Spirits of the Earth

It wasn't often he got a moment to himself.  There was always work to do, always some chump to rough up, some coin to snatch and pocket.  It wasn't a bad gig.  And if he wasn't any good at it, he wouldn't be doing it.  There were other vocations he could do equally well in.  But he wasn't interested in being a horse farrier or fixing plows or feeding cattle.  That was slave's work.  Tending to ground that was never yours, working your life away, it was the same as any other bondage.

And this was his life to live.

The charcoal scratched at the paper in his journal.  It was creased, from being folded over time and again.  But his lines were clear, easy to discern even when they ran over the folded sections.  He sketched the Grand Arch to the ruins where the Mountain Cats prowled.  He preferred to draw animals, and he busied himself with sketching away at the owl that was perched across from him, atop the Arch.  The owl watched him and remained stone still as if he knew he was being drawn and chose a pose to express it.

Crowe grinned at that thought, exchanging glances with the bird and coursing the line that led down to flecked wingtips.  The horns were next, followed by the eyes and he shaded them gently, looking out toward the bird, as his hand did the drawing, as if by heart.  He grinned again and looked down at his work, etching in the blocks of the Grand Arch and the roots and the moss that grew from it.

The journal rested on his thigh, as he sat relaxed, perched within the arms of a tall tree.  He could see for miles being up there, and it was the best place in the world to find his solitude.  The Post had lots of hidden nooks and crannies, but the other Cats had their own hiding places.  This was his.

Crowe looked back at the owl once again, when something cracked on the ground below and the creature ruffled his feathers and flew off.  "Shit," he muttered, frowning, as he watched the bird fly off and peered down at what made the noise.

He watched the blonde-haired fellow below him.  And quietly he pulled a throwing knife from his thigh.  It was small, sleek and slender and he held his breath as he watched the snake slither through the water, coming up from around the bushes toward his ankle.  And the knife was loosed.  A silver flash would have swished in front of Khanna and down to the snake in the grass below, where the creature remained, devoid of its head.

Seeing the glint of the weapon sail mere inches past his head, Khanna wasted no time returning the thrown blade with three of his own.

Thankfully, Crowe was already on the ground when the daggers sunk into the tree.  "You should watch your step," he said, gesturing to the snake and plucking his knife from the tree.  The man looked familiar like he'd seen him around before. 
"Sorry bout that though.  Didn't mean to just sail the knife past your head," he said with a shrug and pulled out the parchment of his journal and folding it back in before tucking it back under his arm.

With another blade at the ready, the man pointed it directly at Crowe.
"State your business here," he demanded through his teeth. "I don't have time to play games. And you are trespassing." Unless he was another cat-t hen he ought to have watched himself. Snake or not, Khanna Dey was not about to just trust any old person that wandered into the swamp lands.

Crowe glared down at the blade, then to the man holding it.  "Name's Hadrian.  But I'm called Crowe by the Mountain Cats.  You look familair.  Who are you?" he asked.

He could of laughed, were he a man prone to it. Instead, he sneered at the other.
"A mountain cat who's ignorant." He kept the blade pointed at Crowe. "I'm Khanna... Khanna Dey, and unless you want to keep your eyes, I'd suggest you start coming up with a real good alibi, asshole."

Crowe stepped back and pulled his journal out from under his arm.  "I was in the tree.  I was sketching the Grand Arch.  See?"  He opened it up to the proper page and revealed the drawing he was making, the owl.  "I do this a lot.  Didn't think encountering the boss for the first time would end up like this. "

The grip on his blade was no less tight when the man pulled out his papers. Even as they were presented towards him, Khanna sneered. "Drawings?"
He gestured with the knife. "Move them so I can see them better."

Crowe eyed Khanna, then the dagger and stepped closer.  He wasn't positive he could move fast enough to get out of the way of the blade, but there was no fear in his eyes.  "See?" he said and handed the book over for him to examine.

Khanna took the book before finally lowering the blade. He saw the arch, it was more than clear in the craftsman ship, but as he moved to observe some of the other pages, his facial expression changed.
"And what are these?" He raised his eyes, expectantly.

Crowe looked at him warily, speculative and still remaining conscious of the knife that was readily at hand.  "My journal," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.  "I sketch when I'm on down time.  I draw what I see.  And I can see high and far.  Being up high generally allows you to do that. "

Khanna studied his face a moment before asking, "And what do you see? Anything interesting for the Cats?"

Crowe tilted his head, and a small grin played on his lips.  "Last page," he said, and gestured to the notebook.  When the page was turned he pointed to the outline and layout of something labeled, "Truman & Sons Warehouse," he said.  "Fifty miles by river, South by southwest of Arca.  Trade family.  They've got all manner of goodies in there."

Khanna smiled back- well, almost.
"You aiming to pick 'em clean there, Black Bird?" He studied the drawings a little more before asking, "Aiming to keep that gold for yourself?" After all, it didn't seem like it was a plan that was readily prepared to be shared with the Cats.

"Don't be silly," Crowe said and quirked a brow.  "I wouldn't be able to rob it all myself.  But if I had a crew.  The place'd be empty before dawn," he said.  "There's a tunnel that leads down from the warehouse, old sewers I reckon that leads out to the upper part of the river.  Easy in, easy out, with a wicked payload."

Khanna went quiet, digesting over this information with a distant stare before looking back to Crowe.
"That area... there might be Wolves."
And he'd rather not deal with those assholes if he didn't need to.

"Probably.  But the payout could be well worth the risk.  I could scout it out more, see who's who and what's what.  Maybe even work for the place for a short time.  Then we clean it out, and I disappear," Crowe said.  "Just a thought."

Khanna thought it over before turning away from Crowe and relinquishing any hold on his drawings.
"We'll see about it. Come see me next time you're at the Scratching Post."
And after a few more steps, he added, "We can discuss this later."

Crowe had to move quickly to keep his drawings from falling into the mud and he carefully folded any stray papers back inside and tucked it underneath his arm.  He watched Khanna walk away for a few moments, find his eyes on his ass for a few stray seconds and furrowing his brow.

"Weird," he said, shaking his head anyway and went back to his tree, to retrieve the daggers from it.

Had Khanna heard that comment, she would have cut him for sure. If there was one thing Khanna was known for, it was his almost narcissistic obsession with his reflection and how he dressed. Being the leader of a gang of criminals, he still only wore the finest of clothing. And most knew far too well that was only due to the success of their raids and well, Khanna's brother- the ever more powerful Opus Dey.

Opus Dey is one reason some flocked to be part of the gang. It was also one reason no one really messed with Khanna. If you feared Khanna for his quick boughts to anger and the blood and lives he had already shed over the years, even he has nothing on the infamous Opus Dey.

But Khanna was respected in his own right, and though he might come off as rather rigid and a bit obsessive and compulsive (after all, he did like things HIS way), he was as welcoming as any other towards the criminals most of the world turns their back to. And it's not really evident why. Most could simply presume it's because every gang could use resources. But some presume it's because Khanna likes the idea of his numbers ever growing. Either way, seeing Black Bird prowling around outside the Post rather than entering was grating on her nerves. Her room looked over the entire front, so she could see practically everything going on from within.

Not one to be so patient when she requests a meeting personally, she stood up from her chair and walked over to the window, and threw a knife down at Crowe, so that it would land near his boot.

He wasn't going to lie.  That one made him jump.  Crowe looked up at Khanna from where he was perched and quirked a brow up at him.  "You keep that up, you're going to run out of enough of them to throw," he said and leaned down to pick it up.  Crowe was adept at scaling walls, fingers and hands finding just the right grooves to pluck himself up. 

He reached up, jumping up toward the ledge of Khanna's window and pulling himself up, and crawling through it.  "Just making a path," he said as he stepped back away from his boss.  "You wanted to see me yeah?  Here I am."

Khanna folded his arms across his chest, fighting back any sort of impression he was impressed.
"You know most people use stairs. But I guess you take this Cat business too literally?"
Khanna didn't give him a chance to answer before walking away towards his desk.

"Come, I have something to show you." And he paused just before a mirror, looking from Crowe's reflection, but quickly to her own. A single hair was out of place, and he used a hand to smooth it back, and continued to scrutinize his looks before moving away towards the desk and gesturing towards an unrolled map.

"We have plenty of resources, new and old. As you can see, this map gets quite a lot of use out of it. I've placed a pin over the area you were scouting, and as you can see, during the time this map was constructed," he went on, tapping against the marker with a frown. "There was nothing there but trees and dirt."

He watched Khanna oddly, watching the man push his hair back and his eyes narrowed.  He rarely took his eyes off the mirror, didn't he?  Must've been why the fool was distracted back in the swamp.  Probably got sight of his own reflection in a puddle or something.  Thankfully he'd been in the tree when he did.

Crowe didn't voice his thoughts however, and walked across to the map Khanna was intent on showing him.  He cross his arms over his chest and reached back into his belt, taking the leatherbound journal out from the pouch he kept  in the back and opened the page back to the sketch of the warehouse.

"Then that tunnel must be recent.  Or your map is too old," he said, gesturing to the worn, sometimes barely readable lettering.  "We have resources, but they don't include accurate maps, apparently.  That can turn into a nasty problem, Boss."

Khanna cut him a look.
"Not all our maps are out dated." Moving the corner of the larger map, she revealed a newer one beneath. "This one shows the area you were talking about." He tapped over the point and looked up at him. "Let's see if we can compare it to what you got."

Crowe furrowed his brow and nodded to the maps.  He unfurled and sketching and opened it up to the next page, the one with a more detailed sketch of the area surrounding the warehouse.  "See for yourself," he said, and allowed Khanna to examine without interruption.

Khanna cut him a look, but held his tongue as he went on to study the drawing against the current map.
"Seems our newer map is even lacking. Something this detailed..." he went on, a hand smoothing over the drawing. "Would be most useful."

Crowe didn't interrupt his boss's thought processes.  He just watched Khanna's facial expressions, watched the way his brow flickered while thinking.  Crowe crossed his arms back over his chest, keeping quiet.

"We could use more scouts," he told the other man simply. "Think you can add that to your repertoire?" Whatever that even was... "And a map maker, among other things. We can always use more people in intelligence." After all, there was always the muscle that was far too easy to find. So many men and women eager for blood and glory. But intelligence... those who could actually help calculate cunning heist's- well...
Those were invaluable. 

Crowe was just about to assume that Khanna would take away his maps for himself.  And why not?  The boss could just as easily throw him out a window and say Crowe assaulted him, take his maps and be done with it.  But what was this?  A promotion.  Crowe didn't question it and instead stuck out his hand.

"Whatever you need me to do, I can do," he said and nodded.

Ignoring the hand, Khanna continued to look between the maps before asking, "Can you start tonight?" Khanna was, after all, not one who liked wasting time.

Crowe put his hands behind his back and nodded.  "Yes, of course.  Did you have another place in mind?" he said.

"You mean you're a one card trick? I'd expect you to have at least some other leads. Or are you that new to the gang?"

"You didn't look at the journal thoroughly, Boss," Crowe said with little amusement.  He stepped beside him and he flipped the notebook and revealed parchments of all sorts of sketches, maps, diagrams, blueprints, etc.  "Until I get a feel for a decent crew, I can hit the Bronson Tradehouse.  It's a riverboat latched onto banks, a day's journey out.  But I know a short cut.  I can get there in less than six hours, as the crow flies."

Khanna lifted his chin, eyeing down Crowe in heavy, critical silence. Did the man just criticize him? What was his game- trying to test the limits when meeting the boss for more or less, the first time?
"We'll have to discuss the crew later. Trust has to be established first. What else you got, Black Bird?"

Crowe nodded, quirking a brow and flipping a few more pages to what looked like a manor in Arca.  "The Leger Estate.  Owned by Lord Varen Leger.  A petty Serenian noble who owes a lot of money to a lot of bankers.  But he's got a secret stash, hidden away beneath his estate.  A one, maybe two man job at most."

Khanna went quiet, but nodded at what 'Black Bird' had to say.
"Anything else?"
Might as well see what he could shake out of this new recruit.

Crowe raised a brow at Khanna and gestured to his hands.  "I'll bring you the wedding ring of Lady Leger.  Right off her finger.  I'm sure you'd find something to do with it."

Khanna raised a brow.
"I'd only be interested if it were her ring and her finger. But I guess we're at an end of what we're to discuss. I'll.. leave this endeavor to you. Should you need men, I can probably find a few willing. How long do you think this project will take?"

"I'll surprise you," Crowe said and winked at Khanna before gathering his journal and heading for the door.  But before he left, he took out the daggers he'd kept throwing at him and left them on the desk.  "I think you'll want these back, yeah?"  And departed.

Khanna said nothing, just watched the man leave. The knives were disposal 'income' more or less. As the leader of the gang, she, or rather, he had his pick of truly whatever he desired. Though he could be a bit frivolous, he was not going to waste resources given to him, so he picked up the blades and put it back in the hook of his belt before staring over at the door and then moving towards the window, watching the activity in the Post below.

It was hours before Crowe returned, and when Khanna was asleep, he'd awake to something laying down beside him.  The pillow would be a little wet.  It did rain last night after all, and when he'd open his eyes, there'd be a sack of jewels on the bed.  And on the pillow, Lady Leger's pretty little head, complete with tiara and cut right finger, sticking out her nose.

To say Khanna was in a state of shock was an understatement, and the scream that erupted from his throat made the whole world wonder if he had just murdered the woman who's head and finger were beside him. But when anyone rushed onto the scene, Khanna began to cut them down, growing furious, growing mad, until the first person she had attacked was beaten to death.

"BRING ME, CROWE! BRING THAT DAMN MAN TO ME!"

He wasn't called, he was dragged.  He was summoned, he was snatched.  The other Mountain Cats that found Crowe by the training grounds, knife throwing, when they imparted Khanna's fury to him.  He was already half-beaten by the time, he arrived to Khanna's room, with a bruised cheek and split lip.

"Here he is, Boss!" yelled a Cat named Dairen, and he kicked Crowe forward.  Crowe spilled out onto the ground, his nerves burning with adrenaline and he quickly scrambled to his feet.

Crowe said nothing, and simply looked between Khanna and the other men that surrounded him.

Seeing the man already bloodied sent her off again, turning to the men and demanding who did it. She could tell even before it was uttered who it was, and proceeded to beat the shit out of him until a pair of his teeth spilled onto the floor. 

Stepping back, she cracked her bloodied knuckles and looked down at Crowe.
"I wanted him for me." she hissed, daring the others to challenge her. When no one said a word, she pointed to the door.
"Out. I will deal with him on my own," she told them darkly, her eyes never leaving the men's as they moved out from the door. And once they didn't, she didn't hesitate to kick Crowe on the side- hard.


"I told you a fucking finger and ring. I didn't want her god damn head." And he gave another swift kick to his side before spitting, "Who said you could enter my chambers!?" And he dropped to his knees, pulling Crowe up by his hair and glaring wildly into his face. A knife was brought out, pressed to his neck.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," she told him, eyes feral as the cold blade pressed ever closer. "And if I like your response, I might cut less of you as your reward."

It took everything he had to bite back his anger.  He was scared, sure, as any man ought to be in the face of a blade giving him a close shave.  He might just shave off his head, but Crowe forced that fear down into his belly and away from his eyes.  He looked up at Khanna, wiping away the blood that dribbled from his nose.

Crowe had a feeling groveling would get him nowhere.  And defiance, would just make him more dead.  Joking?  He doubted the boss had any sort of sense of humor.  So he just glanced over to the severed head of Lady Leger and the sack of jewels on the bed.

"I wanted to leave an impression," he said, keeping still against the blade.

At that, he cut across the man's throat, but only deep enough to bleed. The fucker would live for now.
"Impression?" Her grip tightened on his hair as she gave him a shake. "You trying.to be a fucking ass kisser?"

"By the frothing at your mouth, I can tell it worked," Crowe replied with a grim expression.  Better die by the blade, than be sold off like fodder.  Not that he was sure Khanna was above that.  They were still in the post-job interview process after all.

"You wanted the ante upped.  So I upped it."

