and pressing his bare hips down against hers.

“Well, you know what they say about all work and no play…” he said, giving her his most alluring smile. If they were going to play hooky today anyways, why spend it sleeping when there were much more enjoyable pastimes?

***

Jive smiled sympathetically at his friend, and tried not to laugh when he poked himself in the eye. Even though it was amusing. He knew in the wolf’s position, he probably would have torn the head off of anyone who laughed at his misery.

Granted, Maverick seemed a good deal more even-tempered than the fox, but still…

“It isn’t too terribly far,” Jive assured him as he turned and warily opened the door, sighing in relief when it was no brighter in the hall. “Cam conveniently placed his shop in the middle of the town, so it’s never too terribly far from anywhere…” he continued, carefully navigating the stairs while staring at the door to the outside world in dread. He wondered vaguely if the man, Jim, had any magical concoctions for hangovers, or would send a runner to fetch it for a little extra coin… he sighed. He needed to go see the fence anyways…

“Ready? He asked the wolf, glancing at him.

[Giselle Danielle]

She looked as Dutch kissed her fingertips and grew slightly worried as she felt something in her chest. Was this more than just fun? She pushed the thought out of her head and focused on just having fun. He was too cute to resist anyway. She felt his hand shift down her thigh and blinked as she suddenly found him on top of her. A smile came to her face as his hips rested against hers and she rolled her hips forward and wrapped her legs around him. She was too high for him to get anywhere.

"Hmm, I think you should try a bit harder." she reached up to kiss his neck. "Convince me."

She ran a hand down his chest, then his side to his hip. She moved her hand to rest it below her and below his abdomen. Her finger made invisible patterns as she attempted to tease him.


~~

Maverick probably would have playfully tackled the fox. He wasn't one who would get mad at someone for that. If Jive were to poke himself in the eye the fox would have probably snorted in laughter. Then again, the wolf was rather easily amused.

"Oh, very good." Maverick said, rubbing his face tiredly. "I'll try and not curse. I might end up scaring the little children anyway. I tend to do that without cursing too." He looked up towards the door and sighed. "Yes, I'm ready."

He opened the door, biting back curses as the sunlight smacked him in the face. He twitched and rolled his shoulders as a low growl escaped his throat. He was not going to enjoy this.

[Dutch]

Dutch’s eyes narrowed and his smile widened as Giselle’s legs hooked around him, her teasing challenge edging him on.

“Didn’t convince you enough last night?” he teased as her hand roamed his side, and grinned. “I must be slipping.”

Shivers rippled along his skin as Giselle’s hand continued lower, and a low groan sounded in his throat as she traced her fingers over the sensitive skin. Dipping his head to trail a path of nipping kisses along her collar bone to her neck, Dutch set about quenching the fire she’d called up.

He could be very convincing when the occasion demanded.

***

A little half-hearted laugh was all the response Jive could muster for his friend’s quip, between the dread, the mild nausea, the throbbing of his head and the nagging knowledge that he had done it to himself.

The fox winced in sympathy as the wolf recoiled from the sunlight like it was a physical blow, and wished he had a very large, dark hat. Following the wolf outside, he squinted to protect his sensitive eyes. The halo of black above and below his eyes helped kill the glare, but it was still bloody bright out.

Assuming the lead, Jive directed the way to the shop, keeping his irritability in check for the most part. He tripped once or twice, and accidentally glanced up at the sun, effectively blinding himself for a few minutes, but they made it eventually, and Jive hurriedly hauled open the doors and scuttled inside.

Cam, behind the counter as usual, looked up, too note of Jive’s makeshift face paint and cocked an eyebrow in wry amusement.

“Have a good night, Jive?” he teased, and jerked his chin towards the wolf. “I guess you’ll be the other half of Dutch’s new lover then, hmm? You know, I would never have suggested they get together if I’d known she was a damn cutter,” he growled, then cast a glance at Maverick. “No offense, friend,” he said in a milder tone.

Jive made a shushing motion with his hand and tried to stop wincing.

“Cam, this is Maverick, and before we really talk, could you whip us up that hangover cure?” he pleaded, knowing if he didn’t cut Cam off right away, the fence would talk your ear off. Cam widened his eyes in understanding and waved for them to follow him to the back room.

[Giselle Danielle]

She could be very stubborn if she wanted to be, and that was what she wanted to be. She wanted to keep him trying and wouldn't give in unless he did something rather satisfying. Or, promised something rather satisfying. She shivered slightly at his kisses and she intensified the pattern making down below. She brought her lips to his ear and smiled.

