Memento Mori [Eric]

[Jess]

Let's make some history together, eh~?

The fabled island of death~? A telescopic lens always a handy tool for anyone with a mind of conquest or discovery and Samantha Stephens no different as she peered through the viewpoint toward a stretch of greenery which now dominated the view before her, that sapphire stare of her studied what she could see with a sense of intrigue as she tried to spot something on the shore which seemed to live up to the name which the land possessed, but sadly, it seemed that for the moment the realm was firmly intent on keeping its metaphorical cards close to its chest, from the look of things.
Our mother of nature has certainly doted on you, hasn't it~? Only able to make out a dense and seemingly unrelenting overgrowth which seemed to dominate the land she looked at, while a lofty peak seemed to rise out of it in the distance all that one could see was a simple jungle and perhaps that might have fooled one into thinking that this was simply a verdant visage which had been untouched by the hand of man, and that was almost true. Almost, being the operative word.

I'll confess, I have been curious about it ever since I heard its name~ The young woman who stood on deck and slowly seemed to collapse the item in hand knowing better than this of course because it was simply her business to do so, though this green garden was one which Samantha was visiting for the first time in her life she knew plenty from reputation, and that was always such a mixed bag when it came to venturing out into the world they lived in. Certainly, the vista an alluring one which seemed to promise the island paradise experience but this entirely deceptive, in truth the realm toward which she was focused was one that most would shun and avoid due to the dangers inherent to it, and yet this blonde beauty was not among the number who wished to steer clear of it. Not at all, in fact.

Nice to have a chance to indulge that thirst… Even if I might need a little help to do so~? Not quite the angel she appeared in the rays of sunlight which extended overhead and prompted her to run her wrist over her brow and instead on occasion guided more by the intent of a daring devil than anything else, a land which offered ruins of repute which had barely been plundered by time or the hand of more modern men was reason enough to stop by, and that was without considering the fact that she was also rather curious about whether or not the region would live up to its hype as well.
Speaking of… With that in mind this enchanting explorer jumping at an offer to seek the island out and with the added bonus of having a number of proportioned men at her side as she did so, she would have been lying if she said she didn't see a certain 'bonus' in the fact that her employer had supplied her with a troupe of salty souls whose scars were almost as intriguing as the runes she found in ancient structures, though thus far hadn't had much reason to get to know any better than when they had first met to travel to this lush landscape.

“Are you boys ready for the off~?” That seeming to be something of a pity but nothing worth allaying the usual domineering manner of her bearing one little bit, when she was done surveying the scenery Miss Stephens smiled and tilted her head to the side as she stowed the last of her supplies and fixed her trusty utility belt around her waist, and then called out to her cadre of hardened fighters like they were little more than pups to follow her beck and call.
“It's rude to keep a lady waiting, you know~?” Almost certain to pay for this of course but for the time being allowed to have her fun and let loose a little steam as she tapped her watch impishly, she guessed that things were only going to get more difficult from here on out, and so knew she needed to indulge her fun side where she could. After all, with a name like 'death island' waiting on here, it would be a horrible disappointment if what followed had all that much opportunity for mischief, right~?

	Samantha Stephens	### words
	@tag, Khaki Queen,

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #1

South Blue was starting to be a bit hot for them. After everything they went through, the Wolves made several dangerous enemies and get dangerously close to the point, where the Marines could actually think they are too dangerous to be left alone, so Eric decided to change their base of operation and move. He always wanted to test his power against the dangerous waters of Grand Line and so that was the direction they took until he got a call from Gabriel. Apparently, aside from whatever crazy stuff, he was doing in the East Blue right now, the Professor found enough time for research and found evidence that a famous martial artist master used to live on Death Island before it got its name. Not only that, but he also found a school there and when he died, his apprentices buried him together with his most famous technique, the Swift Wind Kick. Technique, that Gabriel wanted in his collection. It sounded like a quite easy job done far away from the curious eyes of marines or CP agents and the payment was good as usual, so the Wolves took it. That was however before they found out, that he already hired another help. Young archaeologist that was supposed to help with the localization of the tomb and entering it. That was something new. Something, the Wolf King didn´t like. They worked alone, so he doubled the prize and Gabriel accepted it.

