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The Mustache and The Beard



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Tue Sep 11, 2018 12:43 am
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Featherstone says...



She went back on the offensive but was slowed by the injury in her side, tossing her sword to her off hand and trying her best to avoid further injury.

Ari grinned back and yanked his sword out of the stump.
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."


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Tue Sep 11, 2018 1:07 am
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soundofmind says...



Amy charged at another thief but it didn't take long for all of the thieves around them to start pulling... guns. Guns. She growled, backing up towards Ari. It was one thing to knock one gun out of one person's hand, but there were at least a dozen thieves circling around them, pointing guns at them. Her tail tucked under her legs. She didn't want to get shot.

Meanwhile, James was barely keeping his head above water as he was trying to make it to Tasha. His sloppy defense was catching up to him, and the moment he wasn't looking, that same bat from earlier klonked his head hard. Everything went black, and his body flopped to the ground. Hoss ran up, picking him up like a sack of potatoes. Meanwhile the remaining thieves swarmed around Tasha, and Rita stood at the top of the hill.

"Do we kill 'em?" she shouted, voice carrying over the trees.

A bunch of voices carried up. The majority vote was "yeah" but there one or two "nah"'s mixed in. Rita pursed her lips into a mocking pout as she looked over to where Amy and Ari stood. "Awe, but we could make them useful! You know how I love to repurpose troublesome people and welcome them into the family. How about we just keep them for a bit, see if they'll break."

The thieves collectively nodded, inching in closer to the remaining three, and Hoss hurried up the hill with James slung over his shoulder.
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Tue Sep 11, 2018 1:13 am
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Featherstone says...



Ari bellowed and raised his weapon, unwilling to surrender and ready to defend Amy. Tasha came back-to-back with the werewolf as blood turned her gray shirt crimson. Without warning, the hunter lunged forward and grabbed for one of the thieves. If she wasn't injured she might've pulled it off but a moment's flinch made her too slow. There was a deafening bang as a gun was fired and she cried out, collapsing as a bullet went through her thigh.
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."


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Tue Sep 11, 2018 1:35 am
soundofmind says...



Amy barked in surprise as Tasha fell to the ground, and hurried over to her, stepping over her to block her from any more shots. She growled at the thief who'd shot her in the gut, but was really starting to feel helpless. That put them at two against.... thirty? Fifty? Even she couldn't count how many thieves there were in the trees. There was no way they were going to get out of this without getting more of them really hurt. She looked back at Ari, worry written on her wolven face.

"Maybe we should just surrender," she said quietly, with a voice still inexplicably hers, though coming from her wolf form.

"Oh! One of them has reason!" Rita laughed. "And of course it would be the werewolf. Of all of them."
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Tue Sep 11, 2018 1:37 am
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Featherstone says...



The concern in Amy's voice pierced through Ari's instinctive fight response, causing him to momentarily pause. They were outmanned, outgunned, and James was gone - not to mention that Tasha had been wounded. He hesitated.

"You aren't gettin' 'way w' this," he growled, dropping the sword.
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."


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Tue Sep 11, 2018 1:51 am
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soundofmind says...



"This?" Rita looked back at James, still over Hoss's shoulder. "Seems kind of dehumanizing to call him a this, but that's fair. Now tie them up, girls," she ordered.

Amy shifted back to her human form, still standing over Tasha. With her lower lip trembling, she offered her hands forward, letting them tie her up.
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Tue Sep 11, 2018 2:27 am
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Featherstone says...



Tasha wasn't so keen on surrendering, struggling to no avail and eventually getting knocked out for her efforts. Ari cooperated in the hope they'd underestimate his strength and he could break free of the ropes.
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."


he/him/his





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Tue Sep 11, 2018 2:36 am
soundofmind says...



Rita let out a begrudging sigh, watching at Tasha's unconscious frame got picked up alongside James's. A larger man, who stood only a short height below Ari, slapped cuffs on Ari, just to be safe.

"Well," Rita began. "Let's get going back to base then. I don't want to camp out in a forest if we can help it."

Spoiler! :
hMMMMmmmmmm timeskip i guess???????
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Tue Sep 11, 2018 2:51 am
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Featherstone says...



Spoiler! :
Yee. Ari won't do a darn thing and Tasha's unconscious so it's up to you and Rita
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."


he/him/his





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Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:38 am
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soundofmind says...



Amy cringed as the hood was pulled off of her. They'd upgraded her from being bound by the wrists to being tied to a chair by the waist as well, with her ankles tied together for extra measure. When she began to look around the room she saw Ari beside her in a similar situation - also tied to a chair, with a bag being pulled off his head.

They were in a simple little bedroom, and across from them, sitting on the bed were two of the thieves. One of them was that girl she'd scared by going wolf and tackling her. The other was a guy she didn't know.

"So how do you all know Tiberius? Or Liam. Or James. Or whatever name you know him by," the woman asked, crossing her arms.

Amy blinked a few times nervously and looked over at Ari. Was this an interrogation? They already had James, didn't they? Could they answer that kind of question? She didn't know how this kind of stuff worked.