"You convinced me last night, but can you convince me now?"

She loved teasing.

~~~

Maverick kept his head down, staring at the backs of Jive's shoes as he followed the fox. He almost reached out a couple times as the fox tripped, not wanting his companion to fall but every time he almost did Jive caught himself. Probably for the better, Maverick wouldn't have been able to keep Jive up. His head still felt as if it was about to explode and any other strenuous activity other than walking would simply have to wait.

He only looked up when the sunlight seemed to darken. That was when he realized he was inside the store. Finally, he didn't know how much longer he could have walk outside without cursing. It was simply too bright.

"Yes." he said groggily, nodding his head. "That would be me. I'm not offended, I think she likes to cut things too much." He grumbled and sighed. "Needless to say, I wish they hadn't had gotten together either."

He again began to follow Jive as they headed for the back. As they walked, Maverick began to think. What if Giselle were to be pregnant? Oh, the horror. He shuddered and shook his head. Nah, she had never gotten pregnant the first nor second time she slept with a man...he didn't think she'd get pregnant now. Though, the thought still unsettled him deeply.

[Dutch]

A hungry grin of his own stretching his lips, Dutch could swear he heard the smile in her voice at his ear, and tied to keep his ragged breathing under control. Gods, this woman had him on a platter. Her fingers were damn near mind-numbing, and his arms trembled on either side of her as his muscles fluttered and jumped sporadically.

Damn tease, he chuckled to himself.

Deciding that perhaps at the moment, words would be quite utterly useless to him and therefore actions would be the more suitable choice, he supported himself with his knees and leaned into her a little more, burying a hand in her hair and tilting her head back. His lips latched onto her neck, his tongue running in slow circles and nipping occasionally, he concentrated on making her shiver and shudder as bad as he was. He steadily moved down her, lavishing every inch of skin he could reach with hot, intense kisses, and gently slid away from her teasing hand.

Taking a steadying breath between kisses, he looked up at her with scorching blue eyes. “Convince a goddess to concede to a mere man?” He pressed his lips to the soft skin beneath her chest, slowly circling his way up the mound. “Nonsense. Goddesses are meant to be worshiped,” he whispered hoarsely as he reached the tip, and threw a wink at her. “Especially when they taste as delicious as you,” he said, keeping his eyes on hers as his tongue worked her skin. “Does the rest of you taste this good?” he asked as he broke off, and resumed his descent.

Two can play that game, he thought smugly.

***

Don’t think about what’s in it, and you’ll be fine. Don’t think about what’s in it, don’t think about what’s in it, don’t think about what’s in it, Jive chanted to himself as he followed Cam. He’d asked once, so he could make them himself when he was nowhere near Assassin’s Cove, and had nearly sworn off drinking that very moment.

Stop! DON’T think about it!

As they reached the back room that served as a kitchen/ weapons cache, Jive immediately pulled out one of the chairs from the small, rickety table in the center of the room and sat, lying his head down and covering both his eyes and his ears.

“Mavs, don’t watch him if you want to keep what’s in your stomach,” he warned, and set about reciting the most twisty, complicated dwarves drinking song he could think of, regardless of his headache.

Cam gave him a disdainful look, and set about gathering the ingredients for his requested brew, ignoring the fox as efficiently as Jive was ignoring him.

“Are you of a sensitive disposition as well, Maverick?” Cam asked. “If you prefer, the two of you can wait in my quarters and I can bring them to you, to preserve the integrity of Master Fox’s tummy.”

[Giselle Danielle]

She twitched underneath him as he attacked her neck. She hated how she was sensitive there, yet loved it at the same time. It was an uncontrollable shutter that raced through her and she looked down at him, almost wanting to glare yet didn't have the heart to do so. As he descended and began to speak, she chuckled and tilted her head back at his touch.

"I must say that you are more than a mere man." She gasped, having difficulty simply speaking normally. "You could make Hercules blush." Her legs unwrapped from him. "I think you've convinced me."

~~~

Maverick followed quietly, not worrying too much. He had eaten worms to cows, almost nothing could bother him. Though, the worms had been when he was young, yet they had been quite delicious. He wouldn't have any problem with eating them now. He looked at the fox as he sat down and covered his ears and eyes. What was he doing?

"I see." He said as the fox explained, sitting down beside him. "Interesting."