Khanna was holding his hair so tight he was shaking.
"Up the ante?" He laughed, a cold, maniacal sound. "You're new here, Black Bird, and while I enjoy over achievers as any other god damn crime lord, what I don't fucking accept are those who come into my god damn quarters uninvited!" Pissed, she went on to beat the shit out of him more until she felt his blood splatter on her face and she stopped, breathing heavy while looking down at his form.
"I'll spare your life, since you're green. But if I ever catch you in here again, you'll fucking wish you were dead." Moving away from Crowe, Khanna paused at the window at the blood stains on her face, and felt her blood boil. And what was this? Was she starting to show some wrinkles? Her hands balled into angered fists so tight, her knuckles turned white.

Crowe spat out blood from his nose and cleaned it with his hand.  He smiled, teeth bloody despite the beating Khanna gave him.  He wasn't going to tell the boss that he'd actually been here for years, that they'd only met just now, so he didn't.

He pulled a rag from his pocket and blew his nose.  He gestured to the loot on the bed.  "So?  What do you think?" he asked after that. 

He peered over at Crowe from over his shoulder.
"What about it?"

Crowe was never one for boasting, but even he was proud of that heist.  Of course, he wanted to do bigger, better.  So there was no use in bragging now.  Crowe just shrugged and shook his head.  "Nothing.  So, if there's nothing else, I'll go then," he said, and turned to leave.

Khanna's sharp gaze shot to Crowe.
"Did you count it all? Take inventory."

Crowe looked over his shoulder at the boss and then to the loot on the bed.  He said nothing and walked over to the loot and unfurled the bag all over the bed, grabbing stacks of coins and jewels and even setting off a stack of trade agreements, manifests, and parchments worth thousands of suns in gold.

He sorted it, organized it quickly and began to count his stacks, pulling out another notepad from a pouch in his belt and a piece of charcoal, jotting it down.

Khanna watched in silence. He was a bloody mess, yet still he did his work. Then again, he probably wanted to live. At least he wasn't one who talked back...
Much.

She had enough of dealing with men like that. But it was all part of the game. It's why she had a very strict code. She had no patience for bull shit. But she found herself crossing her arms across her chest.

"This isn't your personal work space. Cats aren't allowed in here. I thought we went over this." But she made no move to try to out him, simply crossing her arms across her chest with an irritated glare, one that lingered from time to time, upon his findings.

Crowe didn't say anything to him still and just looked over his shoulder to glance at Khanna from his interjection.  He continued to count the coins and stacked up the random jewelry, even separating it from rings, to necklaces, to earrings, and raw gems.

He took the finger from Lady Leger's head and tossed it to Khanna with the ring still attached to it.  "What you asked for.  I'll take the head with me.  You can keep the tiara."  He put the head in the now empty sack and left the gold neatly stacked where it was.

Khanna looked down at the finger, then over at him.
"Why don't you use the tiara to get yourself laid?" And that, more or less, was the man complimenting him on his job well done- or as close as he'd get to one.

Crowe turned to Khanna and gave a humble grin.  "I don't need a tiara to get that, Boss."  He laughed and walked toward the door.  "Should be about ten grand there in gold alone.  Feel free to count it yourself.  I believe breakfast slop is just about to be served.  Don't want to be late."

Khanna stared at the booty, then stared at Crowe's booty and threw a gold coin at his ass.
"Get yourself something better than slop. And close the door on your way out."

"Yah, boss," Crowe said and reached down to pick up the coin that fell on the floor.  He pulled his pants up and walked out the door, closing it quietly behind him.  He paused behind it, flipping the coin and grinning.

"All in a night's work."

It seemed the Leger Legacy was hardly over, for the same week it all occurred, Khanna was hearing no end about it- and to top it off, apparently someone offed Mister Leger and looted his entire estate. It was a sloppy operation, and not having heard back from 'Black Bird' over the job, she decided to take action into her own hands. And no one went near Khanna when they saw their boss was on the prowl.

Her eyes cut through the area like cleavers, and to see no sight of Crowe, she went off towards the swamp lands, figuring he'd be in the very place she first 'met' the man. And she was not disappointed and he had his back to her as she approached-


ANd as she grew closer,s he realized he was pissing.
A flash of a dagger was all he'd see before Khanna growled.
"Start talking or I'll start cutting," she threatened, blade pointing at his cock.

Sure he'd been pissing, and the there wasn't really an empty spot in the latrines of the strong hold.  Most of the guys there were busy rubbing one out, or scratching their balls.  Crowe always felt more comfortable being alone in the quiet of the swamp, and he was content to do his business out here than in there.  Not to mention it smelled a lot less.

So there he was, relaxing, peeing in a steady stream.  It figured he'd be caught with his pants down.  Well, almost.  Just his fly may have been open, when he saw the flash of the blade.  He froze, as any man would.  He really didn't want to be gelded, not now at any rate, and he turned to look at Khanna with an indignant expression. 

"Hey boss," he managed to say in a calm tone.  But it was clear he was anything but.  "The Leger hit?  I'm assuming that's what mean."

Khanna's only reply was to press the dagger against his member enough to give him a.light cut.
"How'd you fucking guess?"

"Ow!"  Crowe yelped and remained stone still.  "Well!"  His heart raced and he had half a mind to throw Khanna into the nearest tree.  If he moved fast he could probably pull it off without a hitch, but there wasn't a doubt Khanna would take her wrath out on him later and there wasn't any question that he wouldn't make THAT one out alive.

"It was the subject of our last conversation wasn't it.  I'm afraid I don't know the specifics.  I'm just going to assume from your reaction that the news is bad.  Can I ask at least what the hell it is you're talking about before I lose a most favored appendage?"

Pissed, she moved the dagger from groin to his lips.
"Keep talking like a fool and you'll lose that tongue first,." She warned. "You trying to tell me you're ignorant?"

Crowe gave an internal sigh of relief when  the blade changed points of contact and he immediately shoved his manhood back into his trousers.  "Look!  I don't know what you're talking about, Boss.  Just what is it that's got your ire?  Other than me, I mean."

Growling, he pressed threatening with his blade.
"You want this knife shoved down your throat, Black Bird? Because I find it ironic you would be so inconveniently unaware of how much you fucked up."

Crowe growled and gripped the wrist that held the blade.  "I swear I don't know what you're talking about.  Lady Leger is dead and that's all I know.  Has something happened?"

Pissed he'd even think to touch him, Khanna jerked his hand back and slashed it towards and across Crowe's face.
"You fucked up, you piece of shit!" And he proceeded to kick him down into the mud. "No wonder someone came in to clean up your mess. And it wasn't no fucking cat, either."

Crowe managed to back away in time before the blade could sink itself into his face.  He yekped and crawled backwards into the mud.  His eyes grew dogged and he put distance between him and Khanna. 

"I didn't do fucking shit, Boss."  And he knew it was exactly that that made him the source of Khanna's rage.  Suddenly it clicked.  "Shit...  You mean someone else is saying they killed that Leger whore?  Fuck..."  Crowe stepped back and put a tree between them.  "Listen I'm sorry boss.  I'll fix this.  I swear.  I'll find out who and where and fuck them up."

"Fix it?" Khanna's cruel laugh echoed throughout the swamps.
"I'm about to fix it right now!"

Crowe scoffed at the younger man.  "Killing me won't fix it, Khanna.  I can see why you're pissed, but spilling a little blood won't squash the bugs festering in this wound.  You've got to flush them all out.  I'll fix it, boss.  You have my word.  And I'm more useful to you alive than dead."

Khanna threw his dagger, right at the other man's head.
"You'd better fucking fix it. If it's not done by friday, your head is gonna roll, Crowe!"

He moved aside in time for the dagger to strike the tree.  Crowe held his breath and nodded in ascent to Khanna.  "You'll have it," he replied.

She threw another dagger at his boot.
"I want those back wants you get results." And with that, she stormed away, leaving him to finish pissing his pants in the swamp.

If there was any urine remaining, it was too scared to come out.  Besides, he still had to the little knick to attend to.  Crowe fixed his trousers and wasted no time.  By evening, he was in Arca, looking, listening, waiting and watching.

Crowe found himself on the outskirts of the city, the slums as some would call it, and he hid in the dark, above an old bell tower, over looking the city streets.  The people here seemed the usual, but then again, most slumdogs did.  Nobody overly or underdressed.

Nothing out of place so far....anyway.

Nothing out of place...
Except the sudden appearance of Khanna Dey.

"Stupid jackass," Crowe growled, spotting Khanna in the crowd like the moron he was. 

Crowe would come to learn very quickly that, yes, Khanna was indeed a jackass. But not a stupid one. For the moment he was on the scene- a few turned to look his way with more than a casual gaze. And then they tried to be discrete about it as they scurried away.

It would take a jackass to decide he wasn't stupid.  But that only made him more stupid as far as Crowe was concerned.  He should have known that the Boss wouldn't trust him to do a job.  As if he needed help getting to the bottom of this.  Or maybe there was something else at stake here, and Crowe wasn't going to be one to be left behind in the matter.

He moved down, closer, moving nimbly across rooftops that would bear his weight - he was careful to pick the right ones - as he watched people make way for the Mountain Cat leader.  It was clear plenty of them knew him, and those that didn't, didn't care to get involved of anyone coming down the street with a face like that.

As Crowe came around a corner, he saw two men that didn't belong.  Large men, coming out of a tavern and one lighting a smoke.  They looked at Khanna, but disregarded the frilly looking man, walking down the other way, and disappearing into an alley.  "To think it was that easy.  People cry a baroness is dead, and to think nobody snatched that opportunity," one man said quietly to the other.  "The Cheese'll be pleased.  But we got a few more places to hit protection money from before we head back."

Crowe felt his face burn, unsure if it was from anger or embarrassment.  Probably both.  Those fuckers.  Forget Khanna, this was exactly where he was supposed to be.  They meandered several more blocks along, and Crowe followed them.  They turned down the block toward a tavern and slipped inside.  Within, Crowe followed, and spotted them in the back enjoying a few beers.

He grinned and walked over, sitting at a table across from them and enjoying a pint himself.  He was alone, why not.  But he didn't really drink it, no, not while on the job.  He was in deep enough shit as it was.  He listened over to the men, who spoke between the two of them.  A private conversation on who fucked the most broads the week before.

"Ey," Crowe said, interrupting them.  "Any of you fuck the Leger woman?"  He grinned and sipped the foam again.

"What?"

"Talk is, someone broke into her house and fucked her up good.  Stole a ton of crap from the estate too!  Crazy shit ain't it?"

One man looked to the other and laughed.  "Oh yeah.  Just one person too, or so people say."

Crowe laughed too.  "Do you have any idea who woulda done it?  I mean, not that I'm a snitch or anything.  But I imagine that guy that did probably had some set of balls on him!"

"Pfft, yeah.  I'd rather think it was a woman," said the other man.  "Only a woman could move so quietly, like a cat.  Bet she's got a tight pussy too.  I know what'd I'd do with that."  His hand reached down and squeezed his own crotch hard, bellowing out laughter.

"I'll drink to that!" said his partner and drank heartily.  He made a 'ahhh' sound and shook his head.  "Too bad it ain't.  A woman that is.  It was a tough outfit, call themselves the Rat Pack."

Crowe made a face.  "How do you know that?"

The men exchanged looks.  "Because we run with them, chump.  We would know."

"Pfft!  I don't buy it."  Crowe laughed in their faces and sipped more foam.

The men clearly weren't amused, and the one on the right scowled at Crowe.  "You callin' us liars, chump?"

"Don't call me, chump, dick head," Crowe said and raised a brow at the pair.  "It's clear you're a bunch of liars.  Two idiots with their dicks in their hands and no clue."

"Why you fucking runt!  You better know when to shut up, punk."

"And you better learn that you shouldn't tell lies.  Because they always come back to bite you in the ass.  Or in this case your tongue.  Because that's the first thing I'm going to cut out!    Because if you really want to know who cut off Leger's head, it's yours truly."  And with that Crowe was ready with his blades.

Khanna didn't have to be inside the place to know a fight was going on. The sounds of knuckles breaking against ribs and cheek bones mixed with the cries of war from men were more than enough to give that away. Though he hardly decided to join Crowe. This was his gig, after all. Let the man fix it himself!

In the midst of the ruckus, Crowe got a bloodied lip and a bruising cheek.  But he was fast enough to move out of the way of a chair, ducking and diving, dipping and moving out of the way of low blows, as he took one man by the leg and pinned him hard to the ground.  It was the one that he'd promised to cut his tongue out first.

He bodyslammed the man into submission and made his promise true, pulling his head back with one hand and slashing the blade in his other hand across his tongue in one swift movement.  The move had the man screaming and coughing out blood.  And a tongue wiggled uselessly to the floor. 

His partner lunged for Crowe and landed on top of him.  Crowe rolled to the side, landing hard on his ribs as he struggled to keep the man off of him.  Slamming his head upward, his vision flashed with colors caused by the force of the blow and knocked him off, but giving himself a migraine at the same time.  The first one still writhed on the floor, trying to collect his tongue from the ground.

Crowe kicked the other in the chest and sent him reeling backwards, until he crashed through the window.  But suddenly someone grabbed Crowe by the back and nudged him forward none too gently out of the window to follow.  He landed with a thud on the hard cobblestone, but Crowe got up first and proceeded to slam his fists hard into the other man's face until it was covered in nothing but blood.

Crowe stood, after cutting his throat, exhausted and rummaged through his clothes.  Bunch of chumps...  Pfft.  He grinned inwardly to himself, finding money and pocketing it and that grinned stayed on his face when something impacted his head.  Hard, like the hilt of a dagger and made him fall to the ground, blacked out.

"Fuck, man!  He got our boys.  Except Cheesehead.  Get him from off that floor.  Let's take him back to the boss."

It was perhaps lucky for Crowe that Khanna was near. And coincidence or not, she had seen the last portion of the battle and was impressed. She knew well who Crowe fought and kept silent and just let the scene play out. But even she hadn't noticed the figures approaching from behind until it was too late. And when the men went to scoop up Crowe's limp body, Khanna took a step forward to make himself known.

"I suggest you leave that man where he lies," Khanna told them coolly. And as the men all looked over at Khanna with sneers, it was only after the men dared to challenge Khanna back that one of them hit the other and said, "You fuck head! Don't you know who that is?"

And as the men all turned to look at him, his name was breathed,
"Khanna Dey."
And the men all froze in place, then braced themselves for what was to come.

They braced themselves for about two seconds before suddenly bolting off with Crowe in tow.  The one that carried him thankfully was strong enough to be up for the task and pounded the pavement hard, Crowe's arms flailing like a ragdoll.

His eyes narrowed into poisonous slits before drawing out a knife and throwing it at the back of the man's head that was carrying Crowe.

[Just so we're clear, are we still going to have Crowe taken to the Rat Pack's hideout?]

The knife was swift but the man's feet were swifter and the knife hit the ground with a loud clatter.

OOC: I'm cool with it going either way! Also, I should be online this evening if you want to do any plotting 8D

----------

Khanna swore. His aim was never off. Damn rats.
Wasting no time, the leader of the Mountain Cats continued to pursue- because right now, this was personal. No one would make a fool of Khanna Dey. No one!

[LOL. It's personal because they messed up his hair not because they basically kidnapped one of his men.]

If Crowe were any lighter the escape might have been easier but despite the man's large size the pair still booked it like there was no tomorrow.  And once they rounded a corner, one man opened up a sewer grate and the both vanished within, as if they'd never been in the first place.

OOC: Yeeeeep. Priorities. It's all about priorities. Hair is important :U

--------

Khanna was swearing again the second he rounded the bend. Where the hell did they go? Magic? No.. Khanna had a secret to work against that...

But then what? Taking slow steps down the alley way, his boot stepped on the partially ajar sewer grate and paused. Peering down, his eyes studied the darkness below as he strained his ears to listen...

And heard the faint sounds of scuffling beneath.

Khanna swore again. Great, did he really have to go into the sewers?
Rolling back his sleeves, he hefted the grate aside and began to ascend. And once the rancid smell of the sewers hit him, he vowed to kill them all.

Crowe was starting to come to.  He groaned a little when at last he could feel his limbs and he rubbed his head.  Or tried to only to find his hands were tied around his back.  Well cheese balls.

One had to be careful when chasing a rat. And Khanna's foot falls were intentionally light, as was his breathing, while he made his way through the winding sewer tunnels. It figures the 'Rat Pack' would hang out around here. Bunch of filthy animals. At least The Mountain Cats knew better-
Or at least most of them did. And though the Cats and Rats never saw eye to eye, and tended to simply just kill the other opposing gang member if there was any confrontation with no questions asked, for the most part they had left one another alone for quite some time. The Cats simply believed it was due to the growth of the Soot Wolves, but who knew if this was really the case.

Either way, Khanna was not about to be outsmarted or out down by such a wretched pack, and turned a corner only to find himself pressing back as he began to hear voices just down the way.

"Sonuvabitch with a big mouth.  We can show him just how big we can make his mouth," said one man, walking down the tunnel.  They continued to speak between each other and laughed a little, but that didn't stop them from suddenly looking over their shoulder down the corridor.  One man gestured to the other to go on ahead, and the first one pulled a knife out from his belt, and stalked down the tunnel.

The second man vanished down to where they held Crowe, at the very heart of the Rat Pack's territory.  Oh he knew they were being followed, and it wouldn't be long before Crowe ended up in pieces.

The man sent to investigate would not come back, for he was in a heap of his own blood, festering in the sewers like all the other rats would inevitably do. And she pressed onward, going deeper into the rat's den, and deeper into the dark, unpleasant waters.

"Now just who the fuck do ya think you are, chump!?" growled one of the men loudly, their voice echoing into all the tunnels.  His fist colliding into Crowe's face, yeah that was pretty loud too.  "You think you can just run at the mouth?  Big bad knife man.  You like knives huh?  Wanna see my knife collection?"

Crowe spat his bloody spit into the man's face and remained silent.  If anything the spit was a clear cut "Fuck you."

He had the grace to wipe his face gingerly and took a large double-bladed dagger, sticking one underneath his chin.  "Who do you roll with, fuckface?  You better use your tongue to save your ass before I cut it out!"

Crowe stiffened but still said nothing. 

"That's it!  It's cuttin time.  Hold out his fucking tongue!"

Crowe resisted, or tried to against his bonds and when one of the men came to hold him still, he promptly  head-butted him in the face.  He reeled backwards, and a third man came rushing at him, socking him hard in the stomach, making the air rush out of Crowe's lungs.

Even from where Khanna was positioned he could hear the loud voices and the raucous of the Rats. Though this territory was not known real well to Khanna Dey (for why would he bother with sewers personally?), it wasn't like he was completely inept being here. He had enough Cats that didn't mind the dirty work, so long as they got paid. And Khanna had the coin, which did help solidify certain connections.

So when he neared a deeper part in the sewers, to where a broken, underwater grate could barely be seen  in the dark, he knew he really had only one choice-
Blackbird would owe him for this, later. And the damn Rat Pack would pay, for Khanna Dey loathed such filthy locations it was almost a phobia. Even a hair out of place made the man's mood quickly change. But there he was, diving deeper into the waters and disappearing into the unknown labrynth of filth and dark waters below.

Crowe leaned over the unconscious bodies of his torturers, the scars and bruises present on his body and face.  He slammed the pipe in his hands down on the head of the man that had been intent on cutting out his tongue, just to be sure.  Can't have any stragglers down here.  That and he needed to get his fucking knives back!

Nobody took his knives without paying!

"Gods, it smells like shit down here," he hissed to himself, in a half-whisper.  Crowe kept the pipe in hand and one of the knives of the other men in his left hand.  He listened and waited, for anyone else that might be coming down the tunnel.  When the patrol passed by, he slipped behind them and silently cut his throat, taking small joy in the blade digging in just enough he couldn't scream.

And Crowe vanished into darkness, scampering down the tunnel from the direction the Rat Pack member went.

And by the time he' d round the next bend, a swampy shadow suddenly swung a knife at him, and hissed much like a cat, as it was equally too dark for Khanna to realize... He was slicing at one of her Cats.

And the moment he did, Crowe had him on the ground.  He swung Khanna over his head and pinned her to the ground. He nearly slashed his throat when he recognized that hiss.  "Boss!"  Crowe was immediately off him.  "Don't scare me like that.  On your feet. There you go."

And that's when he socked him across the mouth and angrily bull rushed him, slamming him against the wall.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
Wasn't he held captive? Or was he actually on the Rats side? Either way, the blade Khanna held promised a swift death if he thought he could try to fool her.

[Didn't Khanna like see him get knocked out, and he still has to question it? xD]

Crowe shoved Khanna back putting space between them.  His face was already numbed from the cold that he didn't really feel anything from the punch, not to mention it was already bruised up as it was.  "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I don't know how the hell I got there, but I was tied up and welcomed by some fuckers who tried to cut off my tongue!  They beat the shit out of me but I wouldn't talk.  I don't even know where I am.  Why are you down here?" he hissed, suspicious, and defensive.  After all he was a stranger in an even stranger place.

Occ: of course. XD she just thought he'd be still unconscious and tied up somewhere!

---

Khanna sneered at him, rolling up her sleeves.
"It's personal. I aim to kill a few fuckers." That much she thought was clear! After all, she had just swam through shit! "Now start by explaining just how you're not still in their Rat trap?"

[If he had his way, Crowe would still be tied up and likely without a tongue, being as unappreciative of his  crew as he stepped back, looking at Khanna skeptically.  "I cut my way out," he explained. "But they took my fucking knives, so I had to use theirs."

That was enough for Khanna's anger to get fueled all the more. Perhaps following 'BlackBird' had been foolish. Though it was rare, or so he believed, when he himself got a chance to be foolish. And now he was covered in sewer shit!

Glaring at Crowe, he moved to wipe some of the sludge from his face. Ugh, he could have hurled.

"Do you still have those knives?"
Because if they were both here already, might as well kill some rats.

"I want my knives," Crowe said sourly.  "It'd feel a lot nicer to feel their blood dripping off something I own.  But a pipe makes nice of work of them too in the meantime."

"So you're weaponless?"

He shook his head.  "This'll do for now," he flipped the pipe in hand and the rusty knife in the other.

"I suppose you're right," Khanna growled and looked around. "You ever been here before?" It'd be nice to have some sense of direction, though Khanna felt he knew enough to get around, or else he wouldn't have been so foolish to show up here to begin with.

Crowe shook his head.  "I don't tend to stick around undercity sewers if I don't have to," he said and glanced at Khanna's outfit.  It was obvious he looked more than a little worse for wear.  But now really wasn't the time to mention it.  "I think the way you came is the way out.  We should go further in down the way I came."  He nodded to the boss and scampered that way down the tunnel.

"Neither do I," Khanna scowled. But killing Crowe would defeat half the purpose he was there. So he'd punish the Black Bird later. Moving along, quiet as a cat, his eyes scanned the area, but what was there was underwhelming. Even turning the corner there was nothing to see. Despite that, it made her even more ill at ease and her unhappy disposition soured.

"You sure this is the way you came?" she hissed, and just as they took another step, a dart flew out of no where. Thankfully it missed Khanna's skin but sunk into her heavy leather armor of her shoulder. Growling, she yanked out the dart and cast it aside, turning to growl into the shadows as a figure moved and tried shooting another poison dart at Crowe.

And that was when the knife went sailing from his hand and there was a grunt at the other end of the tunnel, and a loud thump on the watery floor. "You coming, boss?" He turned to look at Khanna briefly before moving on.

Khanna's eyes narrowed, darting every which way as she followed after him. After all, if one Rat spotted them, who's to say there wasn't anymore?

Oh there were lots more. In fact Crowe counted on it.  That's where the pipe came in handy after all.  He paused before a turn and saw one man turned about, smoking a cigarette.  Crowe wrapped the pipe around his neck and choked him out, pulling him up off the ground, the man gurgling as he writhed in agony.

Khanna shot a hand out to grip Crow's arm, hard.
"Don't kill him," he hissed. "Let's use this one to get some answers."

"Well, duh, boss.  Why do you think I'm holding him like this instead of splitting his skull?" Crowe griped, though he did loosen the hold just enough to let the dangling man gasp for breath.

Khanna shot a glare his way.
"Better watch that tongue, or you'll lose that, and then some." Then to man he held, he gave a gesture, "So start talking. Or as my man here told you, he has no reserves in splitting your skull." And Khanna moved forward to look the man right int he eyes.

"And dont' think about lying. I want to know exactly where this sewer leads, and just what the hell the Rats are planning to do, stepping into Cat turf and threatening some."

"Fuck...off," the man spurgled and drooled, only to spit at Khanna.  Crowe lifted him off the ground again and he gagged.  "Okay!  ALL RIGHT!"

"That tunnel leads down to the Big Cheese!  Rat Pack central.  You go down there you're fucking mincemeat!"  He barked a laugh, knowing he was probably going to die anyway.  "You Cats are history.  Face the music.  It'll hurt less.  Besides we've got more connections than you could realize, even without that fucker Dey."

"Big talk for a little.mouse," Khanna sneered.

"Big talk," the man retorted, words still garbled. "For fucking pair of pussies."

At that, Khanna's eyes lit up dangerously and in one fluid motion, he plunged a dagger into the Rat's gut.

"At least Cats have nine lives." She turned the blade, the man yelped. "And you? You'll die and remain in the sewers where all Rats belong."

The force of the blow was enough to make even Crowe jump and he slowly let the dying man go as he stared at Khanna, watching that expression on his boss's face.  He put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a light shake.  "We've got some rats to squash, Boss." he said, and gestured for them to get going.

Khanna shot a glare Crowe's way.
"Yeah, but it won't be easy. We've killed a few already. It won't be long before we gain more attentions. Come on, let's move quickly. He said their hub is this way, but we'll go the other. I don't trust that man, even if he coughed it up. Something about what he said didn't smell right."

He was right, and for once Crowe didn't think the Boss was completely nuts.  He nodded to him, and gestured the man to lead the way.  When he followed, they came out to a rotunda waterfall, where water poured down into a grate, where the sewers led deeper underground, and four tunnels intersected each other. 

Crowe stopped to listen, ears pricking up and honing in on the noises coming down from the western hall.  Rats.  At least ten of them.

Khanna heard it too, straining his ears before gesturing to Crowe.
"Sounds like we found our place. Wouldn't be that many Rats if there wasn't the Big Cheese around."
And she wrinkled her nose at the self given title that man had made. What a stupid nick name if she ever heard one! At least with mountain cats they had agility, and power. Not that it mattered just who had the best name.

"We should see if there aren't any other ways to get down, or other means to get a better look at what we're up against."

"But I doubt he'd be coming down the tunnel toward us," Crowe mused.  "Look, see that grate!  There ain't anywhere else to hide."

Quickly he moved toward the center of the rotunda and with a heavy jerk, he pulled the grate up and saw there really was nothing much to hold onto, save for maybe holding onto the ledge and hoping your feet didn't slip on the slimy walls.  And if you did fall, you probably wouldn't hit anything resembling ground for a good five minutes, breaking legs and who knew what else.

The Rats were moving quickly down the hall, shouting whispers of intruders and would see them if they moved anywhere else.

Crowe looked up to Khanna.  "Just hang onto me!  Hurry!"

Khanna snorted. Crowe had a good point, but at his suggestion...
"Are you crazy?" However, he had an inkling this sort of path would be the one to work. Glaring at Crowe, he got into his face.
"Don't think I can handle this climb on my own?" he challenged.

"Between you and me, if I held onto you, you'd slip faster than a toad on a pole. You wanna punch my face in, fine, but do it back at base. Now just hang onto me!" Crowe hissed back and was already about ready to crawl into the hole without Khanna.

"Kia's ballsack," he hissed, and simply slipped in after Crowe and held on tight. "And I'm holding you to it," came his words, still raspy and harsh, into Crowe's ear. "I don't take commands easily from my subordinates."

Pride was pride, after all, and well- this whole situation was kind of his fault! Damn Blackbird.

Just as Rats can bounding around the corner, Crowe slid the grate over his head. His fingers ached with holding onto two weights, but Khanna was remarkably light. He supposed that came with the territory with being so skinny. Nevertheless he held onto just the ledge beneath the grate, listening as Rats swarmed the rotunda.

"I swear I just fucking heard something this way." hissed one Rat to another.

Khanna was quiet as a cat on the prowl. Despite the Rats being over head, and her primal urge to cut their throats itching at her fingers, he simple kept his mouth shut and waited for Crowe to make his move. And silently she vowed if Crowe made this situation worse...
The boss would do more than slug him.

"Quit cursing!" hissed one Rat to the first one.  "It's bad enough it stinks down there, but you gotta foul the air with your bad language." 

"Shut the fuck up, Provolone, you're not my momma." He hit the other man in the gut.  They scoured the grounds and Crowe thought they were headed to the grate, he held his breath.  Boots passed over them without concern and when a noise echoed down the hall, they quickly bolted over. 

"Fuck! How that get down that way?"

Crowe waited until he heard them gone before pushing the grate above his head, slipping through the hole.

Khanna followed up after him, eyes scanning the area like a cat. There was no place to hide once they abandoned the grate, but they weren't exactly here to simply get a look around. The Rat Pack was up to something, but she didn't quite know what, and despite what the man told them from earlier- She had an idea it could be even bigger than that. Though as they walked along, they barely got two feet when she heard the familiar cackle behind her.

Turning around, she snarled, "The Big Cheese."

And to top it off, he was just standing there, eating a big old cheese wheel sandwich.

And then he threw that sandwich right at her froofy head!

The Big Cheese was far too slow, and a sandwich? Khanna couldn't believe he'd be so stupid, and simply side stepped it as the sandwich tumbled at their feet, the cheese wheel spilling out and rolling to a halt at Crowe's boots. And Khanna wasted no time producing a knife, and throwing it at his big head.

Crowe stared at the sandwich that laid sprawled out at his feet.  As Khanna and the Cheese started their fight, he leaned down to pick it up and plucked the dirt off little by little.  What an odd piece of cheese, one he'd never seen before.

Almost as if there were diamonds in it.  He plucked a few out, and held them in the dim torchlight, and pocketed a few before turning to the task at hand.

Big head or not, the Cheese was giving Khanna a run for his money!

The Cheese was damn lucky the knife missed, as he released a rat like cackle and rounded the bend.
"Get your daggers ready and be after him!" KHanna shouted, and picked up speed.

Crowe did as commanded, grabbing his knives one in each hand just as he rounded the bend after him.  And the sound of returning patrols echoed behind them.

But the sounds behind them were only the beginning of their troubles, for the moment they rounded the bend...
There stood the Big Cheese, and a whole gang of his men.

"I suggest you surrender now, Khanna. Or I'll have to chop your head off now rather than later."

Khanna swore between her teeth. She wasn't going down without a fight. And soon a dagger came flying from her hand, and she was charging straight at the Big Cheese, a fist flying towards his face.

And someone came at Khanna with a pipe to the back of the head.  Crowe had been behind a little ways and he grit his teeth.  There were a lot of men, sure...but he was pretty sure he had a dagger for each and every one of them.  To the man with a pipe, he raised his weapon to unleash a second blow when a dagger came sailing out from the darkness, and into the back of his neck.

He froze mid-swing and fell down.  And out came sailing six daggers, three thrown from both hands, and Crowe came in at a rush.  With those six men down, it just left about fifteen more to go...

Of course the odds were in his favor.

Right?

While Crowe was.left to deal with all the 'mice', she was already throwing and blocking parries from the Big Cheese. Hewas a large man and could pack a mean punch, but Khanna was a cat, and unrelenting and agile in his pursuit.

[She's pretty fast for someone that just got clobbered with a pipe!  But then I remember her head is made of rocks.]

Crowe moved swiftly and ducked and rolled and turned men around in time to receive the blows from their brothers.  He was covered in blood and sweat and muck and grime by the end of it.  He only hoped Khanna had the Cheese just about sliced.

Ooc: did I misread that Crowe stopped it? :U
-----

Pissed this fight was somehow going on longer than he'd like, he finally moved to draw out his own daggers and had one aimed at the Big Cheeses large head, when a chain seemed to come from no where and wrapped around his wrist, and a second one seemed to explode from around the bend,  claw like end to it that struck and stuck to Khanna like a talon.

[He did not stop the pipe.]

Crowe  leapt over those chains, running around the walls and throwing his entire body on top of the Big Cheese.  He was screaming loudly and put the man on the ground, sticking a knife deep into his throat, and stabbing at him repeatedly until the man grew limp beneath him.

A chain suddenly came around his neck and dragged him backwards.  Crowe gagged and coughed and sputtered.  People appeared from the darkness and stood before their boss' body.  "The Cheese is dead."

Fighting the chains was futile, and after it was announced the Big Cheese was dead, Khanna peered at Crowe from the side, before a boot met to his face, then gut, and his hair was grabbed and a knife brought to Khanna's throat.

