Cleyra Act 2: Blood and Strings [Open to Cryptic Terror & myself (duh)] / NSFW

The smoke, which should begin to settle any time now, was being too persistent. And there was something odd about the smell of it. Somehow it smelled different than your ordinary fumes after an explosion. As Hawks attack was easily dodged, the magician was left in a state of await, concentrating and analyzing the situation. But Jade was upset, even further now.

"You bloody fool." She gets herself up -their abrupt leap had the result of her falling down as if she was a stupid, lifeless rag doll- and glares at the blonde. "Just when I was to simply catch you and fly us out of harm's way, you had to pull off such a preposterous stunt." certainly she would want to keep this going, but while she was ranting, she was also taking a battle position, her back pressing on the male's back. Vigilance was needed now. But that changed a mere second later, when the female's eyes widened. And without an explanation, she grabbed Hawks and hurled herself into the sky as fast as she could.

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"So, I see ..." Jack was some distance away from them, and out of the gaseous mist's radius. Which was still not going away. Something was fishy about that. Cracking his neck, he reaches for his garment's insides again, this time pulling out a small tube filled with small, polka-dotted pills. Clearly starting to be affected from the toxin, he nonetheless manages to take one. Immediately his eyes revitalized, and his entire structure felt as if it bulked up. "That Energy Steroid should do the trick until Palermo patches up that pesky poisoning. Now.."  he looks around, apparently disregarding the others who had just flew above the gas. "You are going to be troublesome so guess you need to die first."

Hawks frowned as Jade mentioned flying them out of there.  Not bloody likely - she never took kindly to being treated like a horse.  "Oh shut up, Jade - you know you never want me to ride you ... but one of these days it's just going to happen. Maybe I'll leave you to get blown up or to drown in the sea next time - then will you be happy?  At the very least, at least you will be SILENT." He shifted his stance as she pressed his back against his, keeping a vigilant eye on their enemy. His head was now throbbing - the smoke from that annoying bomb was getting to him.  Why was there always something annoying enough to be distracting on the battle field - as if the mouthy sphinx wasn't enough.

He was violently hurled out of his thoughts as Jade grabbed him and took toward the sky.  What the hell was she doing now? He looked around frantically - his head was growing worse - he closed his eyes vainly hoping to reliever the tension - his through were blurring, fuzzy around the edges ... fading.  He felt consciousness slipping away.  

A moment later his eyes opened, that intense blue visage settled on Jade.  He took a moment to observe the sky and half shrugged as a wicked little smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.  His hands slipped around her, hands settling at the small of her back, a confident smile growing on his face.  "Well well, is this the extreme measure you take to get me alone?" He leaned in, warm bread swirling around her cheek and neck.  "You have my attention - I'm all yours, little minx..."

....

Desiree had gown bored with the situation and she didn't have a fully picture of what else had happened. She still had to find out what that Shichibukai was up to and how much the Talani knew about their island.  She shifted out of sight before flickering here and there.  Eventually she was back on her horse, taking off to the open desert.

Ginji Adventures Volume 20

Climbing atop the creature, previously known as a formidable "Tremor Scorpion", the group now travels towards the direction that it seemingly came from. In the distance, a ship is leaving the opposite direction.

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"Captain! Oh dear, captain is outraged! He is leveling the place down again!" A couple of minutes seemed to have passed, and the scenery, the landscape itself, has changed. Gigantic masses of land get shaken off, broken down and shifted away, while a maniac is clearly going on a destruction spree. "YOU COWARD!" Jack was breaking down everything on his path, while several men in similar, half emerald half black suits are chasing after him, trying to calm the beast.

Jack was a formidable warrior and one that was also fairly smart and capable, despite his arrogant and reckless nature. But there was one thing that was setting him off into a sort of childish tantrum; if someone he had targeted had fled him. After looking around, he realized that Desire was gone, and the next thing some of his crew, which had just reached the place, knew, he was destroying every single thing in his path.

