Serious: The Fair Pirates, chapter 1: A new Beginning?

Avery groaned slightly. He had figured that he was going to be forced to stay in the Marine base for a while, but to be referred to as a prisoner? They were probably going to keep him forever! How dare they! It wasn't like he had even been doing anything wrong back there at the food stand. Admittedly he was a criminal, but to be called a prisoner just because he was in the wrong place was ridiculous. Avery ran around a corner plowing into a couple of Marine coming the other way. Apparently they didn't know anything was wrong as they were just as shocked to see him as he was to see them, but he finished them both off with a couple of quick strikes of his nunchaku before running on.

Lawrence kept pace with his master, sniffing the doors as they passed them. He let out a low growl as they passed by one large door. Avery nodded, understanding his dog's meaning completely. It was a safe place. He ran through the doorway, closing it quietly behind him, before scanning the room. It was a small room with a desk and some filing cabinets in it. It looked like the office of some low level Marine. Avery ducked down behind the desk, which fortunately was one that you could only look under if you were behind it, making it almost the perfect hiding place. Lawrence slid under there with Avery and the two waited, barely daring to breath.

(Okay, guys, let's wait for eight.)

((Was already doing so myself, herr captain!))

((Coming, Spades?))

(We'll give him time until wednesday, then move on... Mayb it has something to do with his birthday)

"Master!"
The cat came bolting out of the room and raced in front of her young master, looking up to her in a very, very reproachful way.
"You have to listen, those people..."
"Not now, Ebony! For gods sake, I'm chasing an escaped prisoner!"
And with that, she stepped over her little companion and ran off. Ebony looked after her and sighed before sniffing and then trotting off into another direction. She sat down in front of a door and waited for the man and... dog (she shuddered) to come out. Her master was nowhere to be seen, most likely she was sitting around somewhere and sniffling about losing the tracks of the escapists.
It was already getting dark outside...

Miyu stopped for a moment to look at the sunset... It really was beuatiful, painting the sky in all shades of red and violet, and making the clouds seem like something that was actually alive...
Miyu prefered sunrises, mostly because they looked much more optimistic, but this really..... She reminded herself of her situation. Having to draw her attention from such an unique and wonderful event to return to a world filled with so much hatred... It was kind of sad....
"What now, Seppy? It's getting dark..."

(All right, Spades had his chance.)

A deep grin took Seppy's face, a now-familiar set of double-fangs gleaming in the approaching twilight.

"Now," he said, crouching down, "I can hunt."

Bounding from rooftop to rooftop, building to building, Seppy began tracking down the scents he'd encountered earlier in the day. They were vague, muddled, but the dwindling light of day seemed to give him new strength. As the ambiance grew darker, he seemed to pick up strength, becoming more comfortable and familiar as the light dwindled from the atmosphere, more in his element with each passing minute. Before long, he sat on the roof ledge of a world government building, looking down at the doorway.

"They came in here," Seppy stated plainly, staring down at the door through which they'd been taken. "This place also smells like that cat, so we need t'be on guard. 'll bet she's already talked t'her 'master' an' all...so we're as hunned as we are hunnin'..."

Lawrence's head went up and he began to growl. "Hush," Avery swatted his dog on the back of his head. "Don't give us away." The dog did not quit growling, but he quieted somewhat. Suddenly the dog whipped out from under the table and bounded to the door, still growling. Avery came out and ran to his dog. He was about to scold him again when he smelled it to. Cat. Avery threw the door open to see a small, black cat sitting outside the door. A moment later, Lawrence shot past his master and pounced on the cat, reaching for it with his jaws.

Ebonys reactions were quite fast, even for an iq enhanced animal. She jumped off the floor, and landed on her attackers back quite gracefully. From there, she jumped towards the human. Careful not to use her claws to secure herself, she landed on his shoulder and got close to his ear.
"Now, now. There's no reason for that, is there?"
She purred and rubbed her soft chin against his. He was an honest individual, she could tell.