"We'll kill them both!"

"But don't they deserve worse?"

"Worse than death?"

"Aye, torture before their inevitable death."

"You don't touch Khanna Dey!" Crowe spat, launching blood up into the face of the first man that spoke.

He was about to kick him in the chin, when the man beside him stopped.

"What did you say?"

"Khanna....Dey!"

"Dey....?"

The hold on Khanna's hair was fierce, and Khanna's eyes glowed wildly. The dagger still hadn't moved as the man looked over at Crowe, then down to Khanna. He kept the knife pressed to his throat as he considered his options.

"Drag 'em to the holding cell. And bag up The Cheese. We'll figure out the most suitable way to deal with these scum bags there."

And the man knocked Khanna on the side of the head on his temple, and it was lights out for Khanna Dey.

Crowe wasn't the only one that would wake up with a headache.  And he was at least thankful they didn't chain them up when at last they were thrown into the holding cell.  Which was dumb considering that he had his lockpicks on him... 

Or damn.  Of course they would search him and take all weapons and picks and everything else that wasn't simply clothing.  They also took his journal from the pouch on his belt.  "I'm going to skin that one," Crowe whispered from where he awakened and scooted back to sit in the corner.

Soon after, Khanna groaned. They had done more than knock him upside his head. Just about every inch was sore, and one eye was swollen. And at first, he had no idea where he was as he rolled onto his back. But upon seeing the bars he recalled what had transpired and cursed.

"Good morning," Crowe griped.  "Or good night.  I'm not really certain of the time of day."

Khanna gave him a kick.
"Don't get funny with me, Crowe. We're both fucking screwed ."

"Do I look like I'm laughing?" Crowe grumbled irritably.  He rubbed his side where Khanna felt the need to kick him and he just shrugged after.  All they could do was wait after all.

Khanna continued to search the area despite how limited her view was.
"How long have you been awake? And has anyone come to check on us?"

"I just woke up," Crowe said and glared up at Khanna.  "Whatever you're thinking. I TRIED IT ALREADY."

"You want a fat lip to add to those bruises? Keep your voice low. We don't want to alert them we're-"

But at the sound of foot steps, Khanna cursed. And in came a set of men: One who was tall, bald and ruthless with a heavy beard lined with scars. He was obviously the muscle, for he was as bulky as an ox and was already cracking his knuckles at the sight of them.  Another man, nearly as tall as the first, but three times as skinny, gangly even, with a rat like appearance, seemed to be some sort of lacky, and looked more or less like a dim wit. And the last one who came was a midget. And he was the one who spoke up first-
And he was obviously the brains of this operation, for what it was worth.

"I see you're awake," the small man went on with a grin. "Rufus, be sure to inspect their cages and shackles. Can't have them trying anything funny like escaping now."

And as Rufus went on to inspect the cage, and the shackles that bound them (and he did so none to gently), he turned back to the small men and informed, "All clear, Leo."

Rufus and Leo? Khanna knew those names. And she could only guess that the gangly one was Montery Jack. He was known for loving killing a bit too much, where the torture was seen like sex to him, a sweet ecstasy of blood and maiming, and the death part? That was his peak. Or so it was told. Khanna wouldn't put it past any of them for being lower than dirt. After all, of all the gangs in Arca, the Rat Pack was the lowest on the food chain, and did the worst of the crimes.

"So.." the little man went on, evidently named Leo. "Our gang might be relatively knew to this city, but we ain't dumb to the workings of the world outside of our little hole here. Now, we've known the leader of yous guys was Khanna, an interesting fact that you gave us," Leo went on, prodding the cage as he gave the pair of a sinister grin. "Which was what his last name was. And not many people can claim to have such a name- nor would want to, but it can't be ignored, if it's false or not, because the last thing we want is to be up shit creek with Opus Dey. Now.. that brings me to my first question.." he went on, and sized the pair up.

"And we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. I actually like the hard way, so if you decide not to make this easy-"

"Opus Dey is my brother." Khanna cut in, and Leo just flinched, and his sinister grin twitched a little.

"Well there... I see you wanted to go the easy route. Though that might not be what it seems. For you see, we're not entirely sure how clear our relationship would even be to the mighty world wide known Opus Dey, but I suppose we can figure that all out when we plan a little family visit."

Khanna just glared, as he always did.
"Opus won't come here. And I doubt you'd go to him."

"Oh?"

"He lives in Essyrn."

And that's when the gangly man began to laugh like a hyena.

"So get to the point," Crowe barked abruptly, only to be kicked hard in the leg by the smaller man.  But that did nothing to change his mood and Crowe just eyed the man that cackled.  "Get to the point.  Why bother coming down here at all?  You're just a bunch of hot air."

"My point is, get us clearance from Opus Dey in exchange for your lives. Which is a generous offer, considering who you just killed."

"Then write a letter and send it quick," Crowe said with a biting tone.  "Unless you need to me to write it for you."  And then he sneered.

"I don't think you get my point," Leo went on with a mean look. "If we send a letter, we need it to be.. You know, authentic."

"Then have Khanna write it," Crowe barked back, looking back at his boss.  "Wouldn't Opus know if his brother was writing him?"

"That's it, take out the yappy one and beat 'em til he bleeds." Leo cracked his neck. "Gotta make this one realize exactly where he is and where he stands."

Crowe stood with what distance his shackles could allow and he growled at the approaching grunt.  When he neared, Crowe promptly headbutted him, slamming his skull into the other man's and knocking him out.

"What the fuck?" Leo was taken back that one man could accomplish that with one butt of his head. "Fuck that!" He snapped his fingers to his muscle. "Gut him til he bleeds!"

[I suppose Khanna's just gonna stand there and watch? 8D]

Crowe couldn't move as much as he liked and he lost all air in his lungs when the huge man struck him hard in the gut and Crowe was pressed back against the wall.

Ever one to bide his time, Khanna waited until the man's back was turned before throwing himself at him and looping the chains of his shackles around his throat and just let himself drop. Though much slighter in form, the action still forced the man off of Crowe, chains choking and the mans face quickly turning blue as he was brought to his knees.

Crowe collected his breath and when Khanna came around with the chain and pulled the brute off of him.  He lunged forward, threading both hands together and slamming his hands hard into the man's gut, making him double over, swinging Khanna all the while.

Despite being jerked around, Khanna hung on like a vicious attack dog, holding his weight down as the man began to shake and reach up to the chains and towards him, desperate and frantic in his loss of breath that when he finally did get a hold on Khanna, it didn't seem much to matter- except he got in a last laugh as Khanna felt something crack under his grip before the man passed out completely and fell onto his face; dead.

Rolling away, Khanna seethed and felt his shoulder, which the brute had managed in his last strength of life, to dislocate...
and might have even done some damage to his arm- but he wasn't sure. It was hard to even nurse it, and the limb was more or less useless as he growled and shot a poisonous look to Leo- the last of the gang present that remained.

And just as it seemed he might be laughing through another defeat, Khanna was seeing red and rushed the midget and gave him a hard kick, that made him stumble as he yelped and it was accompanied by a second and third kick to his ribs before Khanna's good hand took a wad of his hair as he yanked him from his feet.

"The keys. Give me the fucking keys and I might spare you more pain."

"What makes you think I have the key?" Leo cackled despite the pain he was in.  Having a small body only made it worse, but he didn't seem give a damn that he had the short end of the stick - no pun intended.

Crowe approached with what length provided by his chains and roughly rummaged through the man's clothing, pulling out the hoop that held a series of keys. 

"Oh those keys?  Well, all ya had to do was ask."  And he cackled again.

Crowe just rolled his eyes, unlocking the cuffs of his shackles and once he was free he turned to Khanna's locks, undoing those quickly.  "Do with him what you will.  Make it fast.  We don't have time for this shit."

And make it fast he did, as he grabbed Leo's neck and snapped it. He fell over, dead.
"Grab what weapons you can," Khanna growled. "We're going to fuck this place up."

Crowe took a chain from one of the shackles and wrapped it around one hand and pulled the belt of knives from one of the men, wrapping it around his waist.

The three henchmen did not disappoint with the weapons he plucked from their person. Though not many of the weapons were at all that large, it didn't mean they couldn't be lethal. But that didn't stop Khanna from grabbing a heavy pipe he found resting near the door. No doubt to bust some teeth in. No matter, it was his now and it was time for him to wreck some Rat Ass.

At the door, Khanna hesitated for just a moment before storming out into the hall, weapon ready, and when he saw the second line up of guards for the room with their backs to them- he didn't waste a second before taking the pipe and knocking one over the head.

Crowe made good use of the chain, pulling it around a goon's neck and pulling it taut.  With a twist, he snapped that neck and threw out the other end of the chain, smacking it hard against a couple of skulls.

Once the way was clear, Khanna stalked down the hall. Though they were in new territory, Khanna walked with confidence and hesitated not to make one turn after another. It seemed for now no more rats were gonna bother them, that was, until they made their next turn.

Khanna barely dodged the throwing star as he tumbled down and pressed against the wall. Visibility was tough around the corner, and when he tried to scope it out again, a star just missed him, cutting off some of his hair.

Oh no they di'in't!

Crowe watched with shock as a piece of Khanna's froof just fell on the floor.  But that didn't last long as Crowe threw himself forward and launched a dagger out from the belt he'd taken.  The knife spun and with a guttural choking sound, he knew he'd struck his target.

The metal pipe smacked into the gut of an approaching rat before Khanna clobbered the man over his head. That was followed by a few more as the sickening sounds of his skull cracking could be heard.

Crowe shook his head at Khanna's actions, but pressed down the tunnel nevertheless.  When they were side by side once more, he gestured to Khanna.  "So what's the plan here?  We just escape or what?  We can't let these rats operate in Mountain Cat territory, but you're the boss, Boss.  What's the plan?"

"Saying we're out numbered is an understatement. But we're here to leave a mark. We already took off their head. The rest will continue to squeal around blindly. Perhaps it's best we leave the fight here and come back when we've got more Cats at our side."
For even as pissed as he was, he knew limits and he was definitely pushing them.

"Then let's take as many of them with us on the way out," Crowe said, raising a brow and grinning.

Khanna's grin was a dark one, his eyes smoldering as he resumed the lead. His hands itched for more Rats to bash in, but the next two corridors were surprisingly empty...

Crowe didn't know sewers better than any rat, but he could listen.  And where he felt a draft and the whistle of air, he gestured for Khanna to follow.  It was an old sewer grate above them, perhaps at the edge of the city.  He crawled up, perching his legs on each opposing wall and pushing it up, the heavy slide of iron grating on his ears.

There was nothing better in life than the gush of fresh air that hit him as he climbed to the surface. Even the scummy city streets at night were better than the filth the pair had been traipsing through. But now wasn't the time to breath easy, for as Khanna's eyes cleaved through the night, she noticed movement and gave Crowe's arm a directive smack.

"We can't linger."
And he moved like a prowling cat swiftly through the night. The first thing was to get back to the Mountain Cats hideaway, but also to remove this itching, god awful smell. And as they were making their way through the maze of the city streets, he grumbled, "Gods, I need a good drink and a long, hot bath."

"Sounds like you're reading my mind, boss.  I can't think of anything better than that right now.  Not even a good lay to follow it.  That'd just make everything all slimy and gross again.  Fuck, you smell," he huffed and ran along with Khanna.

Once they were largely out of the scummier parts of the city, Crowe felt himself relax, if only a little.  "So, what's the plan?  Head back to base, or clean up in town first?"

Still sore from the smell remark, Khanna shot a sharp gaze his way. But a sign at the corner had her distracted from her glare as he pointed, "We clean up there first." And he stalked towards the front, throwing the doors open and though he didn't show it, was relieved that the tavern was relatively quiet. It was rather late at night and most of the drunks had had their fill and were heading home. Those that remained were the late night crowd and travelers who couldn't sleep.

Khanna wasted no time demanding a room and two hot baths, and an iron key was handed over and a gesture to the stairs.

"Third floor on the left is yours. Bath'll be fetched within the hour."

Once they were inside, Crowe didn't waste any time changing out of his dirty clothes.  Well, most of them.  He kept his trousers on, and undertunic, but his shoes and overshirt were due for a wash.  It was awful.

Khanna went stiff at the sight. Men were always so eager to discard their clothes. He glared at him.
"You know they haven't even brought the water yet."

"I know," Crowe huffed, eying Khanna with a tired expression.  "But I feel better with at least those dirty things off of me.  Wouldn't you?"

At least it didn't take long for the water to arrive.  With a knock on the door, Crowe opened it and took in both large pails of water, along with a basket with all the supplies needed.

Khanna hated to admit he truly did want to do as Crowe did, but despite the sewer that made him rife, KHanna did not dare want to remove his clothing and let the other Mountain Cat know his true gender.

Relieved when the water came, Khanna helped along and both baths were soon ready, but without so much as a word or explanation, the mountain cat leader stepped into his own bath- fully clothed, sans his boots.

Crowe just stared at his boss.  And snickered.  Thankfully it was a quiet snicker kept largely to himself.  Hey if he wanted to clean himself in all his clothes, that was Khanna's business.  It was a shame there wasn't much if a divider.  Crowe had no qualms about undressing before them. 

He did keep his back turned, however and slipped off his trousers and underclothes, slipping into the water with a loud 'Ahh' sound.  Taking the dirty clothes with him and washing them in there.  Crowe settled in and grabbed the brush, running the soap across it and immediately working on his back.  After a few silent minutes if washing up, and getting the water exceptionally filthy.

"Well, boss, if you're gonna get clean, I guess going all in is the most efficient way to do it," he said, looking over at Khanna.  He took one of the buckets and  dunked it, standing up in the tub and pouring the water over his head to rinse off any remaining suds.  He shook his head, climbing out of the tub and grabbing the towel provided. 

"Just setting these things out to dry," Crowe mumbled to himself, wrapping the towel around his lower half.  "Need some privacy boss?"

Khanna just laid back within the bath, allowing the steam to rise up and calm her. The scent of the oiled soaps was a nice blessing over the rancid smell that still hung in the air. Unknowingly, her eyes drifted over to his naked from, taking in the way his body was formed, his muscles, and tight ass. She even got a nice view of his package, and only blinked cooly when the question was raised. She leaned her head back, staring at the ceiling.

"Privacy would be nice," she growled raspily in return. "Take your time out there. I'll do the same with my washing." Because she needed the quiet time, and preferred the solitude, and also because of two other reasons she'd rather not share with the likes of him.

"Sure," Crowe replied, hanging up his clothes to dry.  He didn't mind stepping out for the Boss.  He thought he could down something to eat while he was out there.  "No problem, Boss.  I won't be far if ya need me."  And made his exit.

It wasn't like he couldn't go far, being in n only a towel.

Once assured she was alone,s he rested a dagger nearby incase Crowe came in unexpectedly. As the leader, she could never be too careful. Who could she trust? At least for now, as her eyes drifted towards the balcony, she figured she could trust Crowe- at least a little, and contemplated why she didn't have more men like him in her ranks.

Either way, she worked on the task at hand, and was soon stiffly undressing and letting her half rinsed clothing plop to the ground.  Standing, she let the water gush down her form as she inspected herself for anymore grime and smells- and a second scrubbing remedied anything that she was displeased with.

Eyes would constantly hound the door, heart beat racing ever swiftly, before eventually she felt the bath was done enough and she stepped outside, toweled off quickly and wrapped her naked back in the large towel.

Sure he got a few weird looks, going down and ordering a few pints and some food.  And even more when he requested a tray to take it back upstairs.  Weird looks considering all he was wearing was a towel.  But he paid them no mind and was taking a couple of steaks back up to the room.

He stopped at the door, setting the tray on the side.  "You decent boss?  I got some food and a few pints here.  Oh, and a key! To the liquor cabinet."

At the knock, Khanna stood on the defensive and held his towel close to his body. At Crowe's voice, he cursed.

"Just wait a fucking minute!" he hissed, and looked around for his clothing- only to remember they were in a heaping pile of wet partial suds.

Crowe obeyed and sighed, crossing arms over his chest and waited patiently.  Well, a little.  He sid idly have a sip of ale.

Khanna cursed again, and the sounds of him rummaging through the room roughly could be heard.

[Robes Khanna, Robes!]

Crowe sighed a little and took a piece of his own steak, munching lightly.

OOC: IT's not modern day where they'd offer that and this is a crummy place lol

---

Thinking fast, he angrily dropped his towel and hefted up his soaking wet clothing, an attempted the impossible feat to slip back into the wet leather. After a good long moment of fighting, he was able to at least get a layer on before snatching up his jacket and throwing that on around his top- and paused before a window, scowling as he wondered if his chest were noticible.

Slicking back his hair, he undid the laces of his leather shirt and fussed some more before cursing and flattening out his top and jacket. He then stalked over to the door and through it open, face splotchy red with anger.

"Get the fuck in here."

[It's entirely possible that a tattered robe could be left over from a previous patron.  Just my two cents]

Crowe was starving and for all the shruffling around Khanna was doing in there, the food was getting cold and the beer was getting warm!  He banged on the door again when the gruff reply came.  He huffed and opened the door, carrying the tray inside.  Crowe set the tray down and brought out the pints.  "Here, still a little cold.  I hope ya don't mind steak.  Figured after a night like we had, we could use some manly food."

Khanna stood, almost defensively, as his gaze hardened when he looked at the food.
"Is that all?"

"Well, depends on how drunk ya wanna get," Crowe chuckled, settling on his bed and pulling a plate toward himself.  "They alsogave us this weird sweet stuff the cook called...pudding.  iIt's chocolate no doubt, but I've never seen stuff like that before. IIt's really good!  Try it, boss.  You might even like it."

Khanna glared his way.
"I'm not a fan." But he scooped up the drink and downed most of it in a few, hearty gulps, then wasted no time in picking up the steak with his fingers and digging into it and ripping off a chunk with his teeth.

Crowe didn't watch.  He was too busy munching down his own food and scooping up the pudding.  Down went a pint.  And when he was ready, he went to the liquor cabinet, unlocking it with the key provided.  "So what's your poison, Boss? Whiskey? Bourbon? Brandy?"

"Just mix 'em all," Khanna growled through another bite of steak.

What the hell was up his ass?

"Okay," he huffed.  Crowe didn't consider himself a bartender, but he managed to make a concoction that didn't taste all that awful, and served two glasses.  He went back to his bed, plopping down and taking a swig of it. And started to cough.  "Oh...that's...good," he croaked, panting a little.

Khanna downed the drink with haste, wiping off the excess from the back of his lips. He gave Crowe a look but simply nodded and said, "I think I'll need a second."
Sewer romping wasn't exactly something to easily recover from, after all.

"Yes sir," he said, smirking.  Crowe fixed Khanna a drink and handed it over.  He went back to his steak and ate heartily.

Khanna downed half before returning to his steak, eating just give the status of a wild animal.

"You okay, boss?  You seem...agitated," Crowe observed.

Khanna glared.
"You expect me to be anything else?" he growled. He paused to roll his shoulders. "You got any smokes?"

"Just wondering if you need to do something to relieve some tension," he suggested, wiggling an eyebrow at him.  Crowe chuckled and shook his head, searching his person before moving towards the drawer.  And low and behold somebody left a sack of tobacco and ashtray and smoke papers.  "Hey hey, looks like your lucky day boss."

Yes, lucky day.  Even after slushing through a sewer.

Khanna cut a look towards Crowe, but at his finds, he moved over to help free the contents from the drawer. It seemed he was a natural at it, laying out the paper, sprinkling in the tobacco, and rolling it to the perfect, firmed size. Using his tongue, he sealed it closed before chomping into the end of it.

"Guess matches are out of the question."
How annoying.

"There's always that candle right next to you," Crowe said, pointing.

Khanna turned, nodded and leaned over the candle, puffing away until smoke filled his lungs.

Crowe wasn't sure he wanted one for himself, but he was content to watch Khanna smoke for a time before reclining on the bed, relaxing just a bit.  And finding himself drifting off to sleep.

THe next morning couldn't come fast enough. It was hard to tell if Khanna even slept, but Crowe might have been awakened by him moving around and packing up their things.

 Crowe turned around in the bed before already seeing Khanna was up and about.  Good, he was ready to be on his way.  His towel had fallen off while he slept and he got up buck naked and reached for his clothes.  "Hey boss," he greeted, slipping on his smallclothes and pants.

Khanna had been reaching for his boots, and when Crowe went for his clothes, he turned and almost got a face full.
"Fuckin' Black Bird!" Khanna howled, shoving the man aside. "You almost put your dick in my eye!"

Crowe stumbled about.  "Sorry!  Who told you to kneel down there!? Did you lose a shoe?"  Crowe tied his pants and went for his shoes.

Khanna grabbed him by the shirt and shook him.
"You gonna fuckin' question me?" he shoved Crowe back. "Let's just get the fuck out of here."
And his stomach lurched. Ugh- was he still smelling sewer?

Crowe fixed his shirt, although how Khanna had grabbed him when he wasn't wearing one was beyond him.  He shrugged it offand was ready to go.  He opted for the door and stepped out.

OOC: lol- I read pants as shirt >_> don't ask

---

They were well on their way, moving fast through the city in the early morning bustle. It made Khanna more frustrated for it as his glare cut through the crowd. And as they move, he didn't miss the fact one of the Rats was watching them.

KHanna sneered.
"We should steal a fucking horse."

Crowe could feel those eyes too. And they didn't make him any happier. "Over there...  there's a stable."

"Then let's head away from it," he growled. They needed to lose line of sight. The rats would know their plan if they saw them head for the stables. So Khanna took the first sharp right into an alley.

He was more than willing to oblige.  Crowe ducked several paces away from Khanna as he went ahead. 

Their path lead them towards a brothel, one in which Khanna made no hesitation in entering. He knew well enough the layout of this place, and trying to track the pair through here would be near impossible- so long as Crowe didnt' do anything stupid.

"We'll head to the back. Try not to get too distracted. We're looking for an easy out. See if one of the windows are open." From where they stood, however, it was impossible to see through the sea of scantily clad women, who turned their eyes quickly upon the duo as a few approached, sizing them up.

Crowe kept his focus.  This wasn't the best place to hideout, but then again, maybe it was.  He had to shoo away a few women that were curious about the pair, and one took a good squeeze of his butt.  He jumped a few feet before finding a window.  Or...a painting of a window.  Great.

It didn't take long for Khanna to find the staircase, and seeing how Crowe was going in circles, he moved to grab him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him along. And as the whores watched them stumble off, they whispered about how they hoped the gay couple was still wlling to pay for their privacy. They did have an establishment to run, after all!

Once they were upstairs, Khanna yanked Crowe through the first one available. It seemed a man was just finishing up and having ridiculous pillow talk with a girl, who's make up had been smeared during their rut. But Khanna wasn't interested in that, and he stalked towards the window.

Throwing open the lock, he shoved the window open and was quick to step outside.

"Crap," Crowe mumbled as he followed Khanna through an open window.  He shuffled behind him, gripping the ledge and moving along behind him.

"Up to the roof, Boss!   There's a pipe leading up there."

Khanna cut him a look. He was disheveled, one of the women having tried to remove his shirt- so a few buttons were left open, and wher ehis shirt was normally tucked in, was partially pulled out from the left side of his pants.

His eyes then followed the pipe
"Well, get to it," he hissed, not one to be patient at a moment like this.

"Goddammit, Boss.  Stop waiting for me to do stuff," he hissed back and proceeded to climb up to the roof.  He did so with swiftness and ease, ignoring the fact that despite getting dolled up, Khanna Dey looked like shit.

"I wouldn't have to if you'd just move!" his boss hissed,a nd followed him swiftly to the roof. Remaining low, Khanna made his way towards the front and peered down below, scanning the area for any more Rats.

"There... the watch tower- we ought to be careful. Their scouts located there might see us."

And he went ont to see what other Rats might be lurking down below.

"Should we split up? We could cover more ground.  And make it back to base separately," Crowe hissed back.

Khanna made a face.
"Not when the rat pack is fucking looking for us." And they certainly couldn't wait them out.
"Maybe if we cause a distraction..."
And his eyes lingered towards a man carrying a wagon full of Black Powder.

"If have an idea, act now.  They're closing in."

"I'm acting," Khanna growled, slipping out from the shadows and letting his boots slide down the shingles. He crept low at the edge, keeping an eye on the wagon and another to signal to Crowe the coast was clear.

He paused a moment, slipping a few items out from unseen pockets.

"We're still too high." He cursed under his breath, looking around and peering up at the clouds moving away from the moon. he needed more shadows, and nothing seemed to want to give. He turned back to Crowe.

"I'm outta smokes, got a bomb or something we can toss down that alley?" A distraction for a distraction. It was clever enough. Hopefully it'd fucking work. Khanna was sick of this town already.

Crowe didn't want to admit it but as much as Khanna was right, he was also starting to irritate the hell out of him.  But he wasn't going to bogart an idea that could potentially get them out of this mess.  He dug into his belt, pulling out a smoke he'd been saving and frowned.  He supposed he had to quit sometime.

He lit the half-used smoke and took a long drag before handing it to Khanna.  "It'll burn slower. And better than a match."

Khanna was about as patient as he could tolerate, and once he had the smoke in hand, he took a drag himself, before throwing the damn thing over the edge-
Just when something, he didn't know what, smashed into the side of the building, blasting the shingles clean out from beneath his boots, and suddenly the Mountain Cat was air borne.

Then free falling. And just as he began to realize jsut what was going on, he saw the wagon- the smoke-
then a blast of heat shot him back up into the sky.
And everything went dark.

"HOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-"

Were words that escaped and vanished with Crowe.  They wouldn't ever finish.  Not when the roof came out from under them and the slats gave way, sliding them down to the street below.  It was all blinding, a flash of hot fire, and the scorch of heat, and smell of burning flesh.  He did not leave the blast unscathed, and the residual pain of his arm burnt was what initially woke him up.

That and the rattle of chains that encapsulated him.  His head hurt, and somewhere he felt his hair was wet.  Blood?  Or some piss puddle from the pavement?  He hoped it was blood.

He was lucky, it was blood, but not his own, as he might observe Khanna slumped beside him. The man was still, with one swollen eye and a lot more bruises to his face than the fall and blast should have created. Burns were there, but knuckle marks, too. Khanna had managed to awaken enough to try to fight off their captors. Too bad he was weak, and the price on their heads, high. And Crowe might also observe that his chain was connected to Khanna's. A tell tale sign of his failure.

"Shit."  The word was said with a miserable finality.  Crowe rubbed at his head, skull throbbing with the rattling of the chain on his arm.  He looked at Khanna, rolling his eyes.  Damn!  The squeal of wagon wheels beneath them, and a bump sent him reeling up against a cabinet stored in the back.

Chained together, he snatched up the length of it and gave it a shake, Khanna's wrist lifted in the process.  "Damn."  Boss had a fat lip, and bruises painting half his face, clothing torn a little here and there.  "You look like shit."

It was only then that Khanna stirred, turning his face towards the sound and grimacing- which hurt- and hurt like hell. He couldn't even open his eyes, and when he tried to speak, he spat out blood.

Crowe sat up slowly, waiting for Khanna to get his shit together.  "Khanna.  Hey!  What happened?  Why the fuck are we chained up!?"

Coughing out more blood, Khanna growled, his head pounding and Crowe's questions not helping in the least. Pissed at his words, he slammed a fist into him before growling, "We got fucking caught, that's what." And he tried to open his eyes, the world bleary, but eventually came into focus.

His entire face pulsed in pain, the worse being inside his own head as he looked around the dim room they were locked.

[ I wrote they were in a wagon, probably traveling along a road or sumpm.  They could be in a locked wagon though]

"And that's not my goddamn fault," he said, rubbing at his chest.

OOC: Oops! Thanks for pointing that out!

---

Khanna turned to him, eyeing him up.
"They leave anything on ya? Something to fucking pick the door with?" he hissed, voice low.

Crowe checked his pockets.  His belt had been removed and his tools were gone.  He cursed to himself and shrugged.  "Nothing.  And looks like you didn't put up much of a fight."

And that's when Khanna punched him, hard.

Or as hard as a weak Khanna could punch.  It was another tap, this time to the chin and Crowe just grumbled something about Khanna being lucky he was already bruised up or he'd be happy to purple the other side of his ugly face.

"Look instead of getting mad, let's find a way to get off this fucking dump wagon before we get even more screwed," he griped and worked at trying to pry the cuff of the chain from his wrist.  Only to realize then that they were also chained at the ankle. 

The wagon then screeched to a halt, and there were the sound of boots coming around to the locked door at the back.

Khanna hadn't even the time to swear before the door was flung open, blinding them with light. It was barely daylight, the sun had begun to rise, but it was enough to make him flinch. Soldier's stepped forward, demanding, "Out with ye!"
But before they knew what was happening, Khanna lunged at the man, wrapping the shared chain between her and Crowe, around the soldier's neck.

Crowe tightened the chain but quickly was stuck by the hilt of a sword as was Khanna.

The soldier was gagging for breath, doubled over as another strode forward, grabbing Khanna by the hair as he howled.
"OUT YOU SCUM!" And he threw Khanna to the ground, and didn't wait to try the same to Crowe.

Crowe came out of the caged wagon with a loud oof!  He groaned, head spinning and he turned onto his back, only to have a boot squashed into his belly. 

"Pig slime," one guard grumbled.  "You all right Toby?  Get yourself together!"

The other man did and looked at Khanna redfaced with rage.  He grabbed Khanna by the collar and headbutt him hard.

Crowe was dragged to his feet.  And they were both turned to face their captor.  A man in a hat, puffing on a pipe.  He observedhis prizes and made a hrmph sound beneath his handlebar mustache.

THe head butt dropped him to his knees, and though dizzy, Khanna was still able to make an angry face, albeit a very bruised and broken one. The man with the pipe continued to puff away, and though it wasn't visible, Khanna swore the man was grinning beneath that stache.

"Khanna Dey," he started, looking the man over with the blonde hair. He sneered a little, but smirked when he saw how fiery Khanna's eyes still were. "A wild thing, aren't you. Mountain Cat leader... an adequate and well descript name for someone so savage. Tell me... are you aware how much you're worth?"

And at that, Khanna spat at him.

Crowe didn't know who the man was, but nothing boded well about being chained up, and beat to hell by caravan guards, clearly private security.  The man just puffed casually on that pipe and watched as Khanna's spit sprayed out and narrowly made it to the ground, leaving him unscathed.

"I'd ask if you knew who I was, but that hardly matters.  Your mistake is my gain and your little bodyguard there will just be a bonus. Eckert, make sure Toby doesn't kill my catch before we make it to the next town.  And hose em down when we cross the river."

If there was one thing Khanna hated, it was being forced into doing anything. He was the god damn leader of the Mountain Cats! He didn't care, nor had time for this bull shit! Once they'd get out of this, and he was certain they would, he would enjoy killing this mustached man- nice, good and slow.

The promise of death in his eyes was savage, and it wasn't entirely easy to prod Khanna along, especially towards the river. And as they neared it, he continued to look around, ever calculating- hoping to think of some sort of a plan.

If Khanna thought they were going to be separated, he had another thing coming.  Once they reached the river, Eckert kicked.them both toward the edge of the river and gave them a tin cup and a bar of soap.  "Make it quick, you two.  And don't try to run.  You won't like getting shot in the ass with a sleep dart."

He grinned as Crowe picked up the soap and looked at their bruised and bloody state.  So they'd have to bathe. Together.  Great.  What could go wrong?

Khanna just grabbed the soap and stalked off into the water, not bothering to remove his clothes.

Except he didn't get far, as the chains around his wrist and ankle wouldn't allow him to go anywhere without Crowe going too.  He followed with the tin cup and party undressed, as little as he could, using the cup to douse himself with water.

Khanna ddn't bother with the cup, splashing intot he waters enough to use the bar of soap, scrubbing herself down in her torn leathers and glaring about like a protective wolf.

"You done with that soap now, boss?"

Glaring at Crowe, he shoved the thing at him, then went about, splashing and washing off the soap.

But Crowe took his time, scrubbing his hair first, sitting down on a rock on the edge of the river and rinsing himself piece by piece.

However, the men weren't so patient and gave the chain a tug.
"Hurry your ass up, or we'll beat your face to look like yer boss's!"

He took his time, as much as he needed and rinsed himself just as the men grew even more irritated with him.  He dressed, sticky with the water, and observed Khanna.  "Your uh shirt looks funky.  You should fix it."

Khanna glared at him.
"My shirt is fine. THe leather's just bulky with water."

Their captives had a look too.

"We did rile him up plenty good" the one replied darkly, which was only answered with a silent, simmering glare by Khanna. "You two done or what? Come on, git outta the water." He snapped his fingers to the other men present and ordered them to prepare the wagon.

"It looks...lumpy."  Crowe made a face at Khanna's chest for a minute but soon thought nothing of it.  He walked back to their captors, soap and tin cup in hand.

The man looked the pair over, and though both were dripping wet and gestured to his lackies to throw them into the back. Khanna wouldn't let himself just be tossed in, and cooperated this time in stepping into the back, and once seated- glared as darkly as he could before he and Crowe were shut back into the darkened back cell again.

"You're still..lumpy.  It's weird," Crowe said, staring Khanna from the back of the caged wagon.

Khanna elbowed Crowe, hard.
"Shut the fuck up."

Crowe silenced himself then, but it still didn't sit well with him.  He laid back against the bench, soon finding himself closing his eyes and falling asleep.

Khanna couldn't sleep, even as much as he wanted to. There was too much riding on this for him to let his guard down so easily. So when the wagon suddenly stopped, Khanna jabbed Crowe in the ribs.

"Wake up," he hissed. "Sounds like there's a scuffle outside."
No sooner warned, a blast of magic smashed into the side of the carriage, just as it jerked and nearly toppled over on it's left wheels. It settled roughly as it bounced along the road, and the small hole from the magic blast was singing and flickering with tiny flames.

Khanna struggled within the rampaging carriage as he made his way over towards the hole, and when he peered outside he cursed.

"Fucking Wolves."
Soot Wolves.

Crowe pulled himself up to the hole, which was rather big enough for both of their heads to fit through.  "Holy shit!"  He wasn't going to wait to stick around and pulled his head through the hole, shuffling his shoulders through it, neverminding the splinters and scratches as he fell through the other side.

Khanna followed soon after, dropping to the ground with a rattle of their shared chain. And just when they came into view, the mage spotted them.
"Watch out!" Khanna hisssed, hitting the dirt and taking Crowe with him.

Crowe's chin smacked hard in the dirt when Khanna pulled him down, and he landed hard on top of the smaller man, as a ball of blistering fire came hurtling at them overhead.  When the chance came for them to move, Crowe was already scrambling with what give he had on the chain and pulling Khanna forcefully along with him.

The trees were burning, blackening the air with thick smoke that caught in his lungs.  He coughed vehemently, stumbling only when their chains caught on a snagging log, and he pulled on it hard, breaking the rotted wood, as they scrambled to their feet once again.

It was a chaotic escape at best, the wolves seeking to kill, but mostly focusing on the bounty hunters. It was perhaps the smoke that gave them a chance to get ahead, as the blasts of magic began to get further and further behind. However, as they ran, Khanna noted the drop off dead ahead... And the sound of water.

"Rivers our best chance," she growled. "Move, move, move!"

"Move!?  Move where!?  Down this fucking cliff?"

But as they ran along the edge of it, the ground soon gave way beneath them and they were both sliding down it's concave wall.

The river lands held a plethora of all types of rivers, some fast, some small; it seemed the one they were headed for was fast, rapid filled, and anything but small. Khanna couldn't get his footing as sharp rocks and roots cut into him. But he sure as hell wasn't going in ass first. He barely managed to get onto his back before being dumped, boots first, into the river.

It didn't matter which way they turned because they both tumbled hard into the river.  Crowe floundered harshly, chains tangling around his ankle.  He struggled to free his leg, and he scraped his shin against the sharp rocks beneath the surface.

He gasped for breath, freeing his foot and swimming hard, flowing with the current.

By then Khanna was swimming hard against the rapids, calling over to Crowe above a wave,
"We need to get to the other side, before these rapids get worse."

Crowe heard her just barely over the rush, and through the tumble of the rapids, he tried to pull them across.  Between them, the heaviness of the chain dragging them down.  Crowe gasped for breath, trying to avert their path as they rushed toward a large boulder.

Not only did the chain they shared weigh them down, but they were a hindrance to one another. And as Khanna tried to swim the best he could go avoid the large rock jutting out of the water ahead, he didn't see, or couldn't see the sharp rock on the other side. It was swallowed beneath the waters, making it seem calm. But when Khanna hit his side off the damn thing, it not only took his breath away, but a good chunk of his skin, too.

Stunned, Khanna soon found himself at the mercy of another roll of rapids.

Crowe.fumbled until they just passed the rock.  His.hand shot out and snatched hold of the rock, grasping its edge and holding both of them with all his might, pulling Khanna and throwing him over his shoulder.  He pulled himself up, a bloodied Khanna with him and rolled them over to the side.  There roots sprouted from the river's edge. Roots Crowe grabbed onto desperately and hauled them up over the muddy ledge.

The little help it was, Khanna tried to not become a dead weight, though using any strength was a challenge.But once he was tossed over Crowe's shoulder, he swore many colorful words as each move the man made rubbed his wound open further. The sharp roots that scraped his side and face were ignored, and once they were on dry land, he collapsed beside Crowe, eyes barely open.

He panted hard, rolling over on his back and catching his breath.  The air was chill against his skin, and the residual heaviness of the water drenching his clothes weighed him down.  Crowe slowly sat up, grass clinging to him, as he looked at Khanna's side.  "Shit!" He didn't even think as his hands tore at his clothes, pulling them apart to better inspect the gaping wound.

None the wiser to what was going on, Khanna groaned as his eyes rolled back. He had swallowed more water than he'd have liked and he felt light headed, weak.

And underneath the tunic was a waistwrapping soaked in blood, that wrapped around the chest as well.  Crowe didn't know what more to do than to pry off the thin cloth bandages and was surprised to find breasts underneath.  He was stunned to say the least, but right now, there was blood pouring out if the body in front of him, and he pressed his palm against the lacerations, holding them snuggly so that the pressure would hold back the blood.

And just as Khanna felt he might fade away, Crowe touched his wound. And in his moment of pain he realised he was undressed, and his hand shot out, grabbing his throat.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he growled. Voice shakey and grip weak.

Crowe stared at Khanna, eyes wide.  "Saving your damn life," he said and went about using those same bandages to wrap Khanna's wound.  He diacarded the filthy ones and made sure they were tight enough to hold back the bleeding.  "You're pretty beat up.  But we've got to find a way to dry off or we'll both be goners."

"Fuckin' hell, we do. Stop fucking touching me!"

"Seriously, just shut the fuck up," Crowe grumbled and tried to pick up Khanna. 

He let out a grunting cry at being picked up, and attempted to squirm.
"Fucking hell..." he muttered, voice shaking as he resorted to just being carried.

Crowe couldn't get far very quickly as they were both chained together.  He could only step as far as the chain would give and the cold and wet made him exhausted all the more.  When they moved uphill, over a mound of rocks, Crowe plopped Khanna down and rested, leaning back and observing the man that was his boss.  Or thought was a man until this point.  Did that matter now?  He had to make a fire before the night settled in.

Crowe reached about for twigs and brush and other fuel, finding a stone, and soon striking it against the metal of their chains, trying to ignite sparks.

By the time Crowe had carried and moved him, Khanna had passed out. His impotency in the situation was left to be riled inside his own head, unclear nightmares mounting as his body, sweating and twitching every so often as he'd clench his teeth good and tight.

It was a hard time, starting that fire, as wet as his hands were, still trembling from the cold.  Crowe held his breath, stifling his breath when the spark finally took and soft puffs of breath encouraged it's growth.  He made the fire in a small recess in the ground, surrounded by a ring of stones that were around them.  He saw that Khanna was passed out, and did what he could to pull him (her?) closer to the warmth.

It seemed their reprieve by the fire might be short lived, as men down the river noticed the smoke and began galloping their way.  At least the men were on the opposing side.

[They're like on the other side of a hill, lol.]

Crowe turned to Khanna, sighing down beside her (him?) and looked at the chains on their wrists, which were now rubbed raw and red.

OOC: I was presuming they couldn't get that far in their condition, and smoke can be seen over hills :P just sayin'!

---

It was at the smell of smoke that Khanna roused, and was immediately swearing at the jolt of pain that rocked him. So when he sat up suddenly, with heavy chains rattling, his head bounding and shoulder and belly, sore, the first thing he did was turn to Crowe and growl,
"What the fuck," as he clutched his head, grimacing.

Crowe's eyes opened groggily and he groaned, rubbing his own head.  "What now?" he asked, looking at Khanna from the corner of his eye.  "Don't move too much, you'll upset your wound."

It was then he noticed, and then remembered, what sort of predicament they were in and suddenly the man shot forward, grabbing Crowe around the neck and aiming to strangle, to kill.

"You fucker!" he growled.

Crowe gasped, holding his breath beneath Khanna's weight.  "What the fuck are you doing!?" he choked out and gripped at his shoulder and wrist.  He could feel the pressure building in his head and knew if he didn't do something he'd be dead.  Crowe slipped his knee up, placing it between his chest and Khanna's and moving his other leg up and  moving it around Khanna's neck, hooking his chin within the crook of his knee and pushing his leg down, rolling the smaller man off him.

Furious he was so weak, Khanna found himself soon on his back and released a winded grunt. However, his grip only lessened, and he tried again to choke the other man.

"How much do you know?" he growled. "How much did you see?"

Crowe kept his grip on the other man's wrist and kept as much pressure off his throat as he could.  He put even more pressure on Khanna's neck.  "Just your chest.  And that gaping wound in your side, which I patched up. SAVING YOUR LIFE. IN CASE YOU FORGOT."

"My chest?" Khanna's eyes flared with rage. "YOU FUCK HEAD! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" And he proceeded to smash his hard head into Crowe's while attempting to tackle him over.

Despite the blinding pain of the head blow, Crowe wriggled around and refused to let Khanna pin him.  He turned over and held Khanna firmly by the shoulders, pushing him down and pressing all his weight on him.  "FUCKING STOP IT!  I'M ON YOUR FUCKING SIDE!  STOP IT GODDAMMIT!"

And that's when the voices came from across the river.
"The smoke!"

"It's over there!"

"Cross the river and see if it's those two fuck heads!"

Khanna paused only long enough to catch a few of those choice words, before growling and trying to shove Crowe off again.

"You fucking lead those fuckers to us!" he snapped. "If I wasn't going to kill you already, I'd fucking gut you now!"

"I'd kick your ass before you'd even try it, boss," Crowe growled in return and scrambled to his feet.  He didn't even have time to dash out the already small fire and pulled Khanna along with him, the chains stretching between them as they tried to run.

His glare was venmous at Crowe's reply as he stumbled painfully to keep up.

"Khanna!  Keep up!  You're lagging behind!" he called behind them, racing downhill.

Khanna growled and felt his wounds rip open with each step.
"Shut up and just run!"
He supposed he'd kill him later.

Crowe lugged Khanna's deadweight as far as he could go.  They were both cold and tired and ready to die then and.there but Crowe wouldn't let them.  The singing of arrows whizzing behind them, one whipping past his head.  "Holy shit!"

As they crested another hill, it was only then Khanna realized they had been under attack from across the river. He cursed.
"Those fuckers..." his hand trembled against his wounds, the other clenching into a fist. "Just keep running. If their arrows won't get us, they'll have to cross the river to continue this hunt."

It was a shame they had to move away from the water, but they raced away far enough until Crowe collapsed to his knees, trying to catch his breath.

Khanna's lungs were burning, actually... his whole fucking body felt strained. But he had the gall to swallow as much breath as he could before giving Crowe a kick.
"What are you doing? We can't stop here!"

It was a weak kick at best, and Crowe panted heavily.  "I can't fucking move, and you're really starting to give me a headache," he muttered.

Khanna snarled.
"If we can no longer run, we either fight or hide."

Crowe got up, fighting every urge to strangle Khanna and staggered them down hill once more.  "We hide.  We can't go much farther than we did."

"Over there," Khanna panted. "We can use the mud by that thicket and the underbrush to hide." Assuming they had no hounds, Khanna was we'll versed in the ways of sneaking around unseen, especially in this sort of terrain.

Crowe gave his confirmation in moving towards the muddy underbrush.  He flopped down, rolling around until he was well.covered and crawling deep into the brush.

Khanna moved with haste, heart beating in her ears as she slathered up her body in mud. It was then he recalled his front was more or less exposed, and took the time to adjust his leather quickly before laying on his belly in the mud, cheek to the ground and waited.

His breathing was slow as he watched the horizon. Off in the distance, he could hear the men. They must've finally crossed the river. They didn't move near enough to where the pair were hiding for Khanna to get a good look at them. But it was nearly half an hour since they had passed and they heard nothing.

His eyes crept around before he turned back to Crowe and hissed.
"I think the cost is clear."

Crowe felt the mud drying over him and he shuddered.  The cold chilled him and he felt like he could pass out right then and there.  When Khanna inferred the coast was clear, Crowe waited for her to exit first before shuffling out behind.

Khanna looked around with a scowl.
"We'll have to figure out which fucking direction is the safest and move fast."

"Calm down," Crowe said softly.  He was getting a little antsy from all this running around and no respite.  He was sure they were both on the verge of collapse, and if they didn't find somewhere to hide, they were both dead.

"This way," he hissed to her.  "Follow me."  And took off down the opposite way of the bush they hid under.

Khanna glared his way, then looked in the direction he mentioned. It seemed as good as any. She briskly moved to be at his side, but made a point to remain just a foot ahead of him, for as best as she could when he was in the lead.

"You sure this way?" she asked, gruffly.

He wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to say that.  Instead, Crowe kept his mouth shut and kept going at the pace they had set.  He was just about on the verge of collapse.  He could keel over and pass out and be happy to freeze to death for how tired he was.

"There up ahead.  There's a cave there, in that crack between those stone slabs."

Khanna nodded.
"Looks good as any other fucking place. Let's just fucking make sure we're holed up in there well before we pass out." He too was exhausted, and he could tell Crowe was too- but he didn't want to get careless now.

Crowe waited at the mouth of the cave, listening and looking into the darkness before long.  He slipped inside, pulling hard on the chains Khanna was connected too.

Eyes were wild and ever searching, believing any shadow or crack could be villainous. But all of this adrenaline was getting to him, and it was hard to even make heads or tails of where they had walked. He had almost forgotten the chained connection, until he was swearing and tripping over it and landing clean on Crowe's lap.

Crowe just laid there against the cave wall.  He was too exhausted to do much else.

She crawled off of him and may have kicked him on purpose, but even after a few moments of fighting it, Khanna had fallen fast asleep.

Crowe got up, shoving Khanna's head from his lap, and moving far enough away to take a piss.  It was difficult to achieve with the chain at their wrists, but he managed well enough.

Khanna scowled, but at the sounds of him pissing, she felt the sudden urgency, too. She scrambled off the ground, back to him as he pissed his stream, and soon she was moaning quietly with her pants down her legs and a warm pool of urine running past her legs towards him. And there was a lot of it, and the relief evident in how the long sighed moan had continued during her purge.

She then yanked up her pants in a hurry before chancing a glance back to Crowe.

"You can't pee quietly can you?" Crowe grumbled when he side stepped her puddle and returned back to the cave wall.  He fixed himself and sat down.  "God I'm so hungry I could kill a bear."

She fixed herself and moved to sit near the wall, too.
"Then why don't you fucking do it?" She gestured towards the cave exit. "Go hunt and kill us a bear."

"I would if I wasn't attached to your scrawny ass," Crowe growled.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Did you forget just whom you were attached, bird?" Khanna growled. "Nothing can happen if we do nothing." And he moved to stand. "Let's go see what we can fuckin' kill."

Crowe yanked Khanna back down and wrapped fingers around her throat, holding the smaller man firmly for a second.  "You got us into this mess.  Boss," he growled and roughly let him go, before standing and dragging Khanna with him.

Khanna coughed to catch his breath, the throat grab having caught him off guard. He stumbled behind Crowe as the other lead the way as he growled, "You're lucky I can't cut your balls off right now."

"Just stop talking if you knew what was good for you," Crowe said levelly and paused by a tree to listen carefully around them.  Their surroundings were unusually peaceful, but not entirely unnerving either.  Which probably was what unnerved him all the more.

They probably wouldn't be finding any bears out here, but maybe a bobcat?  A wild pig?  He kept listening, using his eyes to trace the brushline.