And so here they were. Ten people on a small ship, that was barely enough for them, on the coast of the Death Island. This wasn´t the first time Eric and his people would be tested by the jungle, but the first time, they would go so deep into it and with a civilian on top of it.

“Hmmm, I think you are a mistaken kid.”

The white-haired warrior growled when she started taking lead, addressing her as a “kid” despite being around the same age as her.

“I am the one who is giving orders here. Try to respect that, it may keep you alive.”

With that, he jumped off the ship, his bare feet, hitting the hard stones on the coast, followed by his people. Martin, a tall and heavily muscular man who was trying to hide his bestial nature under a perfect suit, Agnes, a dark-haired woman that was dressed like a rock star and armed with eight or so pistols, Gin, a young, athletic-looking man, who was dancing around Samantha like a lovestruck teenager since the moment she gets on board, Shio, over two meters tall mountain of muscles the thirties, that was dressed and acting like a professional bodyguard, Semjon, tall and muscular man with dragon tattoo covering most of his right arm who was speaking with heavy North Blue accent, Adam, the half-monkey mink that looked more like an animal than human and behaved like that too, Rahu, the youngest member, a man of average height but a well defined athletic body with a wild personality and Takeda, who looked more like a young businessman than mercenary.

“Ah don´t mind our boss, my lady!”

Gin sang as he walked around Samantha.

“We are glad, that you are with us on this god-forgotten island!”

Adam smirked.

“Yeah, you will work as perfect bait for local monsters.”

[Jess]

Let's make some history together, eh~?

“Kid~? My, my, it's nice to know my new beauty cream is working, Mr Large and in Charge~?” Scarcely intimidated as it seemed the ego had landed, Miss Stephens had imagined that there might be some bull-headedness lurking among the ranks of the meaty masses and smirks as she makes light of his intent to diminish her, whilst touching her cheek gently in a faux attempt to take his terminology as a form of compliment rather than show weakness. After all, these alpha sorts loved to boss people around, but sooner or later he would have the chance to prove if he was worthy of the lofty position he afforded himself in his mind.
“But don't worry darling, I'm sure a good girl like me will try her absolute best to take your words under advisement, alright~?” Seeming to also actively disagree with his assertion that he was the one in charge here, while she was happy to let him flex when it came to the fighting and do the lion's share of the lifting the blonde beauty showed an impish tendency as she reaffirmed the fact that the aim of archaeology here made this very much her wheelhouse, and as such she would continue to act under her own initiative before all else as far as their purpose here was concerned.

“Goodness, I have to wonder how you gentlemen have time for all this adventuring, what with all the charm contests you're winning~?” Comforted for a moment as one of the more reasonable minds in his cadre seemed to reach out to offer reassurance and quietly appreciating that fact, Samantha was far more pronounced in her response to the continued cheek she seemed to face from other members of their intrepid band, and rolled her eyes as she faced some of the usual efforts of humour which she was more than happy to bat back with the same cheer and aplomb that she showed their leader.
“Though I suppose I should be flattered, no~? I mean, it sounds like you're saying I look irresistible~?” Never one who could be said didn’t know how to roll with the proverbial punches or play with the boys either, all too quickly the sapphire eyed siren was fluttering those long lashes and smirking as once again she took an overly and overtly optimistic interpretation of the supposed jab she was given and made the best of it, and waltzed onward into the island afterward with the hilt of her sword in one hand and her trusty pistol tucked into her belt, eager to see whether the realm of death would live up to the hype or not…

	Samantha Stephens	### words
	@tag, Khaki Queen,

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #2

As the blonde girl was playing with words, Agnes, the black-haired girl with the visage of a rockstar, who robbed an army shop turned around with a vicious smile on her face.

“You better keep your word in this case. Because you wouldn´t be the first annoying helper, my brother killed.”

Gin, the only one who seemed to be affected by Samantha´s charm from the lot frowned, almost as if he suddenly remembered something he didn´t want to, but shortly after switched back into his cheerful demeanor.

