Serious: Two of Seven - The Warlords' Task ((Open to Gorefish, Karasu; PM if you wish to join))

The shichibukai meeting had ended far more abruptly than the warlord had expected. Almost the very moment they'd signed their names, several of the others had begun leaving with such haste they may as well have been retreating. The blatantly disrespectful behaviour confused Shiv somewhat; it was obvious that his "peers" were asserting authority over a government they'd just signed on as subordinates of. Even as the destined alpha, the berserker understood the importance of acting your place. Right now, it was his business to defer authority to the world government. When he'd finished sailing that ship, he'd turn his fangs back and stake his claim on the top; until that time, though, it seemed meaningless and petty to show disrespect.

It seemed that the government had some sense, though. Shiv waited for a formal dismissal, waited well past when the other six had gone. His reward had been an immediate assignment. Not long after the room had cleared, one of the higher ranked officers present had approached him with an envelope and an order: find fellow warlord "Karasu" and present him with the missive. The remainder of his orders would become clear at that time.

The northerner's lip curled up slightly at the thought that everything he needed to know for his mission was already in the envelope he now possessed, guarded from him only by the arcane and confounding medium it was encoded in. In essence, Karasu would be serving little purpose aside from translating orders meant for the other from their vexing written form to a more agreeable verbal. Shiv had not particularly liked the order, but saw the disadvantages in putting up resistance so soon into his new assignment. Beyond that, there were some small advantages to be had.

Karasu was a ghost on paper; none of the marines had been able to give him much information about the man. As incapable as he was of reading written word, though, Shiv was as excellent at reading men. Every moment spent in the company of another yielded that much more about them. If nothing else, his unusual assignment would give him a pretext under which to learn more about the mysterious assassin. When the time came that Shiv tired of his title of Royal Warlord, he'd be well suited to know as much about those who may be turned against him as possible.

In the distance, almost invisible in the dim, blue light of dusk, Shiv spotted the assassin's ship. Small and light, the white drakar with it's black sails cut effortlessly through the water, straight toward the barbarian's objective. The wind had been with him; following Karasu by scent over a few leagues of sea might have been impossible otherwise. One hand on the helm and the other retrieving the note, the northerner glanced down at the massive, quadrupedal forms crowding the deck below. Smiling, Shiv gave his "crew" a brief rallying cry.

"Ia!" shouted the massive, mist-shrouded warlord.

So loudly that they could be clearly heard from the deck of Karasu's ship, a dozen wolves began to howl in response. Again Shiv shouted, and again they howled. He repeated the action a final time, then sailed on in silence. Though his fellow privateer had no way knowing, this was the northerner's way of greeting; three howls meant hello. There were other messages to be sent by varying numbers of howlings, but none so peaceful as three. Shiv had made his approach known, sailing on and waiting for the other warlord's response.

-Flashback-

Commodore Braiden Derogan was a proud, but practical man. He came from far up north, far enough to know how dangerous the dancing snowflakes that men who didn't have his experience find enjoyable could be with just a bit of wind, or how deadly the cold really was, how it creeped into men slowly, making them suffer only for a bit of time, before it frew them into a sleep no one awoke from.
And he knew to fear the wolves. The whole meeting, he'd had his eyes on the large, animalistic man. His instincts told him that this man... was a wolf... and that he was the alpha male of his pack...

Derogan was proud, that he was. He was harsh, because he knew the world could be. But he was also practical. He knew his orders, he knew why he had been called to the meeting, and he knew, from the moment he had layed eyes on him, that this was the man he wanted on the job. Not only because his orders said so. But because he needed to know, definitely, whether this man was the kind of alpha to play his part right. Whether or not he was to be trusted.

The meeting ended quickly, as such meetings always did. All those youngsters, their heads filled with their own importance and what they would achieve... How they would change the world.... as always, they were the first to leave, and did it so hastily that it almost made him think about just what a pirate might have to do that was so important. He noticed at least one marine who wasn't much better. Miss Blythe, was it? Thinking they knew everything about the world, that they had seen everything....
A truly knowing man took his time. Watched. Thought. Waited.
Such as he was. And such as Shiv was.

Even after the meeting was long over, the man was still there. It seemed he was planning to stay for some more time. Well, that wasn't in for hi, not today. Derogan wouldn't have this beast strutting throught the corridors. Who knew what he might hear.... The less information he got about them, the better. You shouldn't let a wolf get close if you valued your life.

Derogan approached him quickly, his steps quick, the tension never leaving his body. Every instinct was telling him to go back. To not head towards the wolf. But Derogan was a very proud man... and he knew what he had to do.
"Mistwolf!"
Even the name. Mist....wolf.... Everyone who lived in a region where those things were common knew not to take it for a poetic connection.
He held the letter in his hand, and extended it, offering, no, ordering him to take it.
"Your first mission as a royal shichibukai! Deliver this letter to Karasu, and work with him! Report to me afterwards! Do not mess this up!"
He had always been a man of few words. But those few words were well placed enough to get his point across to even the stupidest of recruits. Assuming this... man had anything resembling a brain, he would surely have understood.

-Flashback end-

After leaving the room the Warlords were asked to meet in, Karasu set sail almost immediately heading towards his home, Dark Isle. Once he set sail he was not expecting to be followed, even less so by a hunter of the warlords. Once he heard the loud Howl of wolves Karasu turned around slowly, looking at the direction he heard the howling coming from, the man responsible for the howls was no one else but Shiv... Karasu made the boat turn around and head towards the direction of Shiv while at the same time wondering exactly why he needed to howl, was it to get Karasus attention? or did it mean something else? he decided to think of it as an attention seeker do to its massive loudness.

Shiv was an interesting man to Karasu, he was simple minded when it came to grammar yet he was able to learn of Karasu just by seeing him, on top of that he was undoubtedly one of the warlords most reknown for his power. The fact that he was able to find him so easily meant one of three things, one he was told where Karasu was going by someone that had more knowledge then Karasu could have with his Assassin Guild, Two he put something on Karasu or his ship that allowed him to follow Karasu, or three.. he tracked him. All the explanations led to shiv being more then he looked, hearing the wolves around Shivs ship also meant he had somehow become their master.. that or their trainer.