It simply made him want to know what was in the drink even more.

"I'm actually rather curious." He said, rubbing his temple. "Shouldn't be too bad, can it be?"

[Dutch]

As Jive remained immersed in his own little world, Cam sized up the new addition to Dutch’s crew of rough, ramshackle acquaintances. The wolf certainly fit in on that front - looked like the poor creature looked like he’d drank half the bars in town out of business. He was quite impressed he’d managed to haul himself up this morning at all, much less make the trek to his store. Jive must have been behind that - the little fox was practically addicted to his hangover blends, despite his adamancy that he couldn’t acknowledge their ingredients.

The ex-pirate smiled as Maverick expressed interest in the making of the brew. Cam appreciated a man with a strong stomach. He was quite fond of the Native fox pair, but they could both be rather dandy at times….

“Ain’t something you’d want to drink unless you had a hangover, but it isn’t terrible,” he said, and gestured to the spread before him.

“basic ingredients are eggs, cinnamon, curry, thyme, some honey, boiled water, and whatever fruit I happen to have on hand at the time,” he said, mixing up the batch slowly to allow the wolf to watch if he pleased. It had been a while since Cam’d had company…

[Giselle Danielle]

Maverick looked towards Cam with interest. He didn't know the man but he had a feeling he would like him. He seemed to be the intelligent type with personality. Someone that Maverick and Giselle would tend to like. Given, Maverick didn't know about Dutch's intelligence but the man had bought him steak. That had to go for something.

"No, not terrible at all." Maverick said as the man listed the ingredients. "I mean, not everyone would like to eat that all together but...sounds fine."

He shrugged and looked at the fox, ruffling his hair gently before wincing in pain. Too much movement meant too much pain. He sighed and bent over, massaging his temple gently as he took deep breaths.

"How long does it usually take to make?"

He hoped that it would be short. He didn't know how much more he could take of this.

[Dutch]

Jive tried his best to block out the talking around him, but his naturally keen ears picked it up anyways and he heaved a sigh, dropping his arms to dangle listlessly as his sides below the table.

At Maverick’s question, Jive felt his human ears perk a bit, and Cam chuckled.

“Just as soon as this water cools a bit. Don’t want to cook the egg.” he replied. Jive shuddered. He hated eggs, and the thought of them raw was enough to make a man-

Jive pressed a hand to his mouth and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. He heard Cam scoff.

“Don’t be such a pansy, Jive,” he said, and plopped a lemon and a small knife on the table for him. When he thought he could open his eyes without empting his stomach, he sat up and started carefully slicing it, handing several pieces to Maverick.

“It’ll help settle your stomach after you drink that….stuff…” he said quietly, and immediately popped a wedge in his mouth. If he fried his taste buds now, perhaps the drink would go down easier.

Cam glanced back at the decidedly green-tinted fox and shook his head, pouring the brew into two large glasses and plunking them in front of the Tandems.

“Gulp it down fast as you can, then eat a lemon or two to wash it down,” he told Maverick as he reached over and plunked a bucket beside the fox. “Aim,” he told Jive firmly, and left the two alone.

Jive ignored the fence, and took a deep breath, chugged the disgusting, slimy liquid, and immediately shoved a lemon wedge, peel and all, into his mouth and chomped determinedly.

[Giselle Danielle]

The Wolf nodded in thanks to Cam before turning to the brew. Maverick had no problem drinking the liquid. Sure, raw egg wasn't exactly the healthiest thing for you but it wasn't horrible. The taste wasn't exactly amazing but he didn't mind it too much. Then again, his taste buds could say one thing and his stomach could say another. Just to make sure he wouldn't puke all over the place, Maverick popped a piece of lemon in his mouth and turned to the Fox. Poor Jive looked as green as seaweed.

The Wolf rubbed Jive's back gently. He didn't think much of it. Giselle used to do the same to him whenever he was sick and it made him feel better. Some men would feel rather awkward, Maverick didn't much care. Instead he took hold of the can and watched the fox like a hawk, making sure he'd be able to help Jive aim.

"If you need to do anything, I've got the can right here, alright?"

Despite his discomforting hangover, the canine wasn't going to just take care of himself and ignore his companion. Maverick, and Giselle too although she hated to admit it, always wanted people to feel better. It was partly why she had trouble killing people in the beginning. She usually just killed those who deserved it. Oh well, the poor fox certainly did not deserve the pain he was in.

[Dutch]

Satisfied that his stomach was settled enough to retain it’s contents, Jive inhaled deeply and gave the wolf a strained smile that was probably less reassuring than it was meant to be.

“I’m fine, really. Just need a few moments for the drink to start working,” he told him. “Cam’s just taking precautions - sometimes my stomach isn’t quite so cooperative,” he admitted, lying his head back down on the table. It was nice of Maverick to rub his back for him - he’d spent many a night doing the same for his bond brother, Dutch, when he’d been a little too cavalier with his liquor on a vengeful sea.

“You should close your eyes for a few minutes, ‘til the…eggs…return some stability to your system. Helps with the spinning,” he said with a sardonic little smile. He tried to think about steady, cool, quiet things until he felt the pounding in his head receding, and the nausea passing over him in smaller waves. Opening his eyes, he sat back up and noticed that Cam had returned and was cleaning up the mess from his ‘cooking’.

“Is your tender head better, Sir Dandy?” Cam asked Jive teasingly. Jive gave him a wry smile.

“Much, thank you. Again. I do wish it were possible to make that brew in large batches so I could just take it with me,” hew said wistfully. Cam scoffed and sat down at the table with the Tandems, a mug of tea in his hand. Jive sighed and leaned back in his chair.

“So, in exchange for your services, I suppose you’d like me to tell you about our latest gossip tidbits,” Jive said. Cam smirked.

“No, I’d like you to pay me, fox. I already know about all your little adventures last night. And the innkeep of that tavern wished me to convey his thanks for disposing of the woman you killed, and to tell you if he ever saw you in his tavern again, you had better not be killing off his paying customers or you’d be footing their bill,” he told him evenly, taking a swig of his mug, but Jive could tell Cam was a little worried. It was unlike Jive to take such bloody matters into his own hands, and whenever he did, he usually handled it badly.

Like going out and getting skull-splitting drunk with his Tandem’s girlfriend’s bondmate.

Jive smiled and said nothing. If Cam wanted to know details about the woman, he would have to either get them from another source, or ask Maverick. His knowledge of the extenuating circumstances were rather limited - he only knew that he had eliminated a threat to his Tandem’s safety.

“I believe you had a job for us, Cam,” Jive deflected. Cam looked at him sternly for a moment, the grunted and stood, returning to the adjacent room for a moment, Jive assumed, to retrieve information about their new client.

((egad, i've gotten so long-winded.... >.< sorry!))

[Giselle Danielle]

Maverick became quiet as the two spoke, his eyes darted from one to the other. He didn't take Jive's advice of closing his eyes and wish he had as the room spun around him. He forced himself to relax and the room stopped its spinning and his headache left him. He would have been more pleased if he wasn't concentrating on the two so closely.

He had instantly started paying more attention when they spoke about the woman. He didn't really want to think about her. True, she as mentally unstable but still...it was never right to kill someone. He chewed on the inside of his lip as he watched man and fox. He didn't like the way Cam looked at Jive, and he didn't much like Jive's response either. He didn't want to get Cam mad and he certainly didn't want Jive to be upset. And what job?

He looked at the fox as Cam left and raised an eyebrow.

"Job?"

[Dutch]

Smiling reassuringly, Jive hoped the wolf wasn’t upset.

“Cam is an old friend of Dutch and I’s, and whenever we’re in the Cove, we usually hire him to find us cargo to move. I came in yesterday before I met you and asked him to find something passable, and fast. My gut was warning me it might be bad for Dutch to stay in town too long. Looks like I was right, sort of, but my precautions were a bit useless,” he chuckled.

“And Don’t worry if Cam gets a little snappy, he’s just a little concerned. Being a human, however, he feels he has to obey certain boundaries and pretend like nothing is wrong, even thought it irritates him,” he told Maverick quietly. Sighing, he shook his head. “Sometimes, I don’t understand humans,” he said.

[Giselle Danielle]

Maverick listened intently. Cargo? Ah, yes, moving things from place to place via ship. Made sense. Extra work other than simply going around pirating other ships. The thought intrigued Maverick slightly, perhaps he would enjoy traveling with them if the time arose. He brought himself back to the present and looked at Jive.

"Ah, well...I've never felt Giselle so happy so...perhaps, in a way, it was for the best." he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. He still didn't like the situation "Humans are very interesting creatures."

He nodded absently, rubbing the back of his neck. He was unsettled at how Giselle's feelings were so happy when it came to Dutch. She wasn't usually that happy when it came to men.