“Well, yes, but that´s already like three months ago, and he was nowhere nearly as cute as you, so I am sure you´ll be fine!”

He laughed nervously, as they entered the forest.

Despite Eric’s threats, it still seemed, like the Wolves were professionals, who knew their line of work as once their group disappeared under the trees, their members made a cordon around her, with Eric in front and his lieutenant Martin covering their rear. The remaining members spread around, forming a semi-circle around Samantha, with the only exception of Adam, who used his monkey-like physiology to swiftly climb on a nearby tree, acting like their scout, with an aerial view.

“Alright guys, according to the map from Gabriel, we need to travel almost 20 km into the inland and if I am not mistaken, we will pass through the territory of at least two separated monkey groups, so stick together and watch each other´s backs.”

With that, he led them deeper into the jungle with the confidence of someone, who knew his way around it. And truth to be told, he did. The Wolves discovered this island almost two years ago when they got into the South Blue for the first time and were using it as their training ground since then. But usually were staying much closer to the sea as this place could pose serious danger even for a experienced group of mercenaries as themselves.

[Jess]

Let's make some history together, eh~?

“You brother… Really?” The brow of the blonde lifting when it was proven that it wasn't just the men in this bunch who were on the whole lacking for gentility, Miss Stephens found a note of surprise as an ebony haired figure with an energetic visage seemed to speak up next of familial association and some not so veiled threat as well, and yet even this and the decreasing degree of subtlety in the distaste that she was shown did not stifle the heavenly historian.
“I'm sure that wasn't easy to grow up with, was it~?” Instead tilting her head and offering a sentiment of sympathy as she glanced between the siblings and felt sorry for at least one in the pairing, the sapphire stare of the siren narrowed with spoken sympathy for the woman who was raised with such a brutish figure in her life, and guessing that this was likely a big reason for the roughness she showed around her edges, she saw fit to offer a hand of friendship therein. There was no sense letting marauding masculinity damage the sisterhood, right?

“Cuuute~? Aren't you sweet, hm~?” Cooing with approval however when the nicer face among the bunch once more seemed to offer at least an attempt at reassurance, even though she wasn't sure if the lad was trying to comfort her or himself Samantha offered the brightness of a smile and a soft set of eyes, and knew that he was quickly edging out the pack to prove her personal favourite among this gruff group.
“Nice to know the team isn't all tyrannical testosterone~?” Opting to walk alongside him in fact as their little troupe began to traverse their land toward their target, the lashes of the lass fluttered a little bit as she showed a sense of verbal approval for the kindly consideration she was offered and a physical acceptance as well next as she lifted a hand and rested it on his arm, and hoped that given time and the right opportunity perhaps she might manage to win a few more of these louts toward her persuasion as well. After all, the air did feel a little thick with tension as it was, and that was before they even ran into the horrors of the island.

“You certainly are well informed, aren't you? I'm almost starting to think there might be something underneath all that brawn and bravado~?” Skipping forward a little when the man with the plan offered up his expectation for how their plan would follow, given the tough attitude that the 'chief' seemed to show she guessed he was likely more at home fending off bravado than flirtation, and so Miss Stephens showed she was happy to roll with the punches as she moved closer and offered him a compliment for his understanding of the situation, even if it was a little backhanded. Though given who she was dealing with, it seemed like he might like that more than the suggestive sentiment she offered most men, right~?