When Karasu reached Shivs ship he put a Wooden plank so both boats could be connected, he started walking on the plank only to stop halfway before reaching his ship.

"Shiv 'The Devourer' Mistwolf, pleasure to meet you again so soon.. what brings you here on such short notice?"

Karasu did not beat around the bush, and when he talked allways had his words leave calmly and at times cold. He was still wondering exactly why shiv had called for him, no answers popped into his head.. he had to wait for Shiv to explain to him the situation.

As expected, it took very little time for the other warlord to react. Within moments of the final braying of his pack, Shiv watched as the assassin's craft made a sharp turn and began closing the distance with him. It was not long before Karasu's vessel was alongside his own, a gangplank being lain to bridge the two crafts.

The small (relatively speaking), silver-haired assassin hopped onto the board, but ceased crossing halfway. For his part, Shiv knew better than to stand on it. He'd learned the hard way that among the side-effects of increased gravity is increased weight; combined with his natural mass, the darkness' power put his weight at nearly a ton.

"Is pleasure, da," returned Shiv, stepping to the side and giving Karasu a nod of approval, signalling his assent to let the other board.

The dozen winter wolves, all with white fur and much larger than their more domestic kin, sat calmly in a random arrangement behind the warlord. They would not make a single action against an outsider without command from their alpha; though utterly untamed, they knew their place in the pack. As savage and strong as army wolves, they looked more curious than ferocious, keenly watching Karasu like twelve black-eyed ghost hounds.

"Commodore Derogan has give me mission," Shiv explained, holding up the envelope he'd received back at Marineford. "I deliver this to you."

"You read out loud," added the northerner, his pale form seeming to glow in the deepening darkness of dusk, the sun well over the horizon. "We are work together, I am told."

Extending the hand with the letter, Shiv waited patiently for the other to take it. He was curious about the letters contents; at the same time, he was curious what the assassin's reaction would be. Was he the sort who'd refuse the government's orders if he didn't like them, or would be obey regardless? Maybe he would decline working with others on principle, or maybe he would accept begrudgingly. Karasu's reaction would be telling in itself.

Doing his best to put on another one of those "smile" expressions that he's told indicated goodwill, Shiv waited with his eyes and ears open, motionless save for the slow and rythmic sway of his shaggy, white tail.

Shiv had given Karasu a good reason to step on the ship while at the same time a good reason to stay away, while Shiv had nodded at Karasu (probably signaling him to go aboard the ship) Karasu himself saw the wolves behind him. They appeared to be relaxing, but a dozen of them jumping at him from this short distance would mean trouble. Karasus Vulture stayed on his shoulder, glaring at the wolves around the area. Shiv told Karasu about a Commodore assigning them a mission.. however this would be his first mission for the government, Karasu had to make sure it went as planned.

"Hmm.. you really ARE ahead of your pack, aren't you Shiv? I'll read your Note"

Karasu had no idea what was going to be in the envelope Shiv had on his hands, but he knew it had to be something important. Shiv asked Karasu to read it out loud, and so he did..

((sorry for the shorter badly written paragraph lol kinda in a hurry))

The note in Karasus hand was written in big, scrawled letters, as if someone had been in a hurry to write it out, not paying attention to decoration or even legibility. It hadn't been dated, but the ink seemed to be new, indicating it had been written the same day or maybe the day before.
It read the following:
The new warlords:
Shiv "The Devourer" Mistwolf
and Karasu the assassin
(those names had been written with slightly more care, Karasu seemed to have 'assassin' added to him to make it fit the length of his forced partners denomination)
Are to head to Shabondy Archipelago. There, they are to track down and immobilise the following pirate captains and their crews:
Jackie "Jackknife" Crawford, captain of the Jackknife pirates
Elisabeth Arnau, captain of the bloodhound pirates
Toshe "Angel" Mamadou, captain of the angel pirates
Desta Gjeorgi, captain of the freeloader pirates

The four individuals and crew are to be stopped from leaving the island or sending something from the island at all costs. License for extreme violence granted. License for killing any of the subjects granted. There must be at least one captain or first mate of the aforementioned crews left alive, and transferred savely to the nearest Marine outpost. Collateral damage will be frowned upon, but is prohibited if not preventable.
The mission has to be fullfilled during the next two days after it has been received. If it is not fulfilled in that time, the title of warlord and all the privileges coming with it will be revoced instantly.
signed:
Rear Admiral A. Butcher


There, the note ended abruptly, with no further instructions or regulations.

Karasus Eyes moved downwards, he tried to read the announcement out-loud so Shiv could hear it. The one part though that caught Karasus attention.. was that their title would be revoked if they didn't finish the mission. His eyes opened slightly when he saw the last part, followed by a smirk that inched across his mouth. This mission had to be finished within two days, or face the worst possible outcome of losing his title.. and his goal along with it. They also had to make sure nothing they were shipping left Shabondy Archipelago, including the pirates themselves.

"There you have it, we need to move towards Shabondy Archipelago.. looks like we might have to hurry.."

Karasu was not expecting the note to be a mission, and let alone one that is threatening his title. Things were going to be interesting, even with his title in danger Karasu was still calm about the situation.. he simply did not see himself failing the assignment. He hunted down individuals for a living, this mission would be much more challenging.. but still have the basis of the others. Karasu could not help but look at shiv a second time.

"Our Mission was given to us by Rear-Admiral A. Butcher.. if we could finish this mission as quickly as possible it would save us some trouble, Shiv do you know a short cut to Shabondy Archipelago?"

His words stayed calm, he knew Shabondy was close by, but every second mattered in this case... and if they saved enough of those seconds Karasu could even get a quick walk across the town.

The importance of the document became clear to Shiv the instant that his unlikely partner had finished reading them. Though he had hoped for it, it seemed that teaming with Karasu was now a matter of dire importance. In two days they would be required to show satisfactory results or risk their newly acquired title and it's associated privileges.

"One night," responded Shiv, a stoic look on his face. "Will take one night, plus sailing."

Crossing his arms, the massive northerner decided that he'd need to make his conditions clear. Even if they were partners, even with the stakes as high as they were, Shiv only did things one particular way: his own. If Karasu didn't understand that, there would be no hope for the mission.

"We do not need shortcut. Is very close."