Miyu landed beside seppy as quietly as only smoke could.
She gulped as she looked up the building. It looked like a normal marine base, but something was... troubling about it.... Like an intuition that something was not going quite all right in there. She swallowed her fears and anxiousness. No time for that now.
"Let's go then."

Avery twitched involuntarily as the cat began brushing against his chin. If there was one thing he hated more then a cat, it was a cat that talked! He was reaching up to swat at the cat and knock it off when he froze. Wait...a cat that talked?

"Who are you?" Avery asked.

"Oh, my name's Ebony. You're Avery Crusher, a pirate with, let's see...."
She licked her paw thoughtfully.
"Hmmm. Can't seem to recall correctly... 1... 2.... 500.000? Yes, I think it was 500.000..."
She let out a short purr and finally, finally jumped down from his shoulder and went back into a sitting position, yellow eyes gleaming up at him.
"I wanted to ask you something."

Lawrence had been walking around Avery waiting for the cat to come back into range. When it finally did, he leaped at it with a joyful bark. Avery popped his dog on the nose with one of his nunchaku sending the creature scampering backwards with a yelp of pain. Avery reconnected his weapons, once more making them into a bo staff. He kept the staff out, however, just in case.

"How about we make a deal?" Avery said, staring at the cat with a look of disgust on his face. "You get me and my dog out of here and I'll answer any question you may ask, unless I deem it to personal or embarrassing."

Ebony nodded, satisfied. She had planned on letting them go anyway.
"Please follow me, then. And try to be quiet."
She swaggered through the hall, then stopped and turned around.
"Are you coming?"

"Sure..." Avery followed after the cat. Lawrence watched the cat through slitted eyes, but he remembered what Avery had done the last time he had tried to catch it so he kept back.

While walking in front of them, Ebony started talking about her request.
"You see, the girl and the man you met earlier are named Miyu Delaney and Septera Mcseppymerc. Both of them have boutnies."
They crossed a row of doors, and then stepped out into the front hall.
"My question, request for you is: If you see them, please tell them that Ebony has a feeling Theo is on his way here. Also, something beside that is wrond... my sixth sense is telling me..."
For being unsettled, she looked very calm, sitting down next to the door.
"Through this door, and you're a free man... and dog."

"I'll tell them if I see them," Avery said as he placed a hand on the door. "Although I doubt I will ever see them again. That first time was just a coincidence." As he opened the door Avery glanced back at the cat. "You know, you're not so bad...for a cat." Lawrence followed after his master, casting one last wishful glance at the cat, before stepping outside. "Let's go, Lawrence," Avery said as soon as he closed the door behind him. The boy and his dog set off at a run, never bothering to look back.

There was a small disturbance in the building below him; Seppy could feel the change in vibrations from inside. There was a tussle, and somebody was making a dash for it.

"There's one!" Seppy whispered excitedly, pointing to the bartender who came barreling out the front door, tossing a pair of guards aside in his wake. He seemed to be running with no regard for anything but getting out of there. A little girl in a big purple hat seemed to be on his tail; somehow, she smelled a tiny bit familiar.

Another scent caught him, the second of the two he'd been tracking. This one came from behind, and Seppy nearly jumped at Miyu as he spun about to follow it, dashing alongside her at the last moment. He wasn't sure how or why the other man and his loud annoying dog had found their way out the back, but it did present a problem.

"'An' there's th'other one!" Looking back over his shoulder while grinning like a kid, Seppy's near-glowing amber eyes fixed Miyu. He looked just like a cat in a dark room, a pale green glow reflecting off of his retina as they collected every last stray bit of light, amber-green irises thin rings around the massively dilated, glowing pupils.

"Do we chase this one, or th'other?" Seppy inquired, crouching down to spring into action the moment she'd made her decision. "Somethin' tells me t'follow the dogman, but I wanna hear Mew's opin...onio...opo..."