	Samantha Stephens	### words
	@tag, Khaki Queen,

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #3

In response to Samantha's question Agnes smirked.
"What you don't see the family likeness?"
She asked apparently in a very good mood, before shooting her head.
"Dunno about that, we met for the first time as teenagers. I was just running from my psycho father and Eric from jail where he was locked since...seven bro?"
The white-haired fighter remained silent for a moment before replying.
"Six"
"Since he was six years old."
Agnes finished, acting as if it was normal for a kid of that age to end up in prison.
"S...sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!"
Gin was suddenly flying backward, propelled by a terrible case of nosebleed, that threw him against the nearest tree.
The Wolves erupted into laughter, with only Eric frowning from annoyance.
"Shio put him back on his feet."
He ordered to the large suited man, who grabbed his younger colleague for his shoulders and raised him.
"She thinks I am sweeeeeeet!"
He sang, legs still wobbling from the combination of the hit and blood loss.
"Yeah, yeah, that's wonderful, now get a hold of yourself, because I am not carrying you."
Eric was watching this scene from distance. Gin was an excellent warrior, one of the best he ever recruited for the Wolves, as proved by the fact he was still alive after several years of serving with them, but this inability of his to handle women was getting really annoying.
As he was watching them, Samantha came to him with another attempt to flatter him.
"Cut it, I am not in a mood to play any games."
He said without even looking at the blonde woman.
"If you want to be on my good side, just keep quiet and do your job, so we can drop you back when we found you."
The Wolf King frowned. With every passed minute he was missing Gabriel and his brooding silence more and more. What was he even doing that he sent this outsider instead of going himself?

[Jess]

Let's make some history together, eh~?

“Let's be diplomatic and say you got the good looks, hm~?” Happy to see that her fellow femme seemed to perk up a little when given a bit of the old fashioned attention, Samantha smiled at what she could only assume was a joke about the resemblance between her and the brother she seemed to hold so beloved, and tilted her head as she offered a playful but not entirely insincere compliment. After all, the awing amazon was all the rage these days, was it not?
That's going to give you some issues, no? Finally seeming to find a reason to stifle herself however when the lass mentioned a less than pleasant home life and a stint in prison which seemed to stimulate sympathy even for a sibling so churlish as this one, the mouth of the minx seemed to grow quiet for a moment as she imagined such sourly scented suffering, and was quieted as she felt a pang of sad sentiment move through her as she looked between the pair and found a little more forgiveness for their less than stellar manner.

“As an chocolate fudge sundae~” The spirit of the sapphire eyed siren seeming to lift quickly however when the blushing boy seemed to swoon all the more at the compliment she gave him, it was only more endearing to see the lad seem to buckle with bliss and what looked to be blood at the scant flirtation she had given, and encouraged her to go a shade further both with her words and the beat of her eyelashes to form a wink as well.
“Teeheehee, nice to know I can still sweep them off their feet, hm~?” Turning toward her new gal pal with a note of triumph once she had done so and feeling a nice little boost to her ego as she did so, while the cartoonish manner of the man seemed to make it a little hard to picture much follow through on this bout of back and forth it was still nice to enjoy flexing her charms a little, and hopefully helped to keep her own mind and that of others away from notions of dread about the land they were currently diving into.

“So we're trying more of a treat them mean, keep them keen kind of mantra~?” Certainly not about to take a hint from mr conversation no matter how frankly it seemed to be expressed, however, perhaps it was that bossy nature or the mere fact that he seemed so disinterested in conversation that pushed Samantha to ignore his warnings or even something else, but really when it came to a girl like this telling her to shut up was like waving a red rag at a bull in Barcelona.
“Sorry to say then that if you were expecting a good little girl, you might have picked up the wrong bookworm today~” Only more and more likely to poke and prod at him verbally the more he tried to nudge her away, she was happy to smirk and bat her lashes a little as she pointed out he was dealing with no run of the mill librarian here, and with any luck, maybe she'd have a reason to prove that too before the day was out…