Looking over his shoulder, Shiv gave the pack of wolves a slight nod. They immediately began rushing about the ship, settling onto benches in a bizarrely organized fashion. Seated awkwardly in pairs, the wolves divided into six groups of two. On each side of the ship sat a pair at the fore, mid, and aft of the ship. Teeth glowing in the dusky light, they bit down on the iron grips designed specifically for them along the long, wooden hafts of the drakkar's oars.

"We arrive just before sun is rise, no early or later. Do not attack until sun is set." Shiv's cold, pale blue eyes reflected the absolute, unwavering resolution behind his words.

"All fight must be finish before sun is rise second time. Finish or no, we do not fight once is in sky."

Pausing to let his words sink in, Shiv gave the other his frigid, unfeeling smile. It was the smile of an animal, trying to be friendly for the sake of social reasons he didn't understand himself, failing to look anything but threatening. Though he wanted to get along with his fellow warlord for this mission, he would not for a moment even dream of compromising his conditions. It was the pack leader's place to decide when and where the hunt happened, after all.

"We are understand eachother, da?"

Karasu listened to Shivs words without opening his gaze, his eyes remained closed the entire time he was talking.. Shiv seemed to have made himself the alpha male of the group, something Karasu would have to live with if he were to keep his title. Karasu was by no means going to simply obey orders that were unnecessary, even if it was Shiv himself that gave them to him, although it would make better sense to attack at night time, Karasu was by no means going to let a target walk out if he had an opportunity to Assassinate the target.

Karasu opened his eyes after Shiv finished explaining the situation, even if Karasu was most likely going to Lie to Shiv, it would be better to maintain the fighting to a minimum.

"Alright shiv, I wont attack during Sun-up.. but if the captains were murdered by their own crew-mates, and then the crew-mates shot themselves.. there wouldn't be much we could do would there?"

Karasu had done those kinds of situations in the past, it's part of his reasons for not getting caught. It's a simple Kill the captain from behind, then the crew.. or the other way around depending on the crews abilities to become a nuisance. For it to work he had to make sure the crewmates had guns placed on their hands.

Karasu was not going to attack directly in Shivs Vision, but if there was an opportunity Karasu would work with what he had.. but he had to do it in quiet. Karasu was Cold hearted, especially when it came to finishing a mission... but the one thing he cares about like a normal person is innocent lives. One of the only reasons he would listen to Shivs suggestions, is because his way innocent lives would be spared from the cross-fire, not many people would walk around at night. Although that still would not stop Karasu from attacking the captains if they were on their own.

"Hey Shiv, if anyone asks who I am when I go in there with you.. Roll with whatever I say, in other words Don't mention my name or my title. If this mission becomes public I wouldn't want anything there about my name, You'd have all the glory."

This was only in a 'just in case' occasion in case newspapers were made, If they were made Karasu shouldn't be anywhere in the newspaper.. rather someone else with a completely different name but no picture representing him.

Shiv was rumored to be one of the strongest in the shichibukai, hence why Karasu would not disobey his orders within his field of vision, the less trouble the better. Karasu was going to try his best to deal with the rules shiv gave him while at the same time trying to finish the mission, the only thing Karasu asked shiv was too make sure his name or title were not known.

"For now, Call me Jimmy.. Jimmy Kukar. It's just till the mission ends, could you make sure 'Jimmy' becomes my name if anyone asked? My face would allways be covered of course."

Karasus Vulture landed on his shoulder, it was mainly there to protect Karasu from harm, Shiv seemed to have been smiling after asking Karasu if he would agree to his conditions. The smile would normally creep anyone out.. but Karasu was Cold in many ways, the smile to him looked like everyone else. With the smile Karasu smirked at the thought of Shiv adding conditions to the already limited movements they were allowed to make, it must mean shiv was fully aware of his own abilities.. including what his limits were, if he thought he could do the mission like this.. then he must be much more powerful then he looked.

"Dshimmy," repeated Shiv, following the word with a pair of low, rolling heaves of his chest that probably indicated amusement. "Is good place in shadows, da?"

Karasu had responded exactly how Shiv had expected him to, by giving his own counter-conditions. It made sense, seemed only natural. If the assassin had agreed with his own instructions without fuss, it would have been highly suspicious; on the other hand, if he flat out refused, the mission would have been over before it began. A few concessions to keep things moving was ideal.

"Da. Is up to you how to kill, Dshimmy. As long as wait for night, of course."

"Do you know why is only kill at night?" inquired Shiv. His feral and forced smile turned up a bit at the corners, a slightly more genuine look.

"When I am taking target," explained the northerner, uncrossing his arms and making a vague gesture like somebody who wants to say something but doesn't know the proper words for it. "Is...ahh, how you say...?"

"Is 'on borrowed time,'" finished Shiv, finding the turn of phrase that he thought meant about what he wanted to say. "Prey is dead but not knowing yet, da?"

"Once prey has seen me, is over." Shiv's eyes narrowed slightly and his grin deepened, until he looked like he was snarling, but not at Karasu. His eyes seemed to be fixed in the distance, on a ghost or perhaps many ghosts...they were eyes that were seeing the dead or the damned.

"They will never see sun again," finished the pale berserker. "Our target is not know it, but today will be last time for them. Last time they see sun..." trailed Shiv, his face becoming serious again, though a predatory light seemed to spark an ice-cold fire in his white-blue eyes.

"Ever."

Turning back towards the helm, Shiv decided to leave it up to Karasu to retrieve the gangplank. The other would also have to keep up, somehow; The White Hunt was a fast shift when moving under the power of a dozen massive, well-trained wolves rowing. That would also be the other's problem.

Having made himself clear, The Devourer gave a single, deep cry. The wolves, oars already in their mouths, began to pull back their heads in perfect time with one another. Each of them as powerful as any engine, the sudden force of their rowing sent the drakkar shooting forward as if it had caught a gale wind in it's sales.

"Vjordt!" repeated Shiv. Once more the wolves rowed at all once, sending the ship cutting like a razor through the cold, dark waters.

The must arrive by sunrise, and they would. After that, sunset, and they would attack. Mistwolf was on the hunt.

