Uneasy Alliance II.

[Bobbie]

When the shooting was replaced with the dreaded sound of empty clicking, Shinsei grinned. “So they’re not infinite.” he muttered and peeped out from his hiding spot, only to see Eric had reappeared! Bingo!

“There you are...” his gaze shifted to the remaining four kidnappers, clearly Eric’s targets, and for a moment, Shinsei needed to think about who he wanted to target more, whether it was their attackers or the wolfman with the pride of an entire pack festering the most unpleasant personality within him. Stepping out from behind the tree, he made his way out of the forestland and moved toward them.

On his way, he paused and crouched down to scoop up a handful of soil and grass in his wounded palm, instantly soaking them with the nicotine that leaked out of his wound. Bringing his other hand swiftly through the air to slam into the mudball, the nicotine ignited to create a makeshift flaming cannonball. Winding his arm back, he balanced on one leg for a moment, before breaking into a spin and released the ball of ignited grime in the direction of the kidnappers - and Eric. “Look out beloooow!” he shouted with a big grin on his face, as the clump of flaming wet dirt fell apart in the air just above the group, causing it to rain fire on them all.

The two gunmen struggled to divide their attention between the attack carried out by Eric and the new fiery assault that came from Shinsei. In a fit of panic, the two first bumped into each other, colliding as they attempted to run in opposite directions, then agreed upon one direction and their legs fumbled to carry them there.

“Wrong direction!” Shinsei intercepted them, grabbing one man by the wrist and yanking him forward to be between himself and the other gunman thus preventing him from shooting - just in case he had managed to insert any bullets with his shaking fingers. In that short span of a few seconds, the cyborg peered over in Eric’s direction, perhaps hopeful that some of the fire had struck him ... accidentally, of course ... then he shifted his focus back to his opponents. A simple ignited punch to the jaw of the man left standing was enough to send him into dreamland, while the other staggered into a faceplant in the ground, his head hitting a rock and knocking him unconscious with a loud ‘bonk!’.

Turning to Eric once more, Shinsei started to make his way toward him. “So... where were we?”

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #9

After dropping his first opponent, Eric kicked his abandoned sword against the machete-wielding guy, springing straight behind it. Driven by his reflex, the kidnapper deflected the incoming blade with his own weapon, overextending himself in the process. That was the last mistake of his life, as Eric slammed into him with his shoulder at full speed, sending the poor guy to the ground. Before the guy realized what was going on, the Wolf King knelt next to him and slashed his throat with his Wolf Claw. However, before he could continue with his attack, Shinsei meddled in it, throwing a ball of burning mud above his head.

At first, Eric ignored his voice, thinking he is just trying to distract him, however, when the first burning piece of dirt hit his shoulder, he dropped to the ground and rolled sideways, extinguishing the flames, while dodging the following fiery shower.

“That fu**er!”

Eric cursed, watching how the cyborg disposed of the remaining kidnappers as he rolled back on his feet.

“In the middle of killing you.”

He growled angrily, his fingers spread and bent as claws of a wild beast. However, before he could charge against him, a sharp female voice echoed through the place.

“You have to be kidding me!”

From a nearby hill, Agnes was running towards them, with laughing Martin following just behind.

“Why can´t I leave you two alone for a minute without you jumping on each other´s throats?”

She cursed angrily looking at the mess they made in the place, before pausing for a second.

“Wait…where is the hostage?

Without thinking, Eric cursed and sprinted towards the burning house. While they were fighting the fire engulfed almost the whole building, but there was no way in hell he would let their 100 million just burn like that.

Jumping through the broken window, his body was immediately hit by a wave of intense heat. The Wolf King growled with anger and pain, trying to locate the hostage through the flames and smoke. It wasn´t easy but eventually, he found her. Legs and hands bound with ropes and mouth stuffed with some kind of rag, that probably worked as a gag, shy managed to crawl into the corner of the house before losing consciousness.