	Samantha Stephens	### words
	@tag, Khaki Queen,

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #4

Agnes grinned, as Samantha tried to reflect the little boost for the ego.
"Gin is a novice level. Try to do the same with Eric."
She blew a kiss to her brother, who reacted with an even darker frown.
"Very funny."
He muttered, before turning his attention back to the talking nuisance.
"Already noticed that."
The Wolf King growled angrily, turning around to continue in their journey. Focusing on the thought that the sooner they'll finish this job, the sooner he'll be able to get rid of her.
They pressed deeper into the forest, staying away from the trails and footpaths prepared by various gangs of monkeys to lure naive travelers into a trap. Eric led them for almost an hour, without a rest, until he suddenly paused, when a large cone hit the ground near his right foot. With a gesture, Eric stopped their group, searching the area in front of him with his bare foot, before suddenly stomping on the ground in front of him.
There was a cracking sound as if someone broke a dry branch and then a large part of the ground in front of them collapsed into a deep hole.
"Monkeys…stay close together, looks like we will have company pretty soon"
The Wolf King growled as he walked around the trap.
"That cone, that was signal."
Gin whispered to Samantha, that hour was enough for him to regain his calm, but not enough to resist her charm.
"Adam is moving above us because from there he can see patterns In the ground when they are regular, it's a sign that there is a trap ahead."
He explained, only to earn the ire of another member. Semjon, the guy who was a head taller than Gin and heavily muscular, with the look of a professional mobster.
"Shut it."
He growled.
"Or are you going to tell her where our base is and how to contact our clients too?"
Gin looked at him with a mixture of amusement and sarcasm in his eyes.
"Don't lecture me, new guy. She is an archaeologist and not a mercenary and we are skipping town after this job anyway, so what's the big deal?"
He turned back to Santha with a charming smile.
"Right honey?"

[Jess]

Let's make some history together, eh~?

“Gosh, throwing down the gauntlet, are we~?” Arching her brow as her fellow femme teased the group's easy mark and then drew attention to the hurried hostilty who took charge, Samantha grinned at her new gal pal and then cast a wry smirk toward the latter, and made no secret of the fact that the idea made her run her gaze up his not on the whole unpleasant form. In fact, she might have even said she liked what she saw, if he hadn't had such a chip on his shoulder of course.
“Well, I suppose I can't say I don't enjoy a challenge now and then~?” Shrugging at the idea of claiming something a little more 'difficult', though their connection thus far has been all friction, she can't help but note that with a little less the attitude a rough and tough warrior man might just be right up her alley. Hell, in the right kind of mood, even large and in charge could suit, couldn't it?

“Clever little devils aren't they? Not many apes can be this sophisticated, can they?” The brow of the blonde beauty lifting when their lead seemed to bring the group to a halt because of something that fell from above them, the vision of the vixen widened as she watched a pit fall form in the floor beneath them, and had to take a step nearer as she showed a casual admiration for their ingenuity if nothing else.
“You guys certainly are full of surprises, aren't you~?” It seeming however that those mischievous monkeys were not the only ones on the island who showed a surprising cunning however, Miss Stephens had to observe that she had hardly noticed that their scout had been absent all this while as they trekked through the overgrowth, and suddenly was glad for that fact given the result.

“Now, now, your friend might be right… I mean, if there's a fort full of roguish gentlemen like yourselves to enjoy, I might just make a beeline right for it when we're done here~?” Hardly missing a beat as another moment of friction seemed to emerge between the varying personalities in the group and honestly a little surprised that the larger man was considered a rookie in the gang given his impressive stature, though Samantha didn't want to disagree much with the one member of this party with whom she seemed to have an easy rapport she couldn't help but joke as they discussed their base and her knowledge of it, and shot a wink to the lad as she noted how she wasn't entirely lacking for appreciation of their overall barbarian bearing either.
“Though rewards might be something to think about when the danger has passed…?” Doing so more to break the tension however and showing that in spite of her jokes she wasn't taking the situation entirely without seriousness, she could almost guess that their stony faced commander would be grinding his jaw at the chitter chatter, and opted to beat him to the punch as she reminded her companions that this was no time to be dropping their guard.

“Fortunately for us, your friend isn't the only one here who's good at spotting danger coming~” With that in mind the heavenly historian reaching for her holster in an effort to ensure they were better armed and forewarned in the event of a possible attack, she lifted a short and rather unique pistol from the pocket on her hip and then threw it into the air in an act that would likely confuse an amateur, but revealed the promise in her deed as the weapon spun through the air and then took the shape of something entirely different.
“What would a girl be without her guard dog, hm~?” All too quickly the gun gone and in its place standing the poised form of a rather intimidating animal, in truth miss stephens had been tempted to reveal her fearsome friend before this but had decided it would only make her appear more standoffish to the party if her protective pet had been growling at their jokes and jabs, and so instead held back until she really needed him. So now, now seemed as good a time as any for him to make his introduction, right~?