"Hehehe, Shiv you are one scary man you know that?" Karasu was amused at the reason Shiv wanted to attack them at night, it seemed more symbolic then anything.. and amusing. Karasu would be glad to end the assignment in one day, it would even save Karasu enough time to look around the island. He hadn't had a break from his missions in what seemed like months.

Shiv was starting to show some interesting qualities Karasu was not aware of before, he was much more of a predator then Karasu could have thought. This was going to be interesting, especially after Karasu would see exactly what he meant by they would never see sun again.. they would kill them he presumed but it seemed to have more meaning to it.

They were getting ready to leave with the ship towards the island, Karasu just kicked the plank, allowing it to fall towards the sea. Karasu watched as the wolves followed the orders of Shiv, they were reacting to the weird sounds he made with his voice.. another language? Things were only getting more interesting once Shiv showed his darker side, he was definitely someone that enjoyed the hunt. Karasu might end up not doing anything during this mission.. if he was lucky.

"When we're at our destination wake me-up.. Since I'm going to be up at night some rest won't kill me during the day." Karasu went towards one of the corners of the ship, the strong wolves seemed to have been moving the boat while Karasu used the time to try and rest. His eyes rested while his vulture stayed awake, eyeing the people surrounding Karasu to make sure they wouldn't hurt him. The Vulture put its wings up to make sure the suns rays wouldn't disturb Karasus sleep, before heading to the corner of the ship Karasu shot a bullet towards the ships side, near the bottom. Once the bullet hit the bottom of the ship it shattered a small portion of it, as if the molecules that binded it together were disrupted with a strong wave that moved through the molecules. The bullet that hit the side of the ship shattered as well. The ship started sinking as Karasu went to lay down on Shivs ship, on Karasus pocket was his ships Den Den mushi already taken from the ship before-hand.

"Solid Bullet"

"I'm heading to bed Shiv, Good day.." Ironic since he couldn't say goodnight he decided to use the counter term since it was daytime, After saying what he did he closed his eyes for a little bit, waiting for Shiv to wake him up when the destination was reached.

It seemed odd to the northerner that Karasu was so plainly trusting. First, he had made the unusual decision to destroy his own boat. Secondly, within moments of more or less putting himself at his host's mercy, the silver-haired assassin had announced that he'd be sleeping. While Shiv did not doubt that the man had skill enough to wake himself when in danger, the entire gesture seemed impossibly careless.

All the same, it was telling. Shiv was willing to rule out that his temporary comrade was stupid; that left only the possibilities that he was overconfident or just good enough to not have to worry. Somehow, the pale berserker assumed it was perhaps a third option, somewhere between those two. For such a small gesture, it was a good start.

"Da, sleep good. Is not far, calm waters."

The final rays of the sun vanished, the moon and stars soon providing the only light. From all the way up on the helm, a bank of cold, white fog began to roll down over the deck and out onto the water around the ship. At Shiv's back, Niflbrandr sparkled like a frosted sliver of a giant's crown, it's intense, frigid cold turning the damp sea air into dense, rolling mists. Soon, the ship was fully enveloped in the fog, a dark cloud gliding silently across the moonlight ocean.

It was still a few hours from dawn when Shiv stopped commanding his pack to row. Slowing down, wreathed in that same preternatural fog, The White Hunt slid to a stop just off a rocky, untamed shoreline. Tossing an anchor overboard, the warlord stepped onto the ship's rail and looked back over his shoulder.

"Is time," he stated plainly before hopping up onto one of the cliffs. "We go now, da?"

Karasu woke-Up after hearing Shivs voice, they had finally arrived on the island. To shiv it might've seemed like not much time had gone by, but to Karasu whom had strived to become a Warlord every minute seemed like several others. With shiv in the Mission things should go very smoothly, but there's always the off chance something wrong could happen.

Karasu made sure to put explosive bullets on his left gun, and smoke bullets on his right gun.. just in case he would need them in the battle. Steel (his vulture) landed on Karasus shoulder, cautiously watching its surroundings.

Shiv was one of the most renown warlords, this experience with him would ultimately help Karasu learn more about Shiv.. and how deadly he really was. Karasu was hoping that no opportunities would arrive where he would have to fight too seriously, letting too many people know how Karasu fought was not something an Assassin should be doing. The less anyone knew about him.. the better.

"Yes, let's start the Assassination."

Karasu had a smirk growing across his face, although he was not someone that would kill an innocent life, a criminal was something he would not hesitate to Hunt- down. Usually when Attempting an assassination at night Karasu would close hie eyes and concentrate on the noises around him, but in this particular night the Moons light was more then enough to supplement light for Karasu to see, the stars were also helping Karasu see sufficiently.

The hunt has begun.

The message of the shichibukais coming had reached the marines stationed on the Archipelago only an hour before their actual arrival, and while normally, Shichibukai were laft alone by the marines, this particular day they were on a mission, and one that decidedly went against their plans and orders.
"What do you mean, shichibukai? This was our gig! Our goddamn mission!"
The recruit ducked under the yelling of his captain, which didn't calm her down at all.
"This was supposed to be my big chance to finally get that promotion! We've been tailing "Jackknife" for two weeks and now you tell me we're just supposed to sit by and watch as the pirates get all the glory?!"
Who did they think she was?! That didn't seem to be all though, as the recruit, who seemingly had decided that, if he had to die today, he wanted to at least make sure he had done his mission right, spoke up, his voice as shaky as his hands.
"Y-you're captain Ursus, sir, er, maam,.... And.... and they do have a job for you...."
Her icy blue eyes were fixed on him in a death glare that made it clear she didn't want "A job", she wanted this one, and she wanted it because she knew, knew! it would help her greatly in her conquest for a higher rank.
The recruit mustered all the courage he had.
"You're supposed to... help them.... uh, guide them...."
He carefully took a step back, awaiting the storm that was sure to come, but was disappointed.
"Oh. Ooooh, is that so? Well then, we should send someone to greet them, shouldn't we? actually, nevermind, I'll go look for them myself."
The recruit looked after her, her long, dark brown ponytail swishing behind her as she walked away. He hadn't known her for long enough to know what exactly was going on here.


