Bandits

A flash of auburn feathers was seen running through the golden fields of the plains outsides the great city of Messus. The phoenix kadin grinned happily. She had just lightened a caravan for their gold and some meat. Her loot securely stowed away in a knapsack on her back, designed for exactly this purpose, the ketucari made haste to get away. The city was well known for their police force and even though the caravan had a day or two to get to the city, probably more since they were injured now, Miranda wanted to be far away when authorities got involved. Being a phoenix was quite nice but it also got you indentified faster. And so the kadin was running for the shores. Eventually reaching them, she stopped, panting. Finally! Now she should be able to rest for a bit... Miranda reached towards her knapsack, pulling out a bottle, which she emptied in two large gulps. Time for a break!

Barrow leaned against the pole on the Messus beach, the same one his companions had tied their boat to earlier. The group of them had wanted to run into town for a grand time; not him though. Too many strangers and dirty males around just waiting to put a knife in your back. So here he stayed, watching the groups of ketucari and two legged alike wander back and forth. Not much interesting happened, but it was more interesting than sorting through the ship barrels again. A female came running along the beach, covered in long feathers and probably hot underneath it all. He never got how Phoenixes didn't overheat, but then again he was always cold. "You got a monster chasing you?" He called out, amused at her panting.

The voice of a stranger captured her attention and Miranda turned her head. How surprising to see a toa like him. Balds usually tried to keep to warm places and Messus was not that warm, at least not this close to the beach and not in this season. A half smile tugged at her lips as she threw back her mane in a confident manner. "Maybe. Didn't want to find out." She mustered him. He did look like he knew a thing or two about the world. "What about you? Tasked with holding the pole until the boat's sailors come back?" Miranda grinned. That was something SHE would have tasked someone with, just because she could.

"Naw," he patted the post and stood up, no longer leaning on it. "This little thing is mine. Gave the others a ride off our main ship so they could have some playtime in the city. That's our real ride." He motioned out farther into the bay where a large and impressive ship was bobbing in the waters. "Anyone who tried to steal our little transporter here would find a knife in their throat soon anyway. Aren't many like it and we can recognize it from a mile away." He sounded proud of his water vessels, looking to them fondly.


Miranda's gaze ventured to the large ship laying in the bay. "How many are with you?" She never had encountered pirates before but then again she seldom raided along the shores. Vanishing into the high grass was easier and she had to be careful with a coat like hers. "Your boys should be careful in the city. The officials have quite the stick up their asses." She grinned. "Pulling at those sticks is fun however." Oh so much fun. Sadly they always were careful to never engage in combat when they were the ones with the lower numbers. "So.. what are you gonna do with that waiting time of yours?"

"A few of us," he didn't give the female a direct answer, knowing better than to give someone else enough amo to plan against him. Thieves were all around, who was to say this lady was any better? "We know our way around though, captain is a level headed gal. She doens't take nonsense from anyone and we aint gonna get caught doing anything around this dump." People wandered past them, either enjoying the beach or moving between their own boats, and he watched them lazily, all the while keeping an eye on his interesting new companion.

He was right in that. She was a thief. A lone thief at the moment however and not reckless enough to try and wrestle a ship away from her crew. Some jokes in the taverns went that a captain had to marry their ship and that's why they always went down with her. "She is? That's rare for you lot. Or maybe I've never seen good pirates then. Think I could meet her?" Why beat around the bush? Sailing with them for a while certainly had positives sides to it and she would see something else than the always yellow grass of Messus' Plains.

"You're bold," he chuckled, "asking to see the captain of a crew you know nothing about. She might just decide you're trying to get into our crowd because you're an unsavory spy, and you don't want to know what she'd do with ya then." His eyes trailed out, looking past Miranda and out to an approaching figure. "Tell you what though, missy. You best me in a spar and I might see if the captain wants to listen to whatever it is you want to tell her."


"Well, what d'you think I'd be? A mouse?" She grinned and not not surprised at his next words. "'course she would. That's common sense." Honestly, she'd do much the same were she in the captains pawprints. Her grin widened as the bald ketucari continued and offered her a way to earn her talk with this ominous captian. "Sounds fair to me, boy." If he could call her missy, she'd repay it in the same coin. "Let's get started then!" The phoenix kadin was polite enough to wait for any verbal or non verbal response before beginning to circle her sparring partner.Only a fool would rush in blindly. Miranda knew pretty well that while her thick feathers provided some cover, they also were long enough to be an equally big hinderance if she wasn't careful. And so she circled for a while before finally lunging at the toa.

Barrow grunted, starting to circle slowly and lazily. He wasn't going to put the effort in or make it look like he was really trying, that would make her think she was an actual threat to him. His watchful pace and attention prepared him for her attack, which he sidestepped to avoid. A phoenix trying to pick a fight with a male like him? He may be short for a ketucari, only standing slightly taller than the smallest of their kind, but he was no less powerful with his muscled form. His teeth snapped at the fur on her tail, aiming to grab a mouthful and pull on her hairs.

They were sparring and not trying to kill each other and it would make no sense to play with open cards when sparring against a stranger. At least she would not. The phoenix was always wary of small opponents, they usually made up a lack of seize in speed and speed often decided a battle just as much as pure strength. She accepted his lumge after her tail and while he was gripping and pulling at the hairs there, she aimed one front paw at his shoulders. Miranda could not help but wince for the blink of an eye as her feathery hairs gave way. Her tail would look bad, but well, it could be worse. She could go without some of her hair.


A shimmery lilac pink kadin approached the fight, sitting just outside the range of their fighting and watching the pair with curious eyes. A quick glance from Barrow told her that she shouldn't enter the fight, and so she remained out of it. Yanking some fur strands out of her tail, Barrow allowed her own blow to push him backward and away from her. A few steps away, Barrow began to circle again, not attacking her right away but instead slowing the fight down and making them both wait and plan.

Miranda only noticed some movement from the corners of her eyes. She was too focused on Barrow and could not afford to ignore the bald ketucari yet. Still she raised her nose to sniff the air. No, no scent that should not be here. None of the critters that inhabited Messus' plains at least. The phoenix shook her tail, letting some loose hairs fall that Barrow had not taken with him. The two ketucari circled each other for quite some time again until Miranda decided it was enough. Her opponent was clearly seasoned in combat and knew how to fight back. She probably should not give him too much time to gauge her movements. She charged at him but seemingly missed, jumping past him - to then try and smack him with her tail while passing him.

There is was, his patience paid off as she lunged at him. Confusingly, she missed, badly, when attacking though, sailing right past him. His head turned slightly to follow, letting the thick ketucari tail slap against his head. His jaws snapped open and then shut in his surprise, grabbing the limb in his jaws and snapping down, this time getting more than just fur. He held on like an attack dog.


Well part one of her plan worked, he really did not expect this type of attack. However her plan also had a drawback as was apparent when the pirate managed to catch her tail with his teeth. Miranda yelped. That actually hurt. Unwilling to give in to pain, she tried attacking Barrows rear instead. After all that was what she had planned for after this current attack.

Barrow didn't let go, spinning and walking around with her tail still held tight in his jaw. He couldn't avoid her attacks to his rump, only side step and make her follow him to attack. To counter her was to release his grip on her tail though and the bald toa refused to unlock his jaw unless a better target presented itself. So he was left snarling, letting her attack while he pulled and shook and growled at her tail. The frizzle kadin nearby chuckled while watching. The constant pull on her tail was not very comfortable and Miranda did count herself lucky for having experienced situations like this one before. Still she had to dance quite a bit whenever Barrow pulled her. As she was spun around once again, the phoenix finally noticed who had caused the movement in the corners of her eyes from before. A shimmery frizzle kadin sat and watched them, mirth quite obvious on her face. More than likely one of Barrows crew mates then. Miranda tried again to come loose, this time by butting her head as well as she could against Barrows side. Her horns had to be useful for something!


The bald grunted, his hindquarters nearly buckling as hard horns hit his side. He was grateful he has hold of her tail, keeping her from hitting him more full on. That could spell death for a ketucari, unless they were some strange fellow who knew how to heal internal bleeding. He released the tail finally, tongue wiping the taste of blood from his teeth as he tried to jump onto the larger fighters back

Miranda tried jumping away from him as soon as she was free and noticed his intent. The kadin kew her mane would be her doom should Barrow be able to get a hold of it. She cast a halfway glance to the frizzle still watching their little bout. Maybe... She tried jumping in her direction, tried to force Barrow to calculate the other kadin into his actions. If this was indeed a fellow crew member, the bald toa surely would not be willing to injure her. And that way Miranda could also get some information about these two. At least that was what she hoped.


The shift in the kadin's attention and intent was obvious, the bald looking up to the new target and immediately snarling. He might have been playing it slow earlier but if this scum was going to do this then he was done with their game. The male hit the ground, missing his initial target but fully prepared to hit on this next motion. He sprang, claws grabbing the female's rear and pulling himself close enough that his teeth could sink into the back of her hind leg, jaw locking and unwilling to release. Good luck running with his teeth tearing into the running muscles. This turn of events was unexpected by the frizzle and she stood, chest expanding and fur on edge, ready to fight as well if pushed to do it. There was no amusement in her eyes anymore, only a cold glare.

Good, really a crew mate then, was all Miranda could think before the teeth snapped shut around her leg. The phoenix let herself slump down to the ground. "I yield", she panted. Barrows reaction told her she was walking on thin ice and she had no intentions of crippling herself. Now she had to hope that the toa would accept her forfeit and also that this crewmate of his would not decide on joining the fray for some bloodier combat. Miranda doubted she would be able to hold her own against two seasoned veterans.

The opponent dropped but Barrow didn't, his grip still on her as she stayed on the ground, unmoving. Growls came from deep in his chest until the frizzle sighed, stepping forward. "Release her, she's done." Her voice was commanding but not angry or scolding at him. "And you," she addressed the phoenix while Barrow reluctantly let go, "can I ask why you're causing trouble around these parts?"

Miranda might have quipped something smart, one glance to Barrow however let her think twice about that. He was fierceful protective of this stranger, she did not want to see how fierce he would get. And so she decided to go with the truth. Sometimes using this way out confused people interrogating her. "You mean why I was fighting him? Well... he'd challenged me to a spar while we were waiting for his captain. If I'd be able to beat him, he'd in turn talk to the captain and see if I could meat her." The phoenix still stayed on the ground. As long as she was unsure of what exactly the situation was, it was safer to wait here, posing no threat to any of the two pirates.


"And you thought a spar was the perfect time to lunge at someone you knew was out of the fight and would piss off your opponent." Shih looked less than thrilled. "You have a death wish." To Barrow, she nodded toward the ship. "Everything alright? Noone messed with our things while you were being bothered right?" The pink ketucari didn't see anything out of the ordinary and could only assume the bald male had done his job as normal. "It's all fine," Barrow slowly stopped hovering threateningly and just stood back watchful.

"Tch. It was a feint. I was never going to actually lunge at you", Miranda retorted. "I may have made a mistake in that yes, but I am not that stupid." That was a rookie mistake. Dragging another ket into the sparring was something she'd only do if she was training cubs or anyone where she was sure of winning even if the odds were two on one. Since Barrow relented a bit, Miranda took that as being able to roll into a sitting position. Just laying on the ground all defenseless was agony for her.

The two gave her cold looks, neither amused or convinced. "Boat's waiting Shih, I'll take you back." Barrow turned away from the female's to head to the smaller transport boat at the shoreline. "The others are probably still around the markets. Chef Fancy pants was making Raku carry things for him and the others were checking stuff out, so no point sitting on the shore waiting." The frizzle nodded, following him to the boat.

Those looks did not bode well. Miranda still did want to try out howit felt like being on board of a ship, however maybe she should wait for another time. After all moods were sour now and she definitely had to do something to get back in the favour of both the frizzle called Shih and this smartass bald. The bandit waited for a while before standing up, shaking her mane once she had done so. What to do now? No way in hell was she going to run after them like an over eager puppy. They should take her serious and at the same time not view her as a threat. However if she let them sail now, it might be ages until they'd be back. Mumbling about her options the phoenix walked to and fro, flattening quite a bit of grass. Finally Miranda swallowed her pride. "What I can do to make up my mistake?" she waned to know, making sure that she was near enough so the two ketucari could hear her, but at the same time far enough away to signal she meant no harm.

Barrow didn't even look back, stalking to the boat like he was on a mission. Shih had an ounce more of pity though, and glanced over her shoulder just enough to make eye contact with the phoenix who was standing there at the docks. "Take this rejection with dignity. And then find me another time when you're wiser and have some control. Then I'll talk to you, Landlegs." The pale pink frizzle shook her own mane out and trotted to catch up to the bald male, her head easily two heights above his but she still started up a hushed conversation with him as they headed for one of the boats in the bay.

Dignity, huh? Miranda snorted albeit silent enough so the two pirates would not her the small noise. Dignity. Oh well. She would do that. One day she would brave the waters and loot to her hearts content. This fuzzball of a captain just wait, she'd show her! The kadin watched as the two ketucari left, watching them board the boat. Only after they were out of sight did she turn and vanish into the yellow fields of Messus. She would return later and learn everything about pirates she could. After all Miranda had already learned that apparently they did have a code of honor she was lacking so far.