	Samantha Stephens	### words
	@tag, Khaki Queen,

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #5

The white-haired veteran watched silently as his subordinates briefly argued among each other unconcerned. People who served with him knew way too well what his opinion on infighting was and never broke the only sacred rule their group had, at least not more than once. So while grumbling, Semjon didn´t pursue that matter any further, while Gin went on to explain to Samantha what Sickle-tailed monkeys were. Only for her to react by throwing her gun high in the air. There, the pistol spun freely, before transforming into a large Doberman.

“What a waste of a quality gun.”

Agnes sighed, seemingly displeased by the fact someone dared to use it as a vessel for a Devil Fruit.

“Hmmmm”

Eric muttered watching the dog with a hint of interest.

“Hmmmm what?”

She asked, surprised by the Wolf King´s reaction.

“Hmmmm, nothing, I just had no idea that these fruits can be given into weapons. How can pistol even eat one?”

Eric wondered, before shaking his head.

“Never mind, let´s go.”

With that, the white-haired veteran turned around and continued deeper into the forest. Together with the archaeologist and her dog, the Wolves pressed forward, deeper into the territory of the monkeys, which meant they were encountering an increasing number of traps. And as they were avoiding them, the jungle rang with disappointed screams of the local population.

“Guess we made them angry.”

Martin smirked, as he noticed a sudden movement high above their heads.

“Yeah…”

Eric nodded, gesturing to his people to take a defensive stance around their charge. His Wolves moved swiftly, making circle around Samantha, with eyes looking upwards. They didn´t have to wait long. Only few heartbeats after they took their positions terrible scream echoed through the jungle followed by a fall of two monkeys down from a nearby tree. As they hit the ground it became obvious, that only one of them is sickle-tailed while the other one was in fact Adam, who was up until now, watching over them from the trees.

Agnes moved swiftly. Taking aim on the monkey, that was wrestling with their companion, before putting it down with single shot.

“Adam, into the circle!”

Eric snapped his command, as the monkey mink swiftly retreated with three deep cuts running diagonally across his chest, probably caused by the razor-sharp claws of his opponent. Another moment later, five more monkeys dropped from the trees around them, while screaming charging against their formation

[Jess]

Let's make some history together, eh~?

“Oh, are you more of a cat person, dear~?” Tilting her head as her fellow femme seemed to lament the supposed 'waste' she saw in transforming a pistol into the pet which Samantha adored, the heavenly historian let loose a little pout because of such a coarse comment and shook her head as she assumed a less offensive meaning behind such reasoning, and then reached a hand down to soothe her delightful dog since she guessed he might be a little tense given the company she had chosen to surround herself with.
“Don't worry, he's quite the softy when he gets to know you…” Placing her palm upon his head and gently toying with his fur in a fashion she knew would help to calm him, the curled lip he had shown upon arrival seemed to ebb and droop downward into something a little more tolerant, and permit him to focus on the strange scents which abounded in the vicinity in order to pick out those which seemed familiar to him. Relatively so, at least.

“You know, I've often wondered the same…?” The flaxen femme for her part seeming to be surprised by the curiosity of their curmudgeonly leader but also intrigued when he seemed to question the method through which her handsome hound had been birthed, she nodded at the question and narrows her gaze upon him with a sense of wonder about the person behind that arrogance and attitude, found her eyes drifting between the man and the mutt as she contemplated such a topic.
“I had to rescue my dear boy from a man who was entirely unkind to him…” The vision of the vixen lingering on the less grizzly option as she recalled the circumstance which she pulled her partner from, she couldn't help but speculate as she did so over whether their intrepid leader would be more beneficent toward an animal like her capable canine cohort, and felt only a little guilty in assuming that he just might prove a brute as well, given what she had learned thus far.