Captain Meredith Ursus was young for her title, yet not young enough to count as a prodigy. No, rethinking that, she would be young enough, if it wasn't for the sudden rise in ridiculously young marine officers. She had heard of a woman who had risen from Lieutnant to rear admiral in what, five months? And the new admiral was 25! Twenty-freaking-five! Most people had to work their whole lives to get anywhere near that title!
And then there was her, Meredith Ursus, reaching thirty and still stuck being a captain. She wanted into the small circle of prodigys, she wated in so bad....
And this mission had been perfect, so perfect to finally rise in rank, prove she was worth something, even without the power of a devilfruit backing her up.
But no, they just needed their little trust test for their newest shichibukai... No doubt two prodigys, eh? God, she hated that word! As if she'd let them take her price away! She had worked too hard for this to simply let them have it! Goddamn organisation.... when she would rule the marine, things like this wouldn't even happen anymore!

While Meredith was brooding, she passed a woman who was beyond thinking of age ad glory anymore. The wrinkles on her face showed her age, but not her eyes, which were still piercing and dark in colour. She had seen a lot, heard a lot, experienced a lot, and when she turned her head to look after the, from her point of view young marine, she sighed and shoock her head. Youngsters these days. Their heads filled with big dreams of glory, riches, romance or whatever else they were dreaming of. Oh, not that she had been much better. She had her adventures. But she knew when it was time to stop... Right now, her daughter was doing a pretty good job, but she was still too blue eyed about everything...
The old lady looked down to her right and yanked the line she held in her hand a bit when she noticed the dog she had been walking had fallen asleep.
"Come now, Maddy, it's time to get back to the others."
The dog, just as old as her owner, raised her head and then slowly, slowly got to her feet. Her owner looked after the marine for a moment. She knew a good story when she saw one. That woman had something ahead of her....
"I wouldn't be surprised if we heard of her again, now would you, Maddy?"
The dog yawned as an answer.

((Sorry, I said the delay was over, but it turns out that the Thanksgiving holiday and resulting aftermath was more disruptive than planned. That said, sorry for the short post. Still learning this character, trying to figure out how to move things along. Thanks for waiting again!))

It was interesting to listen to Karasu speak, to see the smile creep up on his face. Only two people had such enthusiasm for their work: the heartless and the righteous. There was no doubt in Shiv's mind that he'd soon learn which one the assassin was.

Stepping off the boat, Shiv spoke a few words in some strange, harsh tongue to his pack. They barked and growled a few responses; it seemed that the wolves did not like being left behind. Still, the warlord would not trust his ship unguarded in these strange waters. He'd make sure to bring them back a share of the kill; this would compensate them for their boring guard duty.

The lumbering northerner stepped off the boat, then immediately froze in his tracks. Turning his head to look down the docks, Shiv lifted a hand and pointed in the direction of a nearby marine base. Along the wharf, a woman in marine clothing with a distinctly unpleasant look on her face was walking quite briskly towards the pair.

"Did note say we are meet someone here?" asked Shiv. "We are enough for job."

Karasu stood with both hands crossed as he heard Shiv say words he couldn't understand, the response was later heard by the wolves.. growling and howling... whatever they were saying amongst each other Karasu did not know, but Shiv was obviously the Alpha male of the pack.

In the distance Karasu saw what appeared to be a Marine uniform, a women nonetheless. She appeared to be walking with another person around her.. Was she looking for the Warlords? it would be too ironic for a Marine with a high ranking position to be walking around the night with two Warlords nearby, and even more ironic that she would choose the night they landed. Karasu had no idea whether to go towards her and talk to her about the assignment or simply ignore her.. the papers certainly didn't mention anything about having help from the Marines on the island, then again it never said they'd have to do it alone either.

While stuck in a debate on his thoughts he heard Shiv ask the key question in all this, and also a very good point. The note didn't say anything about meeting someone from what Karasu could remember, Shiv thought they were enough as they were.. and so did Karasu. The key in all this was that If the Marine was in fact ordered to be with them, then she must be there to make sure they were doing their job.. he guessed even Warlords were still considered pirates, and pirates do have their moments. One thing was certain though, they did have to ask the marine to find out.. by that I mean they really HAD to do it, if not there could be some unforeseen consequence heading their way.

"Shiv, my friend.. we might have to talk to the Marine.. do you remember my name on this mission? We'll be using it with her as well, in case she isn't with us and this was all one big coincidence. I don't remember seeing something in the note about meeting an officer, and I do agree we would be enough ourselves.. but I'm interested to know her business, she might end up being our baby-sitter."

Karasu had a big smile grow across his face after saying the last part of the sentence, it seemed like the thought of Karasu having a baby-sitter was a very funny picture to him. The thought of her being shivs baby sitter made him chuckle to an even further amount, the thought of Shiv as well made the picture more humorous then it was with Karasu alone.

"We might have to talk to her, just to see what her business is... after you Shiv" Karasu bowed in a weird manner, having both hands point towards the marine. It seemed like Karasu would let Shiv do all the talking, Ironic since Karasu was probably sent to the mission for the sole reason of communication. After bowing Karasu put the hat in a position where his face would be covered halfway, this would not be the time when his face would be shown.

There was always room in every mission for strange happenings. Things could go right or wrong, but there was never any certainty that things would go exactly how you planned. The marine's presence had alerted the warlord, and he had passed it on to his more socially apt companion. When the very same company told him of all people to handle it, Shiv was taken at a slight loss.

"Da," he whispered, refusing to back down from the challenge, however absurd it was. "I talk, then."

"Dshimmy," stated Shiv at normal speaking voice, walking towards the marine and glancing back over his shoulder. "Is your job to show me way, da? Is no more time for daw-del."

The hulking, mist-shrouded berserker in white was many things, but he was no actor. Still, his performance was not entirely unconvincing. His accent and broken English combined with his overall alien appearance to make him look every bit as lost as he intended the marine to see him as. There was no hope that The Devourer could conceal his identity, of course; to the onlooker, though, the warlord was not speaking to a peer but to a mere guide.

"Show me to...ah. Is marine."

The conquerer-in-white stopped on the pier, glacial eyes locked on the approaching marine woman. Forcing another unfamiliar smile onto his broad, pale lips, Shiv nodded at the approaching woman. Both of his arms rested at his sides in a sign of peaceful deference.

"Zdrahstvooytee," greeted Shiv, extending one massive, cold, pale hand. "I am called Mistvolf. This is guide, Dshimmy," added the northerner, jerking his head the slightest bit back towards Karasu.