Seppy's tongue untangled itself, and he tilted his head to the side, chosing a new word.

"Mew's idea!" he proudly decided.

"Stay still, will you?!"
Esther shouted. She had no clue whether or not this man was actually involved in anything, but she'd have time to ask... again... when he was in a nice, cozy cell.
She couldn't do much to attack, she noticed, but still, she had to catch up to him.

Miyu looked at one, then at the other man.
She really wanted to help that guy who was being chased... but then again...
"Let's split up. I go help this one, and you go after that one, okay?"
She smiled at this idea. Splitting up was always a bad idea, but how should she know? She never had anyone to split up with before.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. We'll meet back at the docks in an hour."
An hour should be enough. she waved at him one last time and turned into smoke.

"That is quite..."
Esthers hand closed around the knife that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"Enough!"
She threw it with all her strenght (which wasn't much, mind you...).
Right in that moment, smoke appeared in the area between her and the culprit, closing around the knife and stopping it in the air.
"Eeeeh? Magic?"
For a witch, she was too shocked about this...
The smoke began to take form, turned into a girl in a white dress, with white hair and skin...
"Miyu Delaney!"
This only meant she had been right about the man being an apprentice of hers! Hah!
Also, this was the perfect chance to capture her! She smiled when she thought about just how happy Theo would be and produced another knife.
"How nice of you to show yourself! Prepare to be arrested!"

Though the idea sat poorly with Seppy, he didn't want to argue with her. An hour was fine...but if she was a minute late, he'd find her. There wasn't a place in the world that he could - or wouldn't - track her to. Reassuring himself that he didn't need to worry about somebody so strong anyway, he gave her a nod and a grin before bolting off the other way after Lawrence.

--------------------------

Given his penchant for travelling via rooftop, it didn't take long for him to track down the man and his noisy fleabag. Giving a low 'pssssst' to get his attention, so as not to startle him, Seppy dropped down into the alley directly infront of the man. Landing in a crouching position, he held up a hand in greeting to the man. His eyes were still glowing green in the moonlight, everything about him and his smile and his stance screaming 'cat'.

"Mew," Seppy stated, saying her name but pausing to decide the rest of his sentence. "Mew told me t'come give you a hand."

The instant the strange man landed in front of him, Avery had whipped his staff off of his back and prepared to fight. Lawrence halted by his master and growled at the person. However, after Avery recognized the man and heard what he had to say, he pulled back, slamming his staff into the ground point first next to him.

"I don't need your help," he informed Seppy. "Thanks anyway, but I got out of that place pretty easily. I did have a little bit of help...but whatever. I've got a message for you, though. Something about Ebony having a feeling and a guy named Theo on his way here. Does that mean anything to you?"

Seppy's smile devolved into a sort of feral snarl, his double-set of fangs glistening wetly. His eyes did not appear to be on either of the two, but looked past them; they'd lost their focus the very moment he'd said the word "Theo".

"S'bad news," said Seppy, his snarl fading to a look of concern. He seemed to re-notice the pair, focusing back on Avery. Standing to full height, he extended his hand to the man, bringing a friendly smile back to his face. The majority of his exaggerated feline aura seemed to have faded in a heartbeat, though a hint of it lingered in his smile.

"'M Seppy," he announced. "Jus' Seppy, y'kin leave off th'last name." Whether Avery took his offered shake or not, Seppy simply continued on without seeming to take much note.

"Mew is worried 'bout you guys...seems we mixed y'up inna somethin' ugly. I don'...you don' wanna haveta deal with these guys alone, an' Mew'll jus' keep worryin' if I come back without'cha, so why dun y'jus' run with me fer a bit, jus' 'till we kin show her yer safe?"