“F*** , hope she isn´t dead…”

He cursed, making his way toward her. Dancing around the flames without any protection and barefoot was hard and painful, but Eric´s pride and stubbornness pushed him forward, silencing the instinct for self-preservation into the deepest corner of his self. There was no way he could fail his men like that. Step by step, he fought against the flames, until he finally reached her, grabbing the rope that was bounding her, before throwing her out of the window.

Although for Eric it seemed like an eternity, it was only a few moments from his jump into the flames until the woman flew out of the window. The prolonged stay in the hut followed by a flight through the flames did a number on her, but she seemed to be alive. Another moment later, Eric followed her as well. Coughing, with several burns, and smoldering hair he hit the ground right next to her.

[Bobbie]

Shinsei took great pleasure in watching the flaming clumps of mud rain down on Eric as well as their enemy. As he looked back to check if he had... unintentionally... struck the Wolf King too, he simply couldn’t resist a big grin appearing on his face and he let out a loud laugh with absolutely no attempt to silence it.

Then came Eric's reminder of where they were - he was about to murder Shinsei, and judging by his posture, he was ready to resume that position. “Oh goodie! Want to climb on top of me again?” he asked with a snicker, but before the situation could escalate, the most beautiful voice rang through the air, which Shinsei would recognise in an instant. Whipping his head around, he spotted Agnes approaching, his crooked smirk turning into a genuine smile - until he saw Martin just behind her, and his smile vanished. “Ugh.” he rolled his eyes, considering pointing out that it was Eric who started this, but the next words that came from the lady made him freeze.

Where was the hostage, indeed? Within the burning building of course, where else? Within the burning building... “Sh*t!” turning to sprint toward the building, he glanced at Eric who seemed to have the same idea.

“It’s on fire, you idiot, what’s your game plan here?” he shouted across the field, but he couldn’t say with certainty that his voice travelled enough to be heard over the burning debris. Packing an extra kick into his sprint, he dashed for the window before the big man, glass shattering as Shinsei managed to take the few shards that were still connected to the frame with him. No matter, Agnes can fix me up later, I need to get to the hostage before he does...

Once he was inside, unlike Eric, he could make it through the fire much more easily, but he didn’t have the muscle power that his companion did, and his body was getting tired. At this moment, Eric threatened to pass him, whether intentionally or not. “No you don’t!” he ran at Eric to ram him toward a fire, knowing that he’d be able to get out of that easily, but it was enough to buy himself enough time to race through the building before him. Turning to walk backward away from Eric, he stuck out his tongue playfully and winked, before turning once more to have his back to the man. Having no idea which room the hostage was in, Shinsei checked several rooms until he spotted her and crouched down by the bound lady. As he was in the process of getting a good hold of her to lift her, however, Eric’s big clumsy hands appeared, grabbing the rope that kept the woman tied, and she was suddenly flung out of the window before Shinsei could even try to stop him.

With a wince, he watched the poor unconscious woman fly through the window, Eric’s strength knowing no bounds, then he ran to the window after her, only to collide with Eric on his way out. Right after the muscled man, out came Shinsei, panting out of exhaustion, though not from the flames. With a tired sigh, he leaned forward, his palms on his knees. “Holy smokes... speaking of...” he uttered in between breaths, before taking out a cigarette to finally intake some fuel. 

"Good race, pal." Cigarette in his mouth, he straightened up with a groan as his body has endured far more than was planned. In fact, it was more than he had ever endured on a single mission. "My body is fire resistant. Next time, let the big boys handle it."

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #10

Still coughing, the Wolf King swiftly patted his own head, to put out the fire his hair was slowly catching. As he did so a cloud of ash fell down, leaving him with just a short burned remnants of his previously wild white mane.
"Yeah, and what would you do with her with these pitiful arms of yours, begged her to walk out on her own?"
He chuckled in response which started another fit of terrible cough.
"YOU SELFISH, IRRESPONSIBLE THICKHEAD I*IOT!"
On a verge of tears, Agnes ran to Eric, hitting him in the less burned shoulder.
"You could die there!"
Eric grinned in response, partly from pain, as even the better shoulder was covered with mild burns and was quite painful.
"Told you didn't I? If I ever kick the bucket it will be in the biggest fight this world ever saw. Something like a house fire can not kill me."
A single tear fell on his arm, then Agnes punched him again.
"You are such an i*iot!"
Meanwhile Martin made his way to their group, kneeling down next to the kidnapped woman to check on her.
"Hmmm, looks like she'll make it. Although some scars will be probably for a life. Also, I don't think she will wake up anytime soon, so…"
Grunting, Eric rolled up to a sitting.
"Yeah, figured that much…gather the crew and let them build some stretcher."
Michael grinned.
"Just for her?"
With another grunt, the Wolf King got back up on his feet, hiding the pain behind his usual, overconfident smile.
"Yeah I am as good as new"
But while he look as confident as ever, Eric knew better then anyone that the rest of this job should be as smooth as possible, because he wouldn't be much help in upcoming fight.

[Bobbie]

“Obviously not, these ‘pitiful arms’ would have lifted her and carried her as a gentleman generally does with a lady in need of saving, rather than flinging her through a window as a savage like you did.” He retorted, watching Eric’s coughing fit. A part of him was actually concerned and he blew his own smoke away from the man, so as not to aggravate his lungs further and make things worse for him, but this was Eric, the mighty Wolf King. Surely, he would be fine.

“Yeah, listen to the pretty lady, you selfish idiot!” he chuckled, grabbing the opportunity to insult Eric in an instant. Then he turned to Agnes, burning through his cigarette quickly. “Have you got any quick fix for this?” he raised his hand to reveal the bullet wound that had previously torn through his palm. “Something temporary till we get this job over and done with will do.”

Martin’s voice yet again cut through the air, eliciting a frown from Shinsei. What an unpleasant sound... he silently grumbled to himself, turning to look at Martin. At least, this time, he was saying things with sense that actually mattered, and his question was funny.

Looking at Eric, he flicked his finished cigarette to the ground and stomped it out with a subtle wince, then he laughed loudly. “You sure about that? The haircut certainly is new... not so sure about ‘good’. The rest of you, well, you've looked better, Wolf King.”

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #11

As Shinsei was bragging about the more gentleman way of pulling the hostage out of fire, Eric chuckled with hardly contained laughter, followed by another episode of cough.

“Yeah, dream on…”

Heading his commander´s order, Martin moved away from them, deeper to the forest to gather their remaining men, while Agnes took her first aid kit to take a care for their wounds. First of all, she took care of their hostage, as she was the one whose condition was the worst, before moving the Wolf King. She quickly bandaged Eric´s burns so he almost resembled a mummy cosplayer, before turning her attention to Shinsei and his wounded hand.

“Well, we still have a plenty of time, so I can stich it up if you want.”

The She-wolf offered him an wicked sile, before pulling out a curved needle and a thin thread. A several stitches later she made a final knot on the thread, before cutting it off, just as Martin returned with their fellow wolves and a makeshift stretcher, on which they put the still unconscious woman.

Getting back on his feet, Eric listened the Shinsei´s rambling about his look, while trying his very best to keep himself from jumping at that guy´s neck again.

“You know, one day, Agnes won´t be around and I will finally kill you.”

He growled in response, nodding on his pack, as Semjon and Shiro, the biggest guys in their group grabbed the stretchers getting ready to move.

“Let´s go. Our beloved lord Lockhart will arrive soon, together with our 100 million so we shouldn´t let him wait.”

This provoked his men to a short but cruel laughter as they headed back into the forest, leaving the burning cottage behind. It was build on a small clearance with the nearest trees twenty, maybe thirty meters away but still Eric couldn´t shake off the feeling that they just set the whole forest on fire as the ground around it, covered by a dry pine needles and cones was starting to smoulder.

[Bobbie]

As Eric received a new look, Shinsei let out a hearty laugh, “Look at you! You’re starting to look better with your face all covered up!” he cheekily quipped, before turning to Agnes who just offered to stitch up his hand.

With a little nod, he held his hand out for her to get a better look, then he spotted the curved needle. He hesitated for a moment, before snickering. “You know, one day it will be my turn to poke-” perhaps it was lucky that he didn’t get to finish his promise, the needle eliciting a wince through the cyborg's teeth, but he didn’t pull away. It made him fall silent, but his eyes spoke volumes without the need for words, as they proceeded to glide all along his carer’s body and features.

Agnes’ presence alone was enough of a distraction for Shinsei to forget all about the chaos that they unleashed on the cottage, failing to realise that the unextinguished fire had to go somewhere eventually. It was not enough, however, to take all of his attention away from Eric and his comment.

Turning back to Eric, he scoffed rather loudly, loud enough for him to hear as he flexed his fingers once Agnes was finished. “Haven’t given up yet?” he teased, as he began to count on his fingers, “What would that be, the… third? Fourth time? I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve failed.” Pausing, he put his arm around Agnes to gently pull her toward him in a grasp that she could easily get herself out of with very little effort, “She knows better than to leave me alone with a loose cannon like you.”

After his comment, Shinsei let go of her, hopefully before it got him any additional wounds from the woman’s claws, then took out a cigarette to light it up and refuel his body. He blew out a puff of smoke, the sweet relief of refilling at least some of his energy washing over him.

Without further arguing, he walked with the wolf pack into the forest toward the meeting point. His conscience nagged at him, but he wanted his share of that money too.

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #12

The Wolf King led his pack and the obnoxious red guy through the woods, towards the beach, where the exchange was supposed to happen. In his current state, something as simple as walking seemed to be difficult, but soon he picked the right tempo and managed to make his way to the head of their little group.

Because of the circumstances, they had a little delay, so when they arrived, Andrew and his new bodyguards were already present. The young nobleman looked incredibly nervous and pale, wearing a light, pinkish three-piece suit with a dark tie, he was holding a large briefcase, probably with the ransom money. Together with him, there were two large men. One slightly shorter and heavyset, with enormous arms and a softer belly hidden under a plain shirt, armed with two large shipwright axes. The second one was slightly taller and thinner, yet still incredibly muscular, wielding a harpoon and large maul. From the look of it, they were some local strongmen or something similar, that were lured by the promise of money. They looked intimidating, but from the way they were standing, and acting Eric judged, that they were everything but professionals.

“Alright, let´s do it.”

The white-haired veteran grinned, walking from behind the trees into the open, followed by his people, who made a semi-circle with him in the middle. They were standing on a small hill above the small beach, a few meters away and above Andrew and his bodyguards. Startled by their presence, they quickly raised their weapons, but it was lord Lockhart whose reaction was Eric interest in. And he wasn´t disappointed. When he noticed them, his jaw dropped and his eyes widened in an expression of pure shock and horror.

“Y…y….you!”

He yelled while pointing at him with a shaking finger.

“What are YOU doing here!”

He screamed on the verge of hysteria.

[Bobbie]

Shinsei walked with Eric and the others, but didn’t dillydally. In fact, he actually kept up and walked by The Wolf King’s side, and as they reached the elevated hill, the pair looked like a force not to be reckoned with. While the reality was very different, to an outsider’s perspective, they could have actually looked like a fearsome duo, the ashen wisps from Shinsei’s cigarette that matched Eric’s hair tone floating up between them.

This illusion was sure to be short-lived, however, as the cyborg was already growing frustrated with how crammed it was among Eric’s pack in whatever crescent formation they must have rehearsed. He was out of place, and he knew it, but he was also confident that if Eric were to be given any chance to leave Shinsei behind and not share the reward money, he would grab it.

“Here to bring your beloved back to you, as promised…” Shinsei replied, masking his guilty conscience behind a playful tone. “Only the terms have changed. Hand over the ransom money and she’s yours, safe and sound!”

With that, he stepped away from Eric and moved down the hill, eager to get away from the ferocious beast and bring this terrible mission that had gone so terribly wrong finally over and done with. Perhaps a greater incentive than that was the fear that if he didn’t get his hands on the money first before Eric did, he would never see it again. As he made his way toward the man with two guards, he only hoped that Andrew would simply pass on the money without any fuss and he glanced back at Eric just once to check how close behind he was.

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #13

Lord Lockhart´s shock grew when he realized that Shinsei was also there, seemingly acting as Eric´s right-hand man.

“What... what´s going on, you…you are here as well?”

He screamed, pointing one shaking finger at the cyborg, who seemingly tried to get the money just for himself. However, that wasn´t something that the Wolves would let slide just like that. Curiously enough, Eric didn´t have to even move a finger to stop him as Agnes, who was standing right next to them stepped forward, hugging tightly one of Shinsei´s arms.

“Where are you going, honey?”

She purred like a playful cat, with a look on her face, that was just as unpredictable and dangerous.

“Boss, you know these people?”

Asked the taller of the two bodyguards.

“Yes, these are the brutes I tried to hire before you. But I had no idea that they were the culprits from the very start!”

He screamed angrily in their direction, prompting Eric to a harsh laugh.

“Are you really that stupid? Of course, we are not. We just saved that lady of yours, but we won´t work for free, so pay up and we´ll be on our merry way.”

The noble man looked at Eric, then finally his eyes moved to the stretcher on which his fiancée was lying, his face turning even more pale than before.

“Sweet god, what happened to her?!”

He cried out.

“Accident, during the job, that happens. But she is alive and that´s what important no?”

Andrew slowly nodded.

“Alright…alright, I´ll pay you, five million just as we agreed too…”

The two bodyguards looked at him angrily.

“Hey and what about…”

But lord Lockhart interrupted them with a hysteric scream.

“I´ll pay you two as well alright, just let me…”

Eric laughed again. It was a hard, barking sound, that made the rest of his group chuckle.

“I think you misunderstood my friend; we are taking these 100. You kicked us out after all, don´t you remember?”

Andrew gasped for an air.

“But…but…you monster!”

He cried out. Seemingly, Martin had just enough, because he rolled his eyes, pulling a pistol which he pointed at the head of the unconscious woman.

“Stop with this whining I am starting to get sick of you…”

The one bodyguard armed with a harpoon raised his weapon in Martin´s direction, uncertain what he should do as he definitely didn´t want to fight with such a large force. But fortunately for him, Andrew gave up.

“Alright, alright! Take the money!”

He screamed, throwing the back in their direction.

“Alright, go for it.”

Agnes purred in Shinsei´s ear.

“But please don´t do anything stupid, I really like you, you know? So it would tear my heart if I had to shoot you on the run.”

[Bobbie]

Agnes suddenly latching onto his arm caught Shinsei by surprise, having never expected her to get so close to him, nor to call him honey, especially at a time like this. Feeling her body press up against his arm made his heart work at twice the speed and for a moment, the cyborg was lost for words as his legs refused to move. If there were ever a moment for a pair of hearts to beat instead of his eyes, this would be it.

As smitten as he was and unable to move away from the rock star that was clinging to him so endearingly, however, at least some of his attention was still in its right place as he looked at Andrew, whp continued to scream like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

Eric’s response was cold and harsh, just as expected, but it got the job done and the outcome wasn’t so bad, considering nobody got hurt- not seriously hurt, anyway, the hostage's burns would heal with minimal scarring. That was about to change as Martin threatened to shoot the woman and Shinsei turned around, nearly pulling away from Agnes, but not quite. Amidst all of what he got involved with, it seemed the redhead’s moral compass was not entirely gone as he was about to snap at the trigger-happy muscle-minion to lower his gun, but Andrew’s screaming once again filled the air before he could say anything.

The cyborg whipped his head around to watch Andrew once more, then the sweet music that was Agnes’ voice graced his ears, causing his cheeks to warm up and his knees to once again lose their stability.

The hold she had on him was certainly an odd one, but he simply couldn’t resist how drawn in to her he was, her purring whisper so close to his ear, her grasp on his arm, simply her being so close to him. Perhaps it was a connection that he missed which caused him to slip right into whatever spell he fell under with the simplest of gestures from this goddess that he wished to call his. Of course, he had enough sense in him to know that would never be, but there was nothing stopping him from enjoying the fun of a chase.

“I would never dream of doing anything like that to you. Just keep your buddies off me…” he muttered, before letting out a snicker and quickly kissed her cheek. Then he was off, moving to fetch the bag on her command.

Swiping the bag as it was flung their way, he didn’t take very long to return to Agnes, but this time he was also watching Eric and Martin, having little trust for them not to rush him and snatch the bag. “Look, I only want my share. I’m not asking for anything else,” he explained, though he held onto the bag. Handing it over to Eric or Martin would most likely be a guaranteed loss of his cut, and he didn’t know enough about the other members of the crew, so he simply returned to Agnes and held the package out to her, albeit reluctantly. She was still one of them after all.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t do anything stupid either, right?” he mirrored her own words, though his were less of a warning and more of a request.

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #14

The Wolf King was watching the scene unfolding under him. As instructed, Shinsei walked down, to pick up the bag with the money while lord Andrew was murdering him with his gaze. As the cyborg got closer to them, the two bodyguards raised their weapons in a threatening manner, but they didn´t try to attack him, so he could take it back and return to them.

“Don´t worry about that, you will be the one, who will carry the bag.”

Eric growled, still watching the three men under him.

“Agnes, count it please.”

As the black-haired woman picked the back to make sure there was the right amount of money, Sir Lockhart made a face.

“You really think I am so stupid that I would try to deceive you.”

Eric didn´t answer, waiting for Agnes’ silent nod, when she finally checked the money inside before he signaled to his men to take the unconscious woman down. They carried her slowly and carefully from the hill, putting her down a few meters away from the bodyguards before returning to their pack. Andrew, rushed to her side, grabbing her hand almost as if this gesture of care and love could miraculously heal her.

“You…you are a bunch of opportunistic hyenas!”

He cried out, obviously losing it completely.

“How could you even do this to me? How could you to her!”

Eric frowned, watching this kind of emotional tantrum really his cup of tea and he really didn´t feel the need to defend himself, especially since he was right, even if only partially. They were opportunists. So, he silently nodded to his people and retreated back to the forest, leaving the noble there. It was ironic that his incompetence and cowardice allowed them to get this amount of money incredibly easily.

Walking a few dozens of steps his nose suddenly picked a smell of smoke.

“Hmmm, guess we really set the woods ablaze after all.”

He grinned.


While Agnes grabbed Shinsei´s free arm again.
"Soooo, did you already decided what you spend your ten millions for?"

[Bobbie]

Shinsei watched Agnes count the money, which he himself wasn’t particularly too bothered with. There was a large amount after all, if it was lacking a few hundreds, it didn’t really matter as long as it was split equally. However, unlike Eric, Andrew’s words did bother the cyborg a little bit, causing him to frown.

He’d never considered himself opportunistic, he was simply trying to survive in a life that he never wanted. Surely, that didn’t make him the bad guy - what was money to somebody like Mr Lockhart, anyway? The nobleman was clearly loaded with it, and he did get his fiancee back, alive… whether they took the money or not, that was still thanks to them.

Once Mr Lockhart was finished screaming at them, Shinsei held the bag and proceeded to walk with the others back to the forest. With Eric’s observant comment, he glared at the back of his head, since it was mostly his fault that the forest was accidentally set on fire when the feral wolf sent him crashing into the hut. “Yeah… my bad, I guess,” he muttered through his teeth, deciding not to start another fight so that they could just be done with each other’s company and move on. Agnes’ company on the other hand was something that he hadn’t yet had enough of, and he planned to express that with her as he turned to look at the woman who was holding his arm again.

“Oh, I don’t know. Would be nice to actually buy a permanent place to live instead of being constantly on the move…” He paused for a moment, before gently prying his arm free of her grasp to put it around her waist instead. ”Maybe some place fit for the company of a pretty lady such as yourself, if you’d join me.” Watching her with a playful smile, he considered doing a little bit more than just holding her close to him, but seemed to change his mind. A frown came to his face as he remembered the greatest expense that was second to rent. “And spend it on these things,” his tone became a little grumpier as he let go of her for just a moment to take the cigarette out of his mouth. It was little more than just the filter as it had all burnt out. Making sure it was extinguished, he dropped it to the ground and then wrapped his arm around Agnes again with a cheeky grin.

"What would you say? Join me for a few nights only to find I'm so irresistible that you just can't leave?" His snicker was a giveaway that even he didn't believe that to be true or likely to happen, but no possibility was off the table.

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #15

As they were walking back, to their ship, Agnes was listening to Shinsei´s plan he had for the money.

“Aaah, that´s cute.”

She smiled at him, while still clenching his arm.

“I always imagined myself living in a log cabin, somewhere deep in the woods, just me, my husband and two, maybe three kids”

She said dreamily.

“After I´ll get bored with this kind of life of course.”

She added quickly after getting a questioning look from Shio, who was walking nearby.

“Yes, maybe I will”

She agreed with the red man´s offer after a moment of thinking.

From there, the route led them along the coastline back to the town, where they left their ship. Eric led them intentionally as close to the water as possible, so they could get back to the ship as quickly as possible, without going through the main parts of the town. Good thinking on his side as the fire spread over a large part of the woods, pushing the whole town into a state of panic. People were running back and forth, organizing firefighting groups. In this madness, no one paid them any real attention.

When they finally got back to their boat, they were greeted by Rahu and Takeda, the two youngest Wolves, who were left behind on the ship.

“How did it go?”

Asked Rahu right after he noticed them.

“Do you have the money?”

Eric quietly nodded, pointing at Shinsei who was carrying the bag, while one by one the wolves were getting back on their ship.

“Good, we should probably disappear as soon as possible. When the fire started some locals remembered that they saw a bunch of strangers going into the forest. They probably didn´t connect the dots yet, but I think it´s better if we disappear before they´ll do.”

Hearing this Shio cursed.

“Well guess no Cinna bear for me today.”

[Bobbie]

Agnes’ response came as a bit of a shock to Shinsei, having never expected her to actually say that she might join him sometime. His heart fluttered for a moment, feeling her on his arm and he let out a soft, genuine laugh. “Just you, your husband and a handful of children, huh? Sounds like a very nice dream to me.” It was brief, but for a moment, things felt like they used to be and the way they were supposed to be… The possibility of being a family man again, a woman on his arm, in a comfortable home that would fill with the sound of children’s laughter made the burden of his new life seem slightly less heavy.

Reaching the ship shattered the illusion, as he was once again reminded of the people he was dealing with, a bag of money weighing one arm down while one of the wolf pack held onto the other. Agnes just seemed so different from these people, a part of him wished to simply take her away from this life, but that would clearly only be the stuff of fantasy and dreams.

Shinsei, not very far behind, heard Rahu’s question, followed by a point in his direction from Eric. He paused while the other wolves got onto the ship, courteously letting them go first while he raised his eyebrows at Rahu in acknowledgement and confirmation that he was indeed carrying the bag of ransom money. Turning to Agnes, he politely gestured for her to pass first. It would unfortunately force her to release his arm, but he held onto her hand instead while he walked after her.

“I just need a ride off this island, then we can all part ways ten million richer!” he spoke to Eric, resuming his playful tone as he clutched onto the bag that was his only security net. Without it, he didn’t trust the brute not to leave him behind at the mercy of the angry locals whose forest was just set on fire.

---

Shinsei: #ba0303