"You are here to guide, da?"

Meredith was not easy to impress, she certainly was not.... But the moment she saw the warlords huge silhouette against the nightsky, towering even the tallest of her recruits, she couldn't help but shiver a bit. Not only because he was tall and imposing.... No, that wasn't it. It was his skin, his hair, his eyes. Like the world was drained of colour wherever he went. She could have sworn he even set off a light glow, just because he was so light... there was no doubt he was the one she was looking for.
Despite her first impule and all her instincts telling her not to get any closer, to turn away and run if possible, Meredith continued walking towards him, until he was finally standing in front of her, her stride unwavering the whole way. She had heard parts of his conversation with someone who she hadn't even noticed before. His voice sounded just as cold as the rest of him, but it was somewhat raspy, deep, like a growl was underlying it. Somehow, it made him more real to her. She had dealed with growling things before.

When they were finally standing eye to eye, he greeted her in a language she had never heard, extended his hand and introduced that... other person as well.
Meredith inspected Mistwolfs face. He seemed lost. Which was fine with her, but.... something felt off. Aside from him being lost, that was.
She averted her eyes from the hulking man, and now looked at the other one, completely ignoring the hand that was offered to her for the time being.
He seemed, in comparison to Mistwolf, slim, small, unnoticable... Likely he didn't want to be noticed.
Meredith knew her turf, even if she hadn't been here for some time. Guides, around here, at night? Not very likely. Heck, she hadn't even known there were any guides on this island in the first place. However, he wasn't the problem right now. If Mistwolf wanted to play it this way, then fine.
Meredith had grown up acting out intentions and emotions, and twisting words around. You had to, when your father was a aristocrat. There was no way he would ever outplay her in her own game of lies and deceit!

When she turned back to him, she gave him a short nod, acknowledging the introduction. Then, after a moment of looking at it, she took his hand, carefully, as though there might be something on it, but once she held it ( it was huge, she noticed, roughly twice the size of hers), she didn't hesistate to give him a strong handshake. People who were insecure ot intimidated wouldn't have such a handshake.
She looked him straight in the eye. She knew how provocative this was. Not giving him a salute, not returning his introduction, looking straight into his eyes, even though she knew how much most pirates hated that... Plus, she had a feeling he would more than hate it. He would despise it, it would aggravate him.
It was a risky game she was playing. Attacking a captain of the marine openly would cost him this mission and his post for sure. Especially someone from her family. Not that she'd go running to her parents, oh no, never ever. But the marine, though said to be unprejudiced, would find theselves in an awkward situation if they didn't somehow make the damage up to her.... Maybe even promoting her...? That is, if said attack was to come, and if she'd survive. but even if he didn't attack, he'd still have to admit she was, in a way, superior to him. And she knew he wouldn't like that. No pirate she had ever met did. Plus, she liked being superior to others. It was a win-win situation, this or that way.
To top it all off she, instead of finally giving her name, posed a question.
"Two warlords were supposed to be here, Mistwolf. I only see..."
she looked at him as though she doubted he was even one before she continued.
"...one. Does that mean mister Karasu doesn't want his title anymore then?"
She was mocking. Him and Karasu. And she made her scorn clear, no in her voice, but in the way she looked at him, and in the way she casually flipped a streak of her dark hair back.

Shiv had the upper hand on the negotiation.. or so it seemed, the plan was going great as Karasu was successfully referred to as 'Jimmy' for a cover name, It seemed that way up until the marine got the information that two Warlords were supposed to have come.. not one. Karasus face remained the same cold expression, But tried to give the spotlight to Shiv as much as he could, putting the attention away from him would ultimately make putting everything on Shiv easier. The news would love to have a Warlord siding with the Marines to take down Pirates, but Karasu would not be part of it in the news.

The Marine had mockingly said that Karasu was nowhere to be seen, hence he didn't want his title. A small smirk grew across Karasus lips as he tried to speak his words clearly and as blankly as possible.

"Hehe you got me, I am Karasu.. but please do refrain from using the name outside this little chat. I do have privacy issues you know." Karasu was trying to find out how the marine played her game, his attitude changed from what it was with Shiv a few minutes ago. Now he was back to being the same man in marineford. He maintained his eyes bellow his hat, she would not see anything too revealing about him other then his mouth and cheeks.

"You never answered Shivs question, Marine. Are you supposed to be our guide? You obviously know who we are.. and you must have a reason for knowing." Karasu was of course thinking the obvious, she knew too much for someone to just be walking around unexpectedly.. she was told the information for a reason, and odds were it was to assist the Warlords.

The intricacies and subtleties of standard civilized byplay were lost on Shiv. He had extended a hand because he'd seen so many others do it; the gesture meant nothing to him. As a result, the marine's intended slight in ignoring his greeting for so long didn't register. He did not care for a salute, he did not seek any particular recognition.

When she met his eyes, though, the ball fell into the northerner's court. In the wild, it was a sign of challenge. Though Shiv had come to accept that among civilized company eye contact was considered normal in a friendly setting, there was no mistaking the look in the marine's eyes. This was not the casual, wasteful eye contact of social sport. Hers was a glare of warning, a look that staked out territory and warded off intrusion. The marine girl's had made eye contact the way Shiv knew it.

True to her intent, Shiv's initial reaction to the sight was hostility. Unlike the marine, however, the northerner's feral impulse was utterly clean of malice. It was not the scheming, manipulating hate of one who sought gain or aggrandizement, nor was it the rage-fueled violence of an egotist who's pride had been wounded. Plainly and simply, free of complex emotion, it was the berserker's nature to put down those who would tread on his hill. It was his only goal in life: to establish his supremacy.

However, the primitive warlord had learned patience long ago. It had been patience that had brought him there, sitting in the coveted throne of the Royal Shichibukai. Though running wild and letting reflex control his body was his ultimate joy, it was an indulgence that he'd learned came at a steep premium. Shiv curled his lip up, giving what some might call a smile and others a snarl to the marine girl. Letting his hand fall back to his side, he listened as Karasu answered and explained their situation.

"I am not much for lie," explained Shiv, sounding not the slightest bit ashamed at having been found out so easily. "I am here for hunt."