Esther cursed inside. Not only did she have to leave the escapes prisoner, she was also getting the feeling that chasing the smoke girl through the tight alleyways of this town wasn't leading to anything. No matter what she tried, that damn pirate just turned into smoke and dodged!
Did she even want to fight? It was driving her crazy!
"Damn it! Just let me arrest you! I need you for Theo to fall for me!"
Miyus eyes widened when she heard the name "Theo". She transformed into her human form.
"Y-you know Theo? Is he here?"
Her fear was really showing, she could remember their last meeting well.
"Of course I know him! I'm his fiancée!"
Miyu frowned. What?
"B-but isn't he, uhm...."
How to put it without making it look like an insult?
"A little... uh, too freedom loving to get married?"
Esther gestured wildly, something made much more frightening by he holding a knife.
"Gee, if by freedom loving, you mean he's a jerk and a cheater, then damn yes, he loves that freedom!"
Esther chuckled, and Miyu couldn't help but snicker as well.
The little witch realised that she didn't even know what Theos problem with them was. Her brain was already spinning most fantastic stories, and she was getting a little jealous.
"How do you know him, anyway?"

It's crazy how the world works sometimes, two adversaries sitting in an alleyway, telling each other about a man they both loathed in their own way.
Esther scratched her head.
"But wait, that Seppy guy you told me about, is that..."
"Septera McSeppymerc. I'm travelling with him. He's my friend."
Miyu smiled. This was so surreal, yet very nice. She liked that girl, marine or not.
"Aaah! And he saved you from Theo and became a pirate to be able to protect you..."
Suddenly, Esther looked like she was in heaven, with tears of happiness in her eyes.
"That's sooo romantic!"
"R-romantic?"
Miyu was a little confused about what Esther was going at...
"So, how do you feel about him, Miyu chan? Bet you're just so happy!"
When Miyu understood what she was talking about, she blushed and shook her head wildly.
"N-no, i-i-it's not like that at all! I mean, I like Seppy, a-and... b-but, er.. I.."
The rest of her words were just unintellegible stuttering. Esther laughed.
"I get it! But you simply have to keep me updated, Miyu chan!"
And so, they exchanged numbers...

Meanwhile, at the docks.
"Hurry it, Nerissa! We can't let them get away this time!"
Theo jumped off his small ship and landed on the ground. The city was quiet. No fun. He'd have to wreck havoc later.
Behind him, a huge girl with muscles landed. There was a sort of exotic beauty about her.... but also danger.
She hadn't forgiven Septera for the beating she took last time.
"So, Esther chan is on this island?"
"Pfeh, that b*tch'd better not be talking rubbish! The ride here was hell!"
Nerissa sighed. As usual, Theo was acting so unrefined. Couldn't he just say something nice for once, like "Hey, I've actually missed my fiancée. I hope she's okay!", or at least, "It sure is nice to be on land again!"?
"She said she'd meet us at the marine post in the north of this town. Let's get going."
She stretched her hand out, and a small drop of water landed on it.
"Hm, looks like it's starting to rain..."
"One more reason to hurry! Move it!"
Theo was already halfway down the street. She jogged to catch up to him, and together, they headed towards the marine post.

Fourty minutes remaining until the meeting at the docks.

"Sure..." Avery shrugged. "Why not?" He hadn't taken Seppy's hand as Lawrence was still growling at the man and that made him wary. "Come on, boy," Avery said to his dog, heading towards Seppy. Lawrence gave Avery the most horrified look that a dog was capable of, but he cowered behind his master and followed him.

Sticking to the ground wasn't easy for Seppy, but this man, unlike his incredibly talented partner, would never be able to keep up with him if he switched to rooftops. Springing around the alleys following fading hints of this scent or that one, he tried to find Miyu. Though they'd arranged their meeting for some fourty minutes down the way, Seppy was impatient. He felt like if he didn't get back to her fast, something bad was bound to happen.

Looking back to make sure Avery was still with him, Seppy's concern showed on his face. He gestured over his shoulder by way of telling the man to hurry up, though they were already moving at a very good clip. He rushed through another sequence of turns, occasionally popping out of the alleys to cross a road before delving back into the shadowy, darkening backroads of the city.