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"I had enough of this madness ..." Having escaped some distance away, primarily because she was still convinced that to continue in such an disorganized way was not going to win them this battle or the war, she now had to deal with yet another calamity. One that blurred the line between annoyance and being in danger of being molested. She was now some meters away from the magician that had, once again, slipped into this other weirdo that he could pull off. She even had drew her sword and was pointing it at him. This one creature was the most troublesome one she met, even towering the likes of Ginji. And sadly, she couldn't even kill that pain in the ass!

The magician settled cool blue eyes on her, his gaze running up and down the length of her slender frame, slowly taking her in like a glass of smooth, dark wine. He smirked as she aimed a blade at him, pressing his finger against the tip until a small sprout of blood bubbled from his finger tip. "Mmm... you always did like it rough - I love that part about you... " Slowly he trails his fingertip along his lip, leaving a trail of fresh blood in its wake, knowing exactly what it would do to her. His head dipped slightly as he gave her an alluring look, pools of blue flicking behind the pale, silvery gold strands of his hair. "You have such a way into turning this into a high art, driven by the deep red essence of life force ... I-" his words were cut off as he brought a hand to his head. closing his eyes.

When his eyes opened again, they had lost that easy, dreaming quality and had been replaced with a sharP lucidity. He looked around, not seeing the monster, the shadow dweller or the cliff. He remembered being air born? "Where....?" His eyes met Jade's and he noticed she was brandishing a sword at him again. Why?! What the hell was wrong with her this time? He felt something on his mouth, and tasted a familiar metallic flavour. Why the hell was he bleeding. Why was it always his lips whenever she was around? Her 'healing ... process' wasn't the worst thing but he was always half sure she was going to eat him whenever it happened - he could feel her hunger."You STABBED me?! What the HELL, Jade?! Quit screwing around, we have an enemy to take care of..."

.....

Desiree had left her horse at the small oasis to get a drink as she made her way back through the webs and threads of shadows dotting the island. It was too risky to attempt to see what the Talani knew at this time, and probably the crew as well. They knew who she was - they knew ... what she was. She needed to find out what the stringy bastard was into but she knew he could not be trusted since he didn't have the decency to visit her in person.

Ginji's Adventures Final Volume
Moving forth, the group formed by a bunch of oddballs are having pointless chit chat, with Percy twisting around as he was still tied up. And in the distance, as the clouds clear, an island appears far on the horizon. One looking like a desert-kind of island.

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"Just die already, rodent!" Bishop is stomping on the fallen Talani, who was taken out earlier with a cheap assault. The other Talani seem too occupied battling hordes of pirates, along that ever-annoying female that initiated the foul play on the headstrong Talani earlier. "Dammit all, we can't get past them. Master Mitobe will die at this rate." One of the, apparently stronger, Talani claims while cutting down a pirate, but is immediately blocked by the female. "Curses!"

"Just beg for your life you little filth! I wanna hear you say that ... that and state that I am HANDSOME!" Bishop yells at the fallen warrior, the intensity apparent especially while saying the word "handsome". While the brutal torture takes place, a figure, which seemed to just stroll towards them -yet oddly, no one seemed to have noticed until now-. "Hm?"

"Pirate, this is enough. The man is barely conscious at this point. Let him be." The unknown man calmly requests, and then Bishop lashes at him. "DID YOU CALLED ME FAT?!" he screams, in a fit of rage. "THAT'S NOT WHAT HE SAID, BISHOP-SAMA!"

The pirate apparently uses his ability again but, upon contact, the figure doesn't even budge. "W-WHAT?!" The mysterious man sighs, then moves forward to deliver a formidable punch. "You are the only filth I see here." his arm seems odd, something out of place. Non-human.

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Rather than consider this yet another act of disrespect and an additional reason in the growing list of events that could, in a justified matter, cause one to abandon him, she lightly sighs, then approaches him. She takes his hand, and licks off the wound. Finally, that little, shy Talani wasn't there to steal her thunder this time. Her eyes, which can easily become the warning of impending doom, actually take a somewhat bitter, compassion-like vibe.

"Hawks ... it's going to be okay