"You do not like to see pirate hunt on your land, maybe," the warlord continued, his eyes remaining fixed to the marine's. He waited a moment for a reaction, waited to see her stance shift or her jaw tighten or eyes sharpen. After a moment, he put on a slightly less feral grin and shrugged broadly.

"Letter is say we have to hunt," stated Shiv in a matter-of-fact, unwavering tone. "So we hunt."

Meredith was almost a little disappointed by the lack of reaction and the scandal that would follow, or would have had followed, if such a reaction had existed. Her subtle provocations seemed to have no effect at all on Mistwolf.... A shame....
At least Jimmy, or Karasu, as he had no intorduced himself, had shown a reaction.... Not the one she had really wanted... But a reaction. So she turned to him instead.
"Oooh, you're a secretive one, aren't you?"
She had rather liked to report that one shichibukai was missing... Just to show her superiors just how reliable the people they had thought better fit for this job than her were....
And it might as well be just Mistwolf. God, that Karasu person was unremarkable...
"Good thing you spoke up, next to your partner here, I woulld not even have noticed you...."
She was stretching this just a little longer until she finally gave her answer to the last question.
"You could say I am here to... help you."
Help them lose their jobs, in the first place, help them make her look good in the second.... Then maybe, maybe help them catch the other pirates as well.... After all, rather have them do all the dirty work than do it herself, or even sacrifice her men for it.
"The pirates I... we are looking for have arrived here some hours ago, and are expected to meet somewhere around grove 27.... Some of them have been witnessed snooping around there, but not all...."


Meanwhile, on a different part of the island:

"What do you mean, 'no, thank you'?"
The people in the bar suddenly went silent, which was a rare thing, considering what kind of people usually visited this bar. In the silence, the trembling voice of the young woman could be heard clearly.
"I... I didn't mean to be rude... I just... I..."
"You what? What, bitch!? I am all up and offering you a once in a lifetime chance here! Don't you know who I am?!"
As she was so interrupted, the woman jerked back. It was clear how scared she was, and understandable why to every single person in the bar, still no one rushed to her aid when the man in front of her grabbed her neck and yanked her up from the ground, where she had previously been thrown by two of his goons.
She whimpered. She knew who he was, of course, but was simply too scared to say another word, which seemed to please him, but aggravate him as well.
"Well? You know who I am?!"
He hissed, his face inches away from hers. She averted her eyes, tried not to look at him directly, stayed silent. He grabbed her face and forced her to look at his.
"I'll tell you who I am..."
And he threw her back to the ground. She yelped, then covered her mouth with her hands, uncontrollably shaking. Tears were running down her face as the man stepped closer to her, and kneeled down in front of her.
"Aw look at that. She's crying...."
There was no actual empathy in his voice. He was just enjoying the limelight while he had it.
Probably a good move, since he didn't have it for much longer.
"That's enough, Jackknife!"
The voice was harsh and deep, and made the young ginger who had been identified as "Jackknife" spin around, a sour look on his face.
Another man had stood up, half in the dark, away from the other guests, as if disgusted by them. He spoke slowly, pronoucing every syllable clearly.
"Let her go."
The words commanded respect and didn't see to leave any room for questions, didn't seem to allow them. "Jackknife" obviously wasn't afraid to talk back anyway.... He was pissed that his little show was over, that he hadn't gotten any fun and that he was jsut expected to follow orders. He wasn't some schoolboy who had scribbled something on the blackboard! He was the jackknife, Jackie Crawford, and had been about to show everyone in this bar why they'd better not dare to turn against him.
"What, you afraid of a little fun? Huh, Toshe?! Ladies and gentlemen, I think this mans supposed virtuousity has fried his brains a bit!"
He gave a short laugh, but it sounded a bit more insecure than he had intended.
The man took a single step forward, reaching for the sword on his side.
"I am only saying this once, Jackknife. You will let her go unharmed."
Jackie was getting nervous, but that only got him fired up. Who did that guy think he was? Yeah, sure he was more experienced, and older and shit, but that geezer didn't even know half of it! Jackie was a rookie, yeah, but he was a super powerful rookie! He hadn't read about "Angel" gaining his bounty in the course of only three months!
And with that thought in the back of his head, Jackknife made a big mistake. He stood up and took a step towards the other pirate captain, a cocky grin plastered to his face. The tension in the bar was so big, one could feel it on their skin. Even Jackknifes mooks were absolutely silent for once.
Then, Jackie said two words that sealed the outcome of the situation.
"Or what?"

Karasu kept his hat lowered as she went further into the conversation, Shiv made it clear they were there to hunt down the pirates they needed to.. Karasu did not want to lose time. Since it was dark it meant Karasu would have an advantage in getting them in a sneak attack, Shiv would said something about them never seeing the light of day again.. Karasu only guessed he meant they would all Die. The women not noticing Karasu only helped him get in a better mood, it meant he was doing his own personal mission successfully. If he could finish the mission without revealing anything about himself, then he would be happy.

She finally got to the point in the end, stating which grove they were all heading towards to reunite, it was their job to take care of them.. the Four enemies needed to Die, and their meeting place would be Grove 27.

"Would you happen to know where the ones that aren't showing up are? Or a clue for that matter, I'd like to head towards one of them if possible.. I bet you and Shiv would be enough for Grove 27. If we divide we'd get more work done."

Karasu was willing to separate from the group to get more work done, even if he got attacked by the enemy themselves that would only save him the trouble of finding them. His focus was mainly on completing the objective, with his own side mission of doing it without showing too much about him. However if it couldn't be helped that he had to fight in front of his comrades, then it couldn't be helped.

The very moment that he heard their destination, a visible change came over Shiv. It was slight, subtle, but there; a look of anticipation that manifested as a narrowing of his glacial eyes, a slight tilt of his nose to the air...the slow, languid wag of his odd shaggy tail. Without so much as waiting for the marine to lead the way, the warlord began walking.

"Letter did not say would have help," Shiv stated plainly. "Did not say could not, though."

A moment later, Karasu began his shady routine again, trying to find an excuse to separate from the other two. This would serve Shiv no good at all; the biggest perk of this whole mission was getting some information on the enigmatic, little-known warlord. Shaking his head, the northerner spoke without breaking his step.