“Remy!” Shifting her focus however when the subsequent attack began in earenest and wasting no time in revealing her second weapon because of it, perhaps in part because of the fact that she resented the assumption that she needed a wall of bodies around her to keep herself safe, the brainy blonde plucks her sword swiftly from its sheathe as a couple of shapes fell to the ground none to far from her, and though impressed by the dead eyed shot of the lass nearby, Samanatha never the less ordered her pet to ward their wounded ally as she bounded forward to cover him from subsequent assault.
“I think you've had enough of this one, no?” Showing little concern for the formation in fact as she did so, the sapphire stare of the temptress tightened as she swung her sword swiftly in order to deter the attention of a second ape who seemed intent on following up on the handiwork of their lead, and felt her steel sing as it clashes with those claws in the resulting deflection, though knew even then that this 'dance' was only just getting started.

	Samantha Stephens	### words
	@tag, Khaki Queen,

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #6

For such a big guy, Adam was surprisingly agile and fast, running from the monkey that gave a chase with loud screaming, while swinging its sharp claws in his direction. It however never got a chance to hit him, as before the strike could even land, Agnes gunned it down with one of her pistols, swiftly changing one weapon for another as the remaining five monkeys made a charge on their defensive formation. A formation that kind of lost its meaning as Samatha used the gap made for Adam, to engage in combat with one of these monkeys herself.

“You have to be kidding me…”

He growled angrily, making a half step forward to block the incoming paw bellow its sharp caws, before slicing its neck with the claws of his own.

“Wolf Claw”

As the monkey fell down it manages to take another swing at him, this time, with the claw on its tail, forcing Eric to swiftly jump backward as he didn´t want to lose his head to this last-ditch attack.

Two monkeys were dead, but the four remaining were way too lively for Eric´s taste. One especially agile one was spinning herself around on her hands, with her razor-sharp tail stuck out forcing Martin and Semjon to keep their distance in their attempt to take it down. Shio sent another one flying with a well-timed punch, however, that nasty monster just jumped back on its feet, rushing back against their circle and Gin stopped the third from its attempt to jump above them and attack them from inside their circle by grabbing her tail and slamming the monkey back on the ground in front of them, cutting one of his hands in the process. And as for the fourth one, it screamed in frustration, when Samantha blocked its claws with her sword, swiftly moving it´s tail between it´s leg to stab her with the long claw on it´s end from bellow.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Wolf Claw}
Advanced version of the previous technique, where Eric instead of grabbing his opponent focus all of his power into the tip of his fingers to actually pierce and tear through their skin and flesh. Creating four cuts as if his hands were actual claws of ferocious beast.

[Jess]

Let's make some history together, eh~?

Feisty little devils, aren't they? Perhaps a little surprised by the force that the mauling monkey could command but more than experienced enough in combat to know how to deal with that, what Miss Stephens lacked in pure power she more than made up for in both speed and technique as she rolled with the blow in order to deflect it, and with any luck throw her attacker off balance as well, even if she did feel a little guilty for doing so with a mere animal. After all, it was only doing as nature had designed, wasn't it?
“My…” The viciousness it showed compelling the vivacious vixen into action all the same and certainly not about to pull her punches much when she saw the famed sickle it carried upon its tail seeming to lurch toward her lower limbs, while some might have been caught by surprise and forced to some way cradle or flat out endure such ferocity this fair fox was above it all, quite literally in fact, given the route she chose to respond to it.

“I thought these things were supposed to be fast~?” Sharp of reflex and more than that an able acrobat to boot, and maybe surprising those who surrounded her and expected little more than a mere bookworm, Samantha simply hopped upward into quite the showy little flick of her heels, and as she flipped over the creature let that terrible tail flick ineffectually beneath her. To happily provide quite the imbalance in combination between the two, which, of course, was her moment to strike back against it. The flaxen femme was a noted counter puncher when it came to combat and favoured striking when her opponent was at their weakest or thrown off balance like her frenzied foe was now, with it reeling from the lack of resistance its attack had faced in the last effort and surprised by her agility as well.