"What have you got on you to hunt with?" Khanna found himself asking after a time. He didn't like remaining quiet, especially by one of his men (and it were not the other way around). And anxiety and hunger didn't suit the man well at all.

His eyes went to the trees.
"We could hunt for quail."
Although birds were rather fast. They could fashion some sort of trap for a rabbit at the least.

"Not much, we can make traps and set them.  But we'll still have to wait for a meal," he murmured.

"We'd be waiting either way!" Khanna snapped. "And our resources are limited."

He gave a grunt of affirmation before shuffling through through the underbrush and finding a bush with a pulling at the thin sapling branches.  "I don't suppose you have any loose thread in that outfit of yours do you?"

Khanna grunted.
"None that would work for what you're trying to do." He eyed the other over. "But I could see what I can make do with yours-" ANd suddenly he was man handling the other and attempting to rip at a small, loose thread on his sleeve.

Crowe snatched Khanna's hands and shoved them off him.  "I have no sleeves," he said pointedly.  "Just wait."  He didn't wait to be asked before ripping at the shoulder of Khanna's jacket to reveal the thread that he needed, plucking it off with his teeth when he found one long enough.

Khanna growled and moved as if to slug him, but held back, eyes simmering poisonously.
"You better hope we find some allies soon," Khanna warned, the threat real on his breath, but he refrained from any nastier words or actions.

"Just hope we find some food," Crowe grumbled back.  "This is the wilderness, not the Scratching Post, Khanna.  If we get out of this alive, that'll be the least of our problems.  Now will you keep your temper in check, it'll only make things worse."

Khanna glared at him.
"I'm not a useless city dweller," he growled sharply. "Know your place. I grew up with enough knowledge of the wild as you, perhaps more." He sneered as he looked the other man over. "Get us to a river and I could catch us twenty fish." But it seems such places were not to be blessed on the pair, at least not in this area.

"Come on, we're making too much noise. If we're to set a trap we ought to do one in a more open area." It'd be hard for them to set up anything in the brush, and in a more open place their scent would be easier to mask away if hte winds were in their favor.

"Look.. over there, lotus seeds," And she moved to inspect the patch of berries. "This'll work well to lore an animal into a trap." She moved to roll the berries off with her fingers, and began to smash them in her hands.

"Use the juices to wipe on your body, and the seeds to collect for our trap." Birds and other forest creatures prefered the seeds over the pulp, and the pulp, she knew from experience, was  a natural and clean method to tone down their very human scent.

Crowe simply was not in the mood for arguing or fighting.  And being hungry didn't make either of them in a better mood.  Crowe didn't protest when he took a handful of the berries in question and smushed them over his body, the scent sweeter than anything he imagined with just a hint of tart in the air.  He didn't mind, even when it irritated a scrape along his arm.

"Very well, boss.  If you have a proper plan let's go about it."

Her body was blotchy and wet from the stain of the berries. She held a wistful of the seeds and dropped them in their growing pile. Then she rolled her shoulders and gave a crack of her neck.

"I think that ought to do it. Now let's work,to set the trap."

Within twenty minutes, a series of hare traps were set with the thin threas of Khanna's sleeve, the twig bent with delicate care.

Now all they had to do was wait.

Khanna wiggled in close,to Crowe in the bush they used for cover. After a time, she frowned and muttered, "You smell foul, even with the berries."

Crowe gave a grunt, scooting a little away from her.  "I think that might be because you crawled into that pile of dung I was avoiding," he said with a sniff, blowing air fiercely from his nostrils.

"That's not dung," he growled. "It smells like your fucking arm pits."

"No, it's dung.  And it's you."

About ready to,smack him, khanna found himself grabbing his arm roughly instead, eyes going wide at the sight of a dire boar with spot markings across brown fur and something black and rife dribbling from its snarling lips. And it's eyes looked wild, posessed. And as the beast past, Khanna noticed something protruding from the beasts side. It was some sort of large grey snake or worm, and black blood was dribbling from the gash it made from where it was buried deep into his hide.

[I'm not sure I understand.  Is there a dead snake protruding from the side of the animal? Or does it just have a weird snake-like tumor hanging from it?]

Dung or not, it didn't make a difference when the boar came by with the snake hanging it's side.  "What the helll?" Crowe mouthed and watched the animal linger closer to the traps.

It could be quick he thought.  A quick slit to the throat, but boars were deadly.

Occ: the idea was it LOOKED snake like, so it could be a tumor or some parasite.

---

Khanna's grip tightened.
"Something's wrong..." And he began to look around for a quiet escape.

"That thing on it's side... It's wiggling," Croww murmured.

The boar perked his head up, the. It caught wind of something and spooked, running away.

Khanna held his breath. Then when the boar was out of site, he hissed, "we shouldn't linger here." hed seen something like this before, some unnatural taint on an animal on the other side of the sea.

"You're right something does fucking stink...and maybe it wasn't the dung after all.  Or my pits as you've pointed out," he replied.  "You can let go of my arm now."

Snorting, Khanna moved to leave, doing it carefully, and as quietly as he could- and ensuring their exit would be in the opposite direction of the damn boar.

"We should probably find a water source, and travel that way." It'd diminish their scent for sure, and Khanna had an inkling they'd find easier targets to pillage and get a hold of something to unlock their chains.

"Keep on the look out. I'd hate to have that boar return."
Or something else far worse take it's place...

What was with her sudden change in demeanor?  She was ready to kill him a second ago.  He didn't argue and seeing as they were still chained together he went about remaining as quiet as possible and listening.

There was an eerieness that made a chill coil down his back.  And even the sounds of birds seemed to quiet down.

The forests grew a lot more quiet as they moved along,a nd Khanna moved herself like a cat, wary- and keeping her motions guarded and in sync with her surroundings. But it was unnerving, even the insects had stopped their humming.

But as they crested a hill, Khanna heard water, and began to move a lot more quickly in it's direction as the trail lead them both down a hillside that grew steeper as they moved down it.

The sound and smell of rushing water nearby made Crowe realize how thirsty he was, and he pulled them both down when he lost his footing.

Crowe tumbled only got dirt beneath him when he stumbled on a thickened root and he stumbled to the edge of a rushing stream.

Quickly he sunk his hands deep and drank plentiful, water soaking into his hair and face.

Khanna was unfortunately brought down with his partner in crime, and swore up and down bloody colors as his body scraped over stones. Jerking Crowe from his drink, he whacked him once, growling, "Fool" in a savage voice before the man himself was on his knees, and scooping up the fresh, cool waters as well.

It had been a long day.

Crowe was getting really tired of being pushed around.  So when Khanna reached his head in to drink from the water, Crowe shoved him off the embankment and into the water.

Not expecting the shove, Khanna went face first into the waters. But a split second later had her grabbing him by his chain and yanking him closer.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she growled clean into his face.

Crowe just growled back and just struck him across the face.  "I ain't a piece of dirt to be kicked around," Crowe growled.

Her eyes went savage and before she could even think about it, she lunged at him, whacking her shackles against his cheek more than once before taking him down into the mud and moving overtop of him to pin him down, straddling overtop-a nd attempted to strangle the chains around his neck.

Crowe grit his teeth, the blow knocking the wind out of him.  He landed hard on the ground before realizing what she was trying to do.  Being Khanna was much lighter than he was, he was able to roll them both over, sinking another fist into his cheek.

Khanna snarled and fought to get the man off of him, using the chains and whipping them up at the other.

[Lol. It's not a long chain.]

Crowe eventually did relent when he felt Khanna had enough.  "This is fucking pointless!" he barked.  "What the fuck is your problem?"

And when he did, Khanna sprang at him and snarled in his face.
"Maybe you're my problem," he sneered, threatening to strike the other man but just tightened his fist instead. "You're lucky I'm even letting you live."

"Even when I'm trying to work with you, you can't help but be a bastard," Crowe glowered back, gripping her wrist.  He paused a long moment, trying to catch his breath before leaning up and kissing Khanna fiercely.

The kiss was suffocating, but why not? It took the other by surprise as he released a pent up growl from deep within his throat. For a moment, Khanna felt elsewhere, like lava in a volcano losing it's steam into the air.

But then his eyes opened and he jerked away. His face skewed with a thousand emotions. He was just punching him in the face and now...

Khanna roared and rolled over top of him, pinning him back into the mud and kissing him back, just as savagely.

"Fuck it all," she growled. "I'm going to kill you anyways." And she mounted over top of him, not caring they were int he open, or in the mud. Something far more primal needed sated, first.

He didn't know why he had kissed him...her... Khanna!  He didn't know if he was attracted because she was a man, or a woman, or something in between.  Or if merely the tension had made something roar in his blood.  Crowe kissed them back, hands gripping up at her face, spreading mud through her hair.

"You don't want to kill me," he growled, nipping at a bottom lip.

She stifled his protest with another kiss and growl.
"I don't have a choice. You know what I am," and she pulled away from hungered kisses just long enough to look him clear in the eyes.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure," Crowe growled back, moaning into that kiss.  He hadn't realized he hadn't been kissed like that in a long time.  He supposed it'd be good while it lasted.  "Who would I tell anyway?"

Still his hands found contact with her body and he growled in frustration at the cloth that was in the way.  Palm up he turned his hand into Khanna's thigh, squeezing there and gripping feelingly between strong legs.

The clothing was infuriating, and when was the last time she fucked? It had been too damn long of a time, and Crowe already knew...
Her fingers worked deftly at the bindings that held her in, the leather such a nuisance when slippery and wet. It clung to her body tighter than her damn skin, and even after the laces and clasps were undone, she was growling with pure frustration in attempts to peel the damn leather layers off.

"Stop," Crowe said and pulled away with a thin string of saliva between them.  He supposed it didn't really matter now the nuances of their activity, if he was going to die anyway.  Might as well.  He sat up, leaning on an elbow before he reached up with his other hand and carefully tugged at the leather until it slipped from heated skin.

Her clothing was shed, or at least what could be done. The shackles were in the way, but the aggravation just served to rile her up even more. With her own clothing coming loose, she went after him, ripping open what she could and slipping off clothes, tossingthem into the mud.

Crowe struggled with his clothing, shuffling out of what he could get out of easily.  He didn't care that they were dirty.  When flesh was exposed to flesh, things were bound to get dirtier.  Crowe grumbled before going in for a hungry kiss.  His groin was soon free as he shuffled out of his trousers, his hands finding her skin.

All that remained of her clothes were the tightly bond wrappings that kept her breasts into place, but during their antics, they began to come loose, producing cleavage. Khanna gave a feral growl, lips hungry as she kissed him back and at times, even bit him. Her own hands were roaming his form, finding herself growing more heated the more of his bare body she felt. And when she found his member, she grasped it good before moving to shove the man down, his back in the mud as she climbed over top of him, massaging his member before guiding it to her sex.

He'd feel her heat, and soon the intoxicating bliss of a woman's sex in desperate need of a man. And though she was tight, Khanna was too lustful to care, and shoved Crowe's entire length inside of her, as she screamed out at the sweet victory before she began to ride him, wild and mindlessly- simply letting her body move to the rhythm of its need.

The taking charge of this situation didn't really surprise him.  She didn't seem like the lying down type anyway.  To really think this was happening was mind-boggling.  And he was certain he was dreaming.  Or have a nightmare.  Same thing right?

He braced himself in the mud, holding on for the ride for a time before he gripped her body and rolled them over so that he was on top, hiking her legs up around his hips and thrusting deep.

A guttural growl escaped her as Crowe turned the tides and pulled her legs up while she remained on her back. She naturally arched into the position, arms going around his form and and her heels digging into him to keep herself rock still as the man she was chained to pounded away into her body.

He wasn't the only one believing this to be a dream. But she didn't care. She needed this, and at the moment- she had nothing to lose.

He hadn't been with a woman in what felt like years, but their coupling was not going to waste.  Crowe moved so that she was encouraged to move with him, undulating hips against hers in a slow, painful grind as soon as his lips caught Khanna's once more.

Soon Khanna was moaning in pure pleasure, her feral voice melting into something more needy, lusty and even a bit more feminine. She writhed and whined beneath him, feeling the pools of pleasure rising and aching for them to be set free. Fiercely she kissed him, and demanded between growls, "Fuck me and fuck me good. I want to scream until my voice goes numb."

"Yeah,  fucking.  Hard, good.  Yes," he murmured.  He wondered if he ought to say something else, a compliment?  A joke?  Now wasn't really the time for laughs, but could it hurt?

"You're really....uh, handsome? Rugged, yeah, that." His body shuddered and he shut his eyes to focus on each thrust, hammering into her until he could feel himself slipping over the edge of ecstasy.

Khanna growled, "Just shut up and keep at it."
She jerked beneath him, twisting into just the right angle that as he began to pound into her, Khanna's eyes rolled back and soon he was screaming of their relief.

Crowe burst without her, panting heavily until he rolled off her and planting himself into the mud.

Khanna lay there with her chest heaving with each breast. The mud worked nice to cool her body, which other wise would seem a nuissance while nude. But nothing mattered beyond that point. She was sated. She was content, and she could have easily fallen asleep after that wild, albeit short, rut.

Crowe didn't fall asleep.  Knowing Khanna even just briefly it was easy to believe he'd follow through on his threat.  When he was able, Crowe creeped toward the water and began to wash off, scraping mud from his skin.

They were joined too closely by their chains for Khanna not to know what he was up to. But he said nothing, got to his knees and began to wash off the mud of his face and hair.

It seemed the man made a huge tranformation as blonde hair was washed and combed down around his ears and showed off her more feminine side. Then again, she was also completely naked and her breasts easily gave away the truth of her gender. Then again, so did her pussy, which she actually let him in to have a taste.

Crowe supposed there was no point circumventing the matter.  He watched Khanna quietly for a time, his own face dripping wet and he grabbed his muddy clothes and began to wash them as best he could.

"So you're gonna kill me now or later?"

She cut her eyes to him, before reaching for her own clothing and doing the same.

Crowe watched her again, and when the clothes were largely clean since his shirt was still draped on the chain between them, he reached for one of her pieces of clothing to help finish scrubbing.

Raincheck then.

After the work was done, Khanna moved to sit in the waters, staring off towards their surroundings, but never once looking Crowe's way. Her stare was distant, a hand curled contemplatively beneath her chin.

"I suppose setting up those traps back there was for nothing then?"Crowe asked curiously.  "I mean we just kind've left them there.  And we're both kind of starving out here.  Though I guess I could fish.  I used to do it all the time."

He looked at Khanna again.  "Should I make a fire?  Are you, ahem, cold?"

Still silence, and it would take a moment more before Khanna turned her head.
"Make a fire." Was all she said, before moving to stand, waiting for him to do the same. It'd make their clothes dry faster than anything else they were trying.
"I saw some dead wood in the brush over there. Hopefully it'll be enough to get a fucking fire go," she grumbled.

Crowe held the bundle of their clothes under one arm and set them down on the bank as they passed by.  The air chapped his ass as they made their way to the dead wood.  It was better than nothing and he supposed it was good he didn't fall asleep after their rutting.

The wood was dragged back to their clothing, just above the bank, and smashed the wood with foot, or pieces of it anyway, splintering it out and making a small tower of logs and branches.  He'd work on making the fire next, taking some try leaves into a small hollowed section and working the friction to get it to smoke.

When it did, it went into the small tower, and the fire began to burn.

Khanna helped where she could, but kept relatively silently. There was an uneasiness about her, and a nervousness, too. Once the fire was going, she peered around, listening, waiting, as if the smell of smoke might alert anyone lurking.

Even still.. It felt nice to feel the fire breath into life, and she shivered and moved closer to it. Despite still being completely naked, she seemed unphased by it..
But as it were, her gaze was elsewhere, along with her thoughts and her mood, easily pensive.

Crowe remained quiet as he did all the work - as usual - and laid out the clothes for them to dry.  Not that there was much room to move, and his seated position brought him right beside Khanna again.  He didn't ask if she was all right.  She didn't seem to ever be.  So he stayed quiet until he felt his stomach growl again from how hungry he was starting to get.

"We need to fish," he finally said aloud after a quiet fifteen minutes.  "Let's go."

Khanna turned to Crowe, nodding once before moving to stand. Her legs felt strange, especially inbetween her thighs, and she stumbled a little and rubbed at the awkward soreness. Sex legs.. it'd been a while since she had to deal with that.

The water wasn't too far away, which was good. They could keep an eye on their things, and the fire. Stepping out into the waters, she looked around, shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun.