"Mew!" Seppy said too loudly, clearly happy with what he had found. Standing in place, head darting around in search, he looked about the junction he'd brought the trio to in confusion.

"Mew?" he repeated, this time more quietly, looking around. He could smell her so clearly, that silky-sweet scent like incense smoke and burnt sugar, that smell that was only hers and nobody else's. It was intense, strong; there was no way that she couldn't...

"Mew..." he said a third time, this time sounding impossibly worried. He caught sight of it; a strand of her smoke drifting in the evening breeze. She'd been using her smoke-form, a lot. The alleys were filled with it, drifting wisps everywhere. There'd be no chance of Seppy tracking her down with any accuracy until the breeze had cleared up all the misleading haze.

"I...jus' don' be in trouble, alrigh'?" Seppy asked of the nearest bank of rolling smoke, as if it could carry his message back to it's owner. Turning to face Avery, the ex-hunter was the model of dejection. His backpack occasionally twitched in sorrow.

"We...we gotta meet up with her in half a hour, alrigh'? Jus' stick with me 'till then. She's really really nice...she won' be happy unless she sees yer safe herself."

--------------------------------

As Theo and Nerissa made their way towards the northern marine post, a pair of marines rushing across the street spotted them and stopped. Saluting, they were quick to convey their message to the pair of hunters.

"Lord von Rosberg!" the first marine greeted them, standing at attention. "We've received several calls from other hunters responding to your advertisement. Many of them looked fairly dubious, but we've found at least two that look reliable and have legitimate credentials. They're waiting at East Post Green if you'd like to speak with them."

The first marine saluted again as if he'd finished his message, but the second marine, younger and looking very nervous in the nobles' presence, raised his hand meekly.

"Uhm...th-they..." He swallowed hard, trying his best to avoid Theo's gaze.

"They said they know one of y-your targets...personally..."

"S-so what now?"
Miyu and her newfound friend were waiting for the rain, which had started to get stronger to stop in one of the few cafes that was still open.
Esther looked at her. obviously, this was the first time it crossed her mind that being friends with a pirate might not be exactly the best idea.
"Well... I have to turn you in... But I don't want to... But Theo's looking for you... But I really don't want to... Maybe I could just not tell him... But I already did..."
Miyus eyes widened.
"Y-you called him here?"
Esther looked at her apologetically.
"I'm really, really sorry. I thought that maybe... if only I could get you..."
The girls looked at each other. Miyu couldn't help but feel sorry for Esther. The poor girl sacrificed herself so much to get Theo to love her at least a little... But she couldn't let herself get caught.
Esther looked really down. How Miyu would have loved to help her..
She put a fake smile on her face.
"Tell you what, I'll take you to the marine post and just let me go before Theo gets there. we can make it look like an escape, I go to the docks and meet up with Seppy and... and you'll have to explain it to Theo... Sorry, I didn't think about that..."
Not such a great idea. But Esther grabbed her hands, seemed overjoyed.
"Really? You'd do that for me, Miyu?! You trust me that much?"
Miyu nodded. Of course she did.
"Let's do it then!"
Esther jumped up and dragged Miyu outside into the rain and back the way they had come.

"Eeeh?"
Theo stepped closer to the younger soldier. And even closer, until he was close enough to make it harassment. Then he grabbed his head and lifted it, so that the man had to meet the gaze of his cold gray eyes.
He just loved making people who obviously couldn't do anything against him uncomfortable.
"Know 'em, huh? Well, that's convenient...."
Behind him, Nerissa shivered a little. It was raining... and she was only wearing her normal clothes... She was already wet to the skin.
"Brother, please, let's just hurry."
Normally, Theo would have snapped at anyone who dared say that to him. But here, he just shrugged, his smug smile still on his face.
"What're you waitin for? Let's go already!"
He walked past the two soldiers down the road. After a while, he turned around.
"Well? I don't know the way there, idiots!"