“Guess they aren't up to much one on one, eh?” Wobbled by this of course and ready for a reply and the flying fox intent on making it a resounding one, while a gentler side to this sultry siren might have had her lash out with a kick in order to show a little mercy, she guessed that there were too many sharp points on an animal like this to risk using a portion of her smooth and silky skin to strike with, and so the sword she carried in hand seemed the most productive outlay really on reflection of that fact. Deploying that razor sharp edge with a lashing strike while she remained airborne and inverted, the soaring stunner struck 'up' from her perspective and with the aid of gravity to boot, in order to deliver a blow which it would be unlikely to recover from any time soon…

	Samantha Stephens	### words
	@tag, Khaki Queen,

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #7

After Samantha dispatched her opponent in a breath-taking display of speed and agility, there were only three opponents left and the numbers were quickly dropping even further. Martin, the musclebound warrior with the visage of a professional gangster became bored with the constant retreats and so simply charged against the spinning monkey. He got his timing right, earning only a shallow cut across his back as he grabbed the screaming ape, before pulling its tail across his shoulder and slamming it against the ground with a simple judo throw. Once it was there, he knelt down, showering it with a barrage of bone-shattering strikes from which each one carried enough strength to knock down an adult man cold.

The second one rushed straight back on Shio, who previously threw it away. However, seeing that Samantha left the protection of their circle anyway, Takeda stepped in, hitting its side with a powerful elbow strike. He wasn´t big enough to send it flying, but still, it was enough to stop it in its track for a moment. A moment that was long enough for Shio to grab its neck and twist it in a way that made it obvious, that this particular monkey won´t get up again. And as for the one Gin slammed to the ground, it tried to jump back up on its feet, only to be gunned down by another of Agnes´s pistols.

The remaining monkeys hidden among the trees were screaming in frustration and anger, while Gin winked at the She-Wolf.

“So you couldn´t bear the idea of me getting hurt, my love?”

The gunslinger snorted in response, quickly reloading her pistols.

“I was aiming at you.”

Gin made a wounded expression but stopped fooling around when Eric started barking his orders.

“This was just a vanguard. They sent outcasts to form their troop to test our strength. They probably won´t attack after such a display but don´t let your guard down. Five minutes to rest. Patch yourself up and we will continue.”

With that, he headed toward Samantha with a righteous fury incarnated.

“Good job with that monkey, but we are paid for protecting you, and it´s hard to do so when you are sticking your neck to every damn blade around. So next time, stay in that damn circle, or next time, I´ll personally drag you’re a** out of the jungle, understood!”

He growled angrily.

[Jess]

Let's make some history together, eh~?

“I see.” The vision of the vixen tightening as the man who thought himself in charge of the operation seemed to stride over to berate her for the fact that she had treated one of his comrades like a member of her team, though the danger doggo she had brought was grimacing and growling at the words as he stalked across the grass and returned to the side of his master, Miss Stephens remained cool and calm as she wiped the blood from her blade and returned it to her sheath and then turned around on her heel.
“Come on, Remy.” Shaking her head as she decided that there was no room in this mission for both her and the obviously inflated ego that this sad excuse for a commander was dragging along with him, he had seemed to forget that her cooperation was indispensable for this operation, and without it they were just a bunch of idiots with overblown attitudes which could achieve absolutely nothing.

“I'm not going to stand around here getting shouted at by a jumped up thug like you, regardless of whether it's for your sake or your boyfriend's.” Deciding because of that she had enough of being treated like dirt and losing any ounce of the sweetness she had carried in her tone because of that, Samantha wasted no time in marching right back the way that they had come because she honestly had neither the time nor the interest in giving this clown a chance to prove himself a big softy beneath that tough exterior, and instead simply wanted to move onto another opportunity which would provide her with satisfaction over stress.
“So let's leave, Mr Big Shot Boss. Apparently you fluffed the mission because you can't treat your allies like they're people rather than tools to be used. So enjoy explaining to the real boss of this operation why this whole thing went south, because I'll be damned if I loan you any kind of help after all this.” Able to cope with the island of death and the ranks of a menagerie dedicated to that purpose but not about to do so alongside a fool rammed so deep in his own anus he couldn't show the person to whom he was beholden even the scantest respect, courtesy or thanks for her speedy deed in protecting his underling, even if she had to go it alone and find her own way back the blonde wasn't about to budge now. That is how thoroughly she had been disgusted by the bully at the head of this pack…

	Samantha Stephens	### words
	@tag, Khaki Queen,