"Can't say I'm much of a fishermen," she growled. Ugh, why did her voice sound so awkward?

"It's okay.  Neither am I.  You learn lots of stuff when you're forced to live out here.  Thought not for death's lack of trying," Crowe murmured as he joined Khanna in the waters.  He looked over the water that was around their ankles and he looked around them.  There wouldn't be much they could catch without hook and rods, or making a net from reeds and grass, and all that would take time. 

Crowe was hungry now, and without even a fishing pike they were sort of at a loss, but he had one method that might be useful, even if it was a little crazy.  "We could try catching them with our bare hands.  You just gotta be patient.  Think  you can do that?"

She gave him a sharp look.
"I think I'd rather try my luck with a sharpened stick." But what did they really have available to them for just that?

"Then let's try that," he said with a nod and scrambled back up the bank to find sticks suitable enough.

With a sharp stick in hand, Khanna felt more at ease as her form hoovered over the shallow waters. The fish didn't seem so big, however, each time she stepped near them, the splashing scared them away, and her shadow over the water more or less redirected the school of fish elsewhere. She did, however, try futilely a few times before angrily throwing her make shift stick spear at the water.

"Gods damn fucking fish!"

Crowe shook the chain and grabbed her shoulder.  "Hey! Hey look, you caught one," he said and grinned.  He took his own spear and stayed on the edge, throwing the spear down into the water and snagging one.

Khanna made a face,t hen yanked the spear out. Sure enough, there was a flailing fish on the other end.

"No need to get fussed all the time," he said, and pulled the spear from the river.  There dangled a fish writhing.  Never did he think he'd be naked spear fishing with the leader of the mountain cats but there was a first for everything.

She gave him a cleaving look.
"Fuck you."
And she moved to pull the fish off her stick, and dropped it onto the river bank before moving towards the water, to see if there weren't any other, fatter looking fish to catch. she knew the ones they both speared would offer very little in terms of meat.

Crowe just scoffed.  She could be butthurt if she wanted to.  He moved back with Khanna to the river, throwing his fish off to the side and raising his spear, and waiting patiently for a fish to come along.  "Just stand still.  Don't move and they won't know you're there."

Khanna cursed.
"You make 'em sound dumb as bricks."
She knew better. Even if they were still, it would take some time before even the primitive fish might ease up and assume the foreign legs in their water are just a natural part of their scenery. Then again, there were other ways to catch a fish-

And just as she was studying the waters, Khanna found herself suddenly howling and leaping out of the water, splashing around in a fury before tripping over the sudden taunt confines of the chains before toppling over into the shallower waters, bringing Crowe down with her.

She got a face full of river water, and pushed herself out, and he off of her, before reaching down to yank the damn crawfish off her big toe.

If she was impatient, she couldn't stay still.  And if she couldn't stay still she was taking him down with her.  He was about to throw the spear again when she yanked him down.  Coughing violently, he spat up surges of water, gathering himself and crawling off of her. 

"What the fuck!?"
He snatched the crawfish from her hands and tossed it onto the bank.  "There, we've got enough."

Khanna glared.
"It's not like you fucking got toe-pinched by a damn crawdad," she glared, pushing herself up off her back and moving to stand. She looked towards their haul. It still looked puny. Either way, it was something to eat.
"Come on, let's just cook the damn fish."

Crowe snatched the two fish and stalked back toward the fire.  It was here he poked both of them with sticks and began to roast them.

"Let me take a look at your toe...  those things can take off appendages."

Khanna dragged her toe back, keeping it pressed into the dirt as she gave Crowe a death glare.
"I would fuckin' know if my toe was falling off," she growled at him between her teeth.

"I doubt you would.  Your senses are clogged but with all that rage," he replied calmly.  "Now please let me inspect your foot."

Khanna scowled, but eventually uncurled her toes from the dirt.

Crowe carefully inspected her foot, using exact stregth and looking at the blood now coating his toe.  "I think I can seal it up if you'll let me.  Take some ash and wrap it some cloth should make it heal nicely.  Or if you prefer I can burn the wound."

Khanna dragged her foot back.
"The ash is fine." she glared at him. "Now... let's focus on the fish." And she sneered at him before moving towards the fire.

"Okay," he said and slowly turned the fish so that they could roast properly.

She went quiet, watching as Crowe tended to the meat. She was angry again, flustered, and couldn't keep her mind off of just how good his dick felt. She denied herself a lot of things, and bedding a man was one she swore off- but fell into a heavy addiction from time to time-
Which only ended badly for the man she bed- since all of the ones she'd ever bedded she killed.

Her eyes studied the chains between them, then down to her stupid, weak woman form. Her eyes cautiously traveled over to Crowe's form, a simmering hate and jealousy easily seen.

He could feel eyes on him, and it only made him double his efforts on the meat.  The last thing he wanted was to start a fight, but he could feel the heat behind Khanna's gaze.

"Could you quit lookin' at me?  It's giving me the creeps," he griped.

She snorted and looked away.
"How long before the meat's ready?"

"When it smells like it's burning.  It's not gonna cook any faster if you're staring at it," he sighed.

"I'm not staring at it, I'm staring at you," she spat.

"Well quit it. Its fucking creepy!"

She gave him a dry smile.
"I was sizing you up. Thinking on how to skin you so I can wear your flesh." She bared her teeth at him. "You were lucky to be born a man."

"Hpmmm.  Yeah I'm really lucky," he scoffed. 

Her eyes cut him and she gave a sharp tug on their chain.
"Don't tempt me to kill you earlier."

He stared back at her, meeting her gaze sharply, determined not to be pushed around.  He said nothing and sniffed.  He turned the fish over, focusing on it's browning.

Yeah, that's what she thought. He didn't have a come back. Then again, she was tired and angry- she always felt angry. She was hoping the sex might have helped. It only did.. for a short time. But now she was hungry.

She moved nearer to the fire after a time, and saw the fish getting black.
"Looks like they're done." And she moved to take one of the speared fish off of the flames.

And that's when Crowe smacked her hand and shoved it away.  "It's not finished," he growled. "It needs to cook thoroughly or you'll be puking all over."

The slap earned him a bare footed kick to his side from Khanna, and a glare before she dropped the fish back in.
"I've eaten raw fish before. You only puke if the water is bad."

"Clearly," he said and shoved her hard aside, and taking the piece she had taken for herself.  And handed her the crawfish instead.

"Just eat," he said and carefully tore the fish, eating the meat delicately between sharp narrow bones.

She had no finesse when she ate, and wasted nothing. Although the food was welcome, it awakened her stomach which growled loudly, wanting more.

He wasted nothing either and simply choosing not to choke on unnecessary bones if he could help it. So the pieces were cast into the fire and burned gradually. The powder would be collected when the flames died down, for now the extra kindling made the air smell fishy around them.

Crowe was exhausted and he laid back against the ground, silent, not wanting to look at Khanna. Especially not while she was eating.

Fish finished, Khanna belched and wiped the grease from her lips off on the back of her hand. Still hungry, she knew better than to complain. Who knew when the next time they'd have food. She stifled a second belch, making a face at the fishy taste that burned even her nose.
"Next time we eat, lets kill a fucking boar." Pork sounded heavenly.

At her belch, Crowe snickered, although he tried not to make it obvious.  But after a few seconds of holding it in, he burped a loud one as well, and that one was quickly followed by a head toss and a cackle.

Crowe snorted and looked at Khanna, trying to hold in his laugh with one hand, but unable to contain it. It was infectious and he simply couldn't stop himself.

Her glare struck him.
"What, are you a fool?" Smacking his shoulder, she sneered and looked into the shadows. She was about to comment on the smell, but soon it was clear the scent was not from burped fish as the black and white tail of a skunk came into view.

Yep, that smell was definitely not fish.

"Shit."

Of fuckcicles!

Crowe saw the tail from the corner of his eye and swiftly rolled up to his feet. He dragged Khanna with him as the skunk came further into view.  "Let's get out of here!"

He wouldn't argue with that point, but just as they scrambled the other way- it seemed the skunk wasn't alone, because just a few steps running the other way and a second black and white tail stunk into view.

"What the fuck-"
But it was too late, for the skunk was scared and replied in the only way it could-
And now the entirety of their situation was about as shitty (and smelly) as it ever could be.

So they couldn't run.  And they clearly couldn't hide.  But with the water so close, Crowe wasn't going to just wait around for them to just be sprayed into oblivion.

So he dragged Khanna to the water, staggering as he did so, tripping over his own feet and throwing himself in.

Khanna stayed beneath the water for as long as he dared. This was a nightmare. Maybe if he were to just drown, he wouldn't have to deal with this fucking dilemma. It wasn't that he couldn't handle it, it was just this was too damn humiliating that he wanted to wash his hands of it. But as it was, he was chained to one of his fellows, a fellow who was now the only soul (aside from his brother) that knew the truth of his gender.... and had also fucked with him. Now a skunk and well....
If he could fucking punch the world he would. Angrily, he released the remaining breath he held and pushed to surface, gasping for air and grimacing at the fresh scent of skunk in the air. He just hoped to the Gods it didn't land on them before they hit the water. They wouldn't know, however, until they were much further from the smell.

Once they were free of the water, Crow pulled on the chain between them to keep them up and over to the other side of the stream. They were far enough away from the skunks to at least get some real fresh air, but the water had only done so much.

Now they were cold and wet and shivering and soaked to the core and their clothes were on the other side.  Crowe scowled at that moment and just glanced at Khanna.  "I'm sorry, boss," he murmured.  "Let's just wait till tey go away. Then we'll go back to camp. Then we'll find our way back to the Scratching Post."

Khanna was scowling and looked exactly like that of a wet cat. She hated being forced in such a state (because hell, it was hard to hide the fact she was a woman when her breasts were fully exposed and she obviously was sporting a vagina). Her eyes, however, were glued upon the land where the skunks had been. It seemed their dive into the water must've scared them off, but the scent still lingered. She wondered how long they ought to wait before chancing getting 'stunk' by a skunk.

The waiting was obnoxious for other reasons as well. besides the fact she had to be ass naked and chained to Crowe, the air was cold and the water, not helping. Perhaps it wouldn'tbe so bad if the winds hadn't picked up. She shivered. Her chest was only half submerged int he waters, so as the winds blew and the waters lapped at her body, her erect nipples kept being revealed and hidden beneath the moving waters.

That was until she folded her arms across her chest.
"Do you see 'em?" she narrowed her eyes. "Come on. I think they're gone. Let's get the hell out of here." But as she stood, waters gushing down her naked body, she was only able to take about three steps when she lost her footing on the slippery river stones. Down she went- and along with- Crowe, who's body crashed into hers and was forced compromisingly ontop of hers as she smashed into the watera nd gulped down some of it with irritated rage.

Floundering, her fists found his face a few times before she fisted a hand into his hair and pulled her torso out of the water as she gagged and coughed out the fishy tasting river waters and made a face over at Crowe who was now seated over her lap as if the two had just had a fuck. She scowled. In a way, she wished they had. It was dehumanizing to think Khanna Dey could be so clumsy! Never mind the fact Khanna also finally found herself in chains...

She went to move, but then hissed out a cursed as she gripped onto her ankle- the same one thathad the shared iron links that kept her joined with Crowe.
"Fuck."

Great. She better had only sprained her ankle. Cause Kia's tits, if she broke her ankle.. there'd be hell to pay!

Crowe fought against Khanna's flounderings and tried to swim away from her that was until she practically held him down just to save herself! How did she expect to get out alive if she drowned him too! He was heavier than she was and it would take a while to chew through his foot!

Once she was seated on his lap, Crowe's arm secured around her waist and he ignored the throbbing bruises her punches would leave on his face. That would be dealt with later. So he swam back to shore and thew her ass back onto the bank, climbing up after her.

"For fuck's sake!" he hissed, rubbing at his sore eyeballs.  "Come on! They're gone!  And you have no sense of teamwork do you!"  It wasn't a question of course. And so he grasped her by the ankle and dragged her along the grass, back up the hill. Woman or not, he wasn't going to let his boss just die like that.

"Crowe," she hissed, stumbling along.
"CROWE." Her voice grew louder in protest.
"Crowe!" She slugged him,hard as she growled. "Fucking stop moving! You're going,to break my leg." The strain from the fall then all the forceful motions was making the pain worse.

The force of the punch caused him to let go and Crowe shuffled away, shaking and freezing from the cold water, and he dropped her ankle.  He knelt down beside her. "Stop, Boss. Be still. Let me take a look at it! It does look pretty swollen."

"Yeah, of course it's fucking swollen!" Ass. "I fucking twisted it in the fucking water!" Did he fucking think she fell on purpose?

"Sit," Crowe growled. "And calm down. You're irritating the wound with all your griping." His hands carefully felt around her leg and he tilted his head in his examination.  Yeah it wasn't good, and it would likely just get worse if it wasn't cared for now.

"Let me see what I can do."  He gently gripped Khanna's ankle with a cool hand and pulled it firmly until it felt like something cracked back into place.

Khanna winced, swallowing back a cry through a curdled grunt when something snapped. Her eyes cut into him like daggers.
"Kia's tits, if you broke it more I'll gut you,"s he growled.

Crowe stayed calm despite her threats and when he felt everything in her ankle was in place. And he just kept his hands around it to work the flesh making sure that the pain subsided. It was a firm but practical massage and he grunted despite her protest.

She was growling between clenched teeth. Was he done yet? SHe was already tired of this, exhausted and wanted to sleep. But she also knew they had to keep moving. Damn this. They also needed to get out of these damn chains. So help her if she had to be connected with Crowe forever.

Crowe did finish at last and stood up, taking Khanna along with him to drag them back to their camp supplies. The skunks were gone, but the area certainly felt tainted. He was careful to inspect their clothes before slipping his trousers back on and threw Khanna's clothes back at her.

"You feeling better?"

Khanna's face was surely give the man away. If anything, he was even more soured than he was before.
"I'd feel better to get all this fucking anger out." Khanna looked at the other man like a piece of meat before grabbing onto the collar of his shirt and forcing a rough kiss on his lips.
"Get those damn clothes off. We're going to fuck." Because damn it off if she was't going to at least get some pleasure out of all of this pain!

"What!? NO!"

Crowe shoved Khanna off of him and kept his arms out to keep him at a distance. "I went through all this trouble to get dressed! I'm not fucking anything!"

She slammed a fist into his throat and forced him near.
"Are you telling me NO?" she snarled, more like a threat.

Crowe choked and gagged with the fist at his throat. He was breathless but still kept himself on high alert. He reached up and gripped Khanna's wrist and shoved him back. His fist went flying into Khanna's face and he threw himself on top of his boss.

"That's goddamn right! I said no!" he growled.

But she angrily growled backa nd bashed her face into his, wrestling him by hooking strong legs around him and rolling to pin him over.

Crowe huffed and was pinned and he was half-dazed by the blow to the head. He freed an arm and sank his fist hard into Khanna's gut. And even for being smaller - and biologically female - he was surprisingly strong, and Crowe was going to fight him with all he had.

He gave another punch to Khanna's face and threw his legs up to roll Khanna over his head. Crowe whipped around and wrapped his own legs around Khanna's waist, locking ankles and gripping an arm around his neck and underneath his left in a half-nelson. "Stop!  For fuck's sake!"

Khanna cursed as her ankle got crushed, and the one he had just worked on helping her fix, too. It was perhaps what broke her from the moment before she went about to slug him back.
"Asshole. Never mind. Who'd want to fuck a runt like you?"

"Only crazy assholes apparently," he hissed back and when he didn't want to crush Khanna's throat he pulled back and slithered away as far as the chins would allow him. "Enough! All right!? Let's just get going again! Break these fucking chains or something!"

She glared at him.
"Why couldn't you have been some useful mage?" she grumbled, and went to get dressed herself. He was right. Sex was a bad idea. Now she just hated him rather than being angry.

Crowe let her dress and he fixed the clothes he'd been protecting getting up from the ground, keeping his back to her.

But that's when she angrily smacked him across the back of his head.
Damn it if she'd let him get the last hit in.

She smacked him. Just like that. Like a child. Like a...hoodlum.

Crowe whirled on Khanna and seethed and boiled over and grit his teeth. He wanted to strike him, this man that made him feel strange and tingly all over, to bury his face in the dirt and suffocate him. He refrained however and merely stood up, redressing finally.