-<>-


Bella sighed as she finished wrapping up the bandage around Tasha's stomach. The woman was still out, and it would've been useless to tie her up as wounded as she was, so Bella just sat back in her seat beside the bed, waiting for the red-headed monster hunter to come to.

-<>-


James didn't know how many more concussions he could take. It felt like, since bounty hunters couldn't kill him, they just liked to use his head as target practice for their swings. And every time it resulted in a blinding headache. His face contorted in discomfort as he lifted his head and looked around the room with bleary-eyed vision that was slowly coming into focus.

He was in Rita's room. Top floor. Three floors up. He recognized the draped curtains around the large bed in the corner, and the soft lighting. Reds and pinks highlighted every piece of drapery, alongside the giant, golden-framed paintings of scantily dressed people dancing on the walls. Rita had him... in a goddamned cage. The cage they used for transporting a griffin in one of their heists.

As he lifted up his head off the cold metal, he could hear the murmurs of people nearby. His eyes immediately began to search for anything outside of the cage that would be within reach that he could get to by squeezing an arm between the bars, but they'd deliberately set him in the center of the room. He heard the door to the bedroom open, only to see Hoss and Rita walking in.

"Aww, look who's finally awake," Rita cooed. "Well, you might as well go back to sleep. We'll be setting you on your way to the moonlight kingdom in the morning. Hoss will be in charge of your transport, so you'll have a lot to look forward to. Or - wait, no that's just me thinking about the money."
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:57 am
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Featherstone says...



"Philip-Liam-Tiberius-James?" Ari blinked, friendly as ever. "He has a lot of names, don' 'e?" He paused, then hastily added. "She don' know 'im, she just barely met 'im, fer real!"

-<>-


Tasha stirred and within a couple moments woke up fully, her heart skipping a beat as she abruptly sat up and then fell back as pain lanced up her abdomen. "You f***ing b******s won't get away with this!" she growled.
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."


he/him/his





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Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:23 am
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soundofmind says...



The woman nodded, looking at Amy. "Well, that's good. I don't suppose that means you'd be more keen on striking a deal then?"

Amy blinked again. "What do you mean a deal?"

"You join us and we keep you safe from monster hunters," the woman explained. "It looks like you need a safe place to stay and safe people to be with," she went on, her voice friendly in a way that made Amy uncomfortable. "We'd love to have you with us."

Amy shifted uncomfortably in the ropes. "I... have a hard time believing you when I'm all tied up like this," she mumbled quietly. "And even if you meant that I'm not just gonna turn my back on my newfound friends."

-<>-


"Get away with what?" Bella shot back sharply, looking over as Tasha's head hit her pillow. "I'm helping you, you idiot. What'd you do to get stuck with those losers anyway? Do you really have any loyalty to them? I don't plan on keeping you here once you're better. You're not who we want unless you want to stay. We don't really mingle with monster hunters. Or, that is what you are, right? Leah recognized you from around."

-<>-


James met eyes with Hoss, who wore a devilish grin. James's insides squirmed beneath Hoss's gaze, and he looked away.

Rita began to cross the room, and flopped onto her bed, kicking off her shoes. Meanwhile, Hoss walked over to his cage and crouched down to get on his level. James couldn't stand, nor could he fully sit up either. He awkwardly scooted back from Hoss, glaring at him.

This was degrading. He felt like what they intended for him to feel like. A caged animal.
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:27 am
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Featherstone says...



Ari gave her a look, trying to convey that she should accept that deal.

-<>-


"Yes, I'm a monster hunter, and getting away with fucking around with innocent people. Leave the giant guy and that werewolf alone. The wolf's mine, anyways. Do whatever the hell you want with Tiberius but the other is just a young fool," she snapped, afraid, in pain, and irritable.
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."


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Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:35 am
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soundofmind says...



Amy's eyebrows drew together at Ari's look, and she looked down at the floor trying to hide her fear. She knew Ari was right - it would be stupid not to take the deal - but in her gut, she worried that this would end up like other times. Where people sold her out or were afraid of her as soon as she shifted. What if they never looked at her the same? What if they just saw her as an animal? As a monster?

She bit her lip.

"Is that a no?" the woman prompted.

"N-no," Amy replied hesitantly. "No I - I'm willing to take it I just - what about Ari? Will you leave him alone?"

"That depends on if he's going to leave us alone," the woman countered, meeting Ari's eyes.

-<>-


"We already planned on letting the big guy go, but the 'wolf' is under our protection unless she refuses it, which she would be dumb to do. So if you want to kill a teenager then see how quickly we end you. We don't mean you harm unless you mean one of our own harm. And very quickly, she'll be one of us."
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:37 am
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Featherstone says...



He glared at them, spitting at the woman's feet. "You'll get my cooperation over my cold, dead body. Ain't no 'un messin' w' Philip-Liam-Tiberius-James 'n gettin' way w' it on me watch."

-<>-


Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head. "Son of a bitch."
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."


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It is only a novel... or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language
— Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey