A Wild Chase in Shell Town!

[Fennec]

It was a high morning in Shell Town, the midwinter sky was painted a gray tone as the sun’s rays attempted to shine through the thick clouds. A low fog hung on the coast as seamen hauled cargo onto the ship. Reynard watched the men hauling the cargo onto the ship. Now as a Warrant Officer, Rosalyn had entrusted him with running simple operations like these. It was just a supply run to Tequila Wolf, an in and out scenario. Reynard huffed as steam left his lips. It was much warmer here than in the base back in TW and honestly he appreciated being chosen for this mission. It meant a break from the subzero weather and prisoners building the bridge. Honestly a part of him was hoping that the 22nd Division would some day move to better waters… he didn’t mind his job. But Tequila Wolf and its bitter cold were taking a toll on him.

“Warrant Officer, Guiscard!”

Rey turned around to see the sight of a tall copper-skinned seaman standing behind him saluting. He returned the salute, his golden eyes locked on to the seaman. It was Ward, a rather diligent worker who had joined their ranks a few months ago. A transfer from the southern east blue.

“Yes, Seaman Ward?”

The man straightened up more as he readied to deliver the message. It was still strange for Reynard… being a superior to someone older than him. There was an air of awkwardness to his face as he furrowed his brow processing what was happening.

“We’re almost done loading the Beetlejuice. However, Lieutenant Kitsuragi would like to see you at base. Sir.”

Reynard nodded, no matter. He needed to stretch his legs after all. He rubbed the side of his head worrisomely wondering what Lieutenant Kitsuragi wanted him though. Whatever it was… couldn’t be good? Or was that perhaps too negative a thought. With that Reynard was off, as he walked away he turned around one last time.

“Thank you, Seaman Ward. Please ensure you fellows continue on the job for now. I’ll be back soon.”

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Reynard | #fa8128 | (Post Count: 1)

[Fox]

<<“Vepar…”>>

Calcifer whined in a plaintiff tone through the only frequency that Vepar was able to properly understand. He was in his human disguise, this time with a blue suit and a red tie, using his tentacles to look like human facial hair. Vepar turned away from his pleading face and let out a terse huff. She was frustrated. It wasn’t really even his fault, but Calcifer’s nagging only served to sour her mood further. She waved him away and slid underneath the shallow waves.

<<”Okay… Um, I’ll start looking. Chin up! We’ll find this White Tiger guy soon!”>>

Vepar didn’t pay him much mind, but instead let out a resigned sigh. After the whole debacle at the Pole Star Islands that led to her getting an increased bounty, Vepar had been brooding. Nothing was going her way lately. She hadn’t found any leads on this White Tiger person that she was supposed to be recruiting into the Revolutionary Army. For all intents and purposes, the man was a ghost! The increased bounty only made her search more difficult. No one really wanted to discuss things with a wanted criminal. But worst of all, she had to spend time apart from her new boyfriend!

Pressing her hands to her cheeks, Vepar blushed as she reminisced about her recent escapades where he so valiantly came to her rescue. Alas! Parting was such sweet sorrow! She really wasn’t up to looking for the White Tiger again on another island that he probably wasn’t on again. There were better uses of her time. Like spending it with her dearest!

While Vepar was pouting, Calcifer dusted the sand off of himself as he stepped onto the grass and away from the beach. Time to head into town and hopefully complete the mission! He didn’t like it when Vepar got like this.

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Vepar | #023020 | Post Count: 1
Calcifer | #00FA9A

[Genbu]

All and all, this was honestly a bit of a bust when it came to hoping to make a bit of money.

The island itself wasn't exactly a big one, and with the Marine base in the middle of the island it was less of a normal island and more of a military location. Which meant a lot of jobs that Lukas would normally try and find would be... well... non-existant.

Odd-jobs around the town? Handled by Marines.

Body-Guard Jobs? Handled or scared off by Marines.

Bounty Hunting? Who would be foolish enough to land on a Marine base?

Lukas let out a bit of a sigh and pulled out his wallet and flipped through the berries they currently had and did some quick calculations in his head, trying to figure out just what they could do here.

"A meal and a ticket to the next island tomorrow but... probably shouldn't stay at an inn tonight." Lisa's voice hissed softly next to him, and Lukas looked over at her with a small smile and shrugged. They had chosen a spot beneath one of the Base's walls with some tree coverage around them, keeping their location pretty well hidden from any possible prying eyes as they tried to figure out what they should do.

"Yeah. Probably better to get a cheap but fillin' meal then... somethin' with rice or bread and some decent proteins... WELP! No reason to stay up here thinkin' bout it." Lukas mused as he got to his feet and offered a hand to his lamia companion who was resting next to him. Reaching up to take his hand with hers, Lisa's body would shrink and change into her normal snake self as she wrapped and slithered up Lukas' arm and around his shoulders.

Satisfied with her position on his shoulders and making sure they had all their gear in the bag beneath his shield, Lisa gave Lukas a bit of a nod and he smiled and nodded back. Their destination was the town by the pier in search for something good.

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Lisa | d4d72b
Lukas | 2bd740
Posts: 1

[Fennec]

Reynard arrived at the base, the Lieutenant was already waiting for him at the entrance with two seamen behind him holding rifles. Lieutenant Kitsuragi was a man of average size with slick black hair, some stubble on his lips, and thick round glasses that reminded the Warrant Officer of his own superior. The Lieutenant adjusted his glasses as he acknowledged Reynard’s presence.

“Warrant Officer Guiscard.”

He called out and immediately Reynard saluted him. Being called by a superior was always more than nerve wracking. You never knew if they needed help, you were in trouble, or they were going to compliment you. The young man for his part awaited to see what he wanted.

“Reporting for duty! Sir!”

Kitsuragi nodded and motioned for Reynard to follow him into the base. Shell Town’s base was a lot smaller than what Reynard was used to seeing in both Logue Town or in Tequila Wolf which was an outright encampment of sorts. The dirt path in the base serenely led into the confines of the office buildings in which chore boys and marines subjugated to being desk jockeys worked. The monochrome colors and scent of coffee of the interior hardly did much to assuage Reynard’s nervousness as he followed the Lieutenant closely. Not much longer and they arrived in the Lieutenant’s Office… it was a place pristine and organized with everything in perfect order. Minimalism was the key word here… in fact the only thing seemingly out of order was the ashtray resembling a comical rendition of galleon.

“Take a seat, Warrant Officer.”

Reynard obliged as he heard the door closed behind him and the Lieutenant sitting in front of him behind his hard wood desk painted black. The brunette man couldn’t help but feel so small now as he looked up at Lieutenant Katsuragi.

“Now, Warrant Officer Guiscard. I’ve called you in because we have some suspicions that there might be some Revolutionary Activity on this island. A few days ago a vigilante named Deman Reeves as well as two women caused some chaos around these parts.”

Okay, this was getting weird now, Rey tilted his head as this was not what he was expecting. But Deman, he’d heard that name before. Rosalyn had mentioned him before. Now the question was what the Lieutenant wanted with him. Kitsuragi reached into his coat pocket pulling out a cigarette which he promptly lit up with a mermaid shaped lighter the paint of which was beginning to chip away.

“Further a mermaid, Notoria Vepar, was tracked to this island after having escaped Logue Town where she has been accused of murder. Normally, I don’t ask outsiders to assist with these sort problems but I’ve seen your exceptional record and such a high caliber target is more than what we can handle at the moment.”

Well that was a pleasant surprise, Reynard’s vulpin eyes stared down at his feet. He wasn’t expecting to hunt for a criminal. Least of all a mermaid. Come to think of it, he'd never seen a mermaid but he had heard they were extremely beautiful. Sweat beads formed around his forehead at the thought of meeting a mermaid. The Lieutenant opened his drawer and pulled out a bounty poster which he then placed on the table. ‘Siren Song’ Notoria Vepar worth 15,000,000 beri. That was certainly a large bounty for the area and Reynard had experience dealing with criminals of a similar caliber.

“Vepar has some revolutionary ties in the past  from what we know… so we have no idea what she may be up to or if this the next stage in Deman’s plans. Regardless, are you up for the task of Warrant Officer Guiscard?”

Reynard raised his eyes to look at the clouded glasses of Lieutenant Kitsuragi.

“Yes.”

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Reynard | #fa8128 | (Post Count: 2)

[Fox]

Walking upright on his tentacles like a human was no easy feat for most cephalopods, but for Calcifer it was all part of his ever ongoing training to become the world’s most famous actor! So convincing was his walk that everyone stopped and stared. In truth, Calcifer’s limbs flailed wildly about in a way that was utterly impossible for a normal person to contort. It looked as if he were impersonating a human without any semblance of bones. Calcifer was confident though, and that confidence made most people dismiss him without so much as a second glance.

He wandered through town asking for the latest happenings and buying a few things here and there, mostly supplies for their journey. Vepar could find them food, but he liked buying her some treats here and there. Plus, things like medicine were difficult to get ahold of in quantities that could be used to treat Vepar. What he found out was that the White Tiger guy had been on the island recently and caused something of a stir, but that he was probably gone by now if even the locals knew about his exploits. One step behind again. Calcifer let out a depressed sigh, rubbing the back of his head.

“Vepar’s not gonna be happy about this…”

He couldn’t even resort to his usual tactic of cheering her up, which was to dangle the prospect of hot guys in front of her since she currently ‘had a boyfriend’. As far as Calcifer recalled, you needed two people to have that sort of relationship instead of a one sided crush, but there was no reasoning with her when she was like this. As he was mulling it over, he spotted a man who decidedly did not look like a local. He looked like a romantic wandering type. Perfect!

Calcifer messily walked over to him, his legs and arms flailing about until he came to a stop in front of the man. “Hello! You look like a fellow lady killer!”

“Do you happen to know a way to cheer up an aggravated lady friend? Perhaps?” Calcifer twiddled the tentacles that were acting as his hands in his human disguise, “I-I’m asking for a friend, of course! I don’t need the help, I’m just… uh…”

In his panic, Calcifer pulled out his wallet and dug through, taking out some bills.

“I’ll make it worth your while!”

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Vepar | #023020 | Post Count: 2
Calcifer | #00FA9A

[Genbu]

It was interesting, that the town itself seemed mostly fine but there was some things that were a little off. What's more, Lukas and Lisa had heard some rumors and info about some sort of ruckus that had happened not too many days ago. From what they could figure out there were three people who caused some sort of incident, but there wasn't too much info on what exactly happened. Rumors varied from just knocking over some people, to petty thief, to them infiltrating the Marine base and causing unseen damage within the Marine base itself.

Lukas knew better than to trust the words of gossips, and while he was sure there were grains of truth in the different stories he had heard, there was no solid and concrete information that he was able to source. Even a quick trip to a nearby bar where they had managed to get a bit of food to go, he didn't really hear too much from the Marines enjoying lunch.

Though there was something a little interesting about a Marine vessel from another base sitting in the docks, it really didn't matter much to him at the moment since as far as he was concerned, they were here before he and Lisa arrived.

Yet, once more, it didn't really do much to help their situation. Without a proper job they wouldn't be getting too much more to eat today and what made matters worse, is that when they'd arrive at their next destination they would have to find work fast to make sure they wouldn't end up starving or turning to thievery themselves.

"Ya know Lisa, sometimes I wouldn't mind a bit more...." Lukas started as he thought aloud, sort of shaking his head a little, "A little more solid income than the random odd-jobs... but we can't really let ourselves be tied down."

Lisa looked at him before lifting her body a bit, which Lukas decided was most for sure a Snake Shrug.

"Aye, I know I know, ain't too much we can really do bout it now but hope some well paying gig falls in our lap." He added, looking to Lisa who was now very much focused on... well... something? Someone? Walking down the road... in a real wobbly wild manner.

Lukas was taken aback when the individual made their way to where he was standing and started to speak to him. Taking a step back with his hand lifting from his sides just a bit, he looked to Lisa who looked back at him with almost the same level of confusion.


"U-Um... I suppose I've swooned a lady or two?" He managed to get out as the question came from the strange stranger in front of him. And before he had a moment to respond the individual made a statement about how it wasn't them who needed help, before, in what Lukas wouldn't remember as a weird panic, pulled out a wallet and some berry.

Lukas locked in. "Oh if ya willin' to make it worth my while then let's chat. Because a good thing would be a gift that they'd appreciate, somethin' that strikes their fancy just right, aye? Somethin' they enjoy and don't quite have at the moment."

Stopping to take a breath, he noticed Lisa staring right at him and he was 100% certain it was a deadpan look of annoyance, and he coughed and looked back at the stranger. "Let me introduce myself... I am Lukas and this lovely lady here is Lisa." He would said, motioning to the snake companion on his shoulders.

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Lisa | d4d72b
Lukas | 2bd740
Posts: 2

[Fennec]

Finding the bewitching woman would prove difficult… or so Reynard told himself. According to accounts she was very large. But being big never made someone easy to find in Rey’s experience and he had experience working with big people. But being a Warrant Officer afforded him some perks… having enlisted the seamen under his control to patrol the streets and inform him of anything out of the ordinary via their baby den-den mushi. Of course with such dangerous criminals he’d ordered his men to not approach the Siren Song Sorceress.

“If I was a mermaid… where would I go?”

Rey thought to himself out loud when it dawned on him. The water of course! Besides that was also the perfect place to go hiding. Wasn’t it? Especially if you were big… the ocean was like a massive briney blanket of sorts. As he made his way to patrol the beach he found a strange sight. It was a man with a snake around his neck and a turtle shield on his back. While the man was seemingly average in appearance… There was no denying he stood out especially in this backwater town. Perhaps he was a bounty hunter? An outsider? A drifter of sorts? Beside him was another man. An extremely normal looking man. Well perhaps he should ask around if there was anyone who had seen Vepar.

“Salutations fellow gentlemen!”

He approached the duo of men engrossed in conversation. Pulling out Vepar’s wanted poster from his coat he showcased it to the two men.

“I’m looking for this fine lady here! Would any of you two know where she might be?”

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Reynard | #fa8128 | (Post Count: 3)

[Fox]

“Ah! Good man!” Calcifer piped up, a mix of nerves and pleasant surprise. A gift, hm? That was a solid idea, for sure, and one he’d hit on himself, but he just didn’t know what to get for Vepar. They usually had to travel fairly light, so something big and cumbersome would only get in the way. Something she enjoyed that didn’t weigh much. Hm… Cal curled a tentacle hand and rubbed his head thoughtfully. “Hmm…”

“Oh! Yes, hello, hello! A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lukas and Lisa, was it? Quite a pleasure!”

He grabbed Lukas’s hand with both ‘arm’ tentacles and shook it vigorously, offering a much more gentle tentacle to Lisa with a bit of a bow and flourish.

“I am Caaa…” Calcifer paused, considering if it was safe to share his name with strangers. Well. He didn’t have a bounty, and his association with Vepar and the Revolutionaries wasn’t known, so! “Calcifer! Actor extraordinaire!”

As Calcifer was opening his beak to speak again, someone else waved them down. A Marine. Calcifer looked over and immediately tensed up. Well. As tense as a squid pretending to be an extremely normal person could be. He chided himself and told himself to be cool. Be smooth. Be sauve. That lasted for about a second before the Marine whipped out Vepar’s wanted poster. Calcifer’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw it.

“I… ah…” His voice shriveled from what it had once been a moment ago, wavering and small, “...n-no.”

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Vepar | #023020 | Post Count: 3
Calcifer | #00FA9A