"Will work together until is done," said Shiv, sounding fairly adamant. "Marine send two warlord to do job, not one warlord and one warlord."

Though there were probably much more articulate ways to get that point across, Shiv couldn't be bothered finding them. Whatever the job was, a force as shrewd as the World Government believed two warlords would be needed. As much as the northerner believed he'd be able to handle it himself, as sure as he was that Karasu likely felt the same way, he would not have them splitting up if it could be avoided. The IQ-mutant's feral instincts told him there might be more here than he understood.

Being on top of the food chain meant being strong and knowing it. "Doubt" and "uncertainty" were concepts with no place in Shiv's world. That did not mean, however, that he was blind to the notions of "discretion" and "caution." Even the alpha minds his pack's movement on the hunt. The pale northerner saw no sin in playing things safe.

Reaching the end of the dock, Shiv paused briefly. He'd wait a moment for the marine girl to take the hint and lead the way. If she didn't, he'd find another guide; with all the people standing around, somebody would be able to point him to Grove 27.

Patience was not an issue, as Shiv had plenty of it. What he did not have, however, was time to waste on others.

Meredith had actually been about to take the chance to point out to that warlord Karasu that 1: The marine had given this job to a team of two warlords because they wanted to see teamwork (and because they wanted to get their grubby hands on some info about Karasu, naturally), and that 2: She wasn't their babysitter and would do hell to actually join their fights after they had stolen her job from her. Of course, she had been about to sugercoat all this a bit, but the choice to do anything was taken from her by Mistwolf, who had seemingly decided to share his thoughts with them....

That big, dumb brute (which was what she took him to be) had actually taken her speech from her! If she would not have been all over the idea of stripping him off of his new job already, she would have been now.
She glared for just a short moment, but then turned to Karasu, not wanting to miss the opportunity to berate him anyway.
"If anything, I am here as a small help. My main function in this is to validate the report you two, and I mean both of you, will hand in. Which will, by the way, include how well you work as a team and how very dedicated you are to follow the orders given to you."
She didn't know whether they were supposed to, but was hell bent on making sure they did. All the easier it would be to critisize them, especially Mistwolf.... Tche, if that man could even write, which she doubted. But that was his problem, and her profit.

She strutted towards Mistwolf, who had gone ahead of them and was obviously waiting for her to lead the way... She liked him being dependant on her. Being dependant was just the same as being inferior after all, wasn't it?
"I will lead you to grove 27, but I can't help you in locating the subjects you are here for any more than that... "
Since the marine didn't exactly know where they were herself. But that was just useless information. The point was, the pirates were supposed to be all over the island. And sure, grove 27 was the place where they saw some of them... but that had been two days ago... She wouldn't even be surprised if they weren't here anymore....
Elisabeth Arnau and Desta Gjeorgi were particularily elusive.... Especially since everyone knew Arnaus wanted poster was outdated. Heck, the marine had thought her dead for the longest time. And Toshe Mamadou? If he'd be half the angel people saw him as, he would have turned himself in by now. Instead, he had avoided capture more than twenty years, which might have something to do with certain people, by which she meant all people tended to stilize him as some sort of heroic freedom fighter....
At least the Jackknife was easy to find.... Which wouldn't be of much use, since she trusted him to be able to hold his own.... So she had a deep trust that the pirates would be able to either beat or at least evade the two warlords.... two days were a much too short time frame to hunt down four pirate captains well on their way to becoming living legends. Her profit in this was inevitable.
With that in mind, she made her way towards the grove, a somewhat satisfied smile on her face. She trusted the two warlords to follow if they knew what was good for them.

After spouting out some more words in that angry tone of hers, the marine woman finally began to lead the way. Shiv fell into step alongside her, his exact direction changing with every measured, languid step he took. Being so much larger, he needed to take only one step to match each three of hers, but did so flawlessly. Like a towering white shadow, the warlord remained exactly even with the other's pace. Despite his massive size, his gait was fluid and nearly silent, as if even the very ground beneath him were afraid to draw his attention.

The marine woman was clearly looking to prove dominance; everything about her made that clear. In a way, her need to assert herself over him made interacting with her much easier. Civilized humans had this way of always hiding (or trying to hide) their feelings, mincing and dancing about the truth with a seemingly limitless supply of complex words that all amounted to little or nothing. Even the marine's speech just moments prior had been another such practice; though he didn't get all of it, the northerner was certain that it was intended to belittle them. The practice of using noises over actions to get such a powerful message across seemed alien and almost comical to the feral warlord.

"How are you called," questioned Shiv as they walked. "I am introduced us already." Oddly, the warlord let out a slow, rumbling chuckle.

Chances are, the marine had no interest in identifying herself. The thought didn't bother him the least; names were secondary identifiers anyway, a construct made to make speech more convenient in crowds. He knew the woman by sight and scent and sound. Whether she answered or not wasn't important to him. Shiv had chuckled at the notion that he, of all people, was the one engaging in the bizarre verbal fencing he'd come to know as small talk.

All the same, the warlord thought it best to keep talking, however arduous and silly he found it. Though his was not the way of deception and guile, neither did Shiv lack for cunning. He knew how stupid he sounded when he spoke, knew that he often chose the wrong words, mangled their order, or simply said inappropriate things. This didn't bother him in the least, and had in almost all cases worked to his advantage.

Shiv loved it when people assumed he was stupid.

In many senses, they were correct. He was uneducated and knew nothing of much of the world. There were many valluable and basic skills that he lacked. Most civilized children were, in the traditional sense, far more intelligent than the feral mutant. At times this posed issues for Shiv; at others, it was merely an inconvenience.

When it came to the ability to make sound decisions, however, Shiv lacked nothing. His was the way of the wild, and it was the only way he wanted to know. The overbroad concept of "stupid" that was so casually lobbed at him by everyone he met carried with it the assumption that he was incapable of thinking clearly or quickly at all. It never troubled the warlord for people to hold that assumption.

Waiting for his answer, Shiv continued to walk alongside her, barely more than arm's-reach apart from the marine. His eyes remained turned towards her even as his head remained forward. At the corner of his mouth, the glimmer of his pointed teeth just visible, what the faintest hint of what might, by those who knew what they were looking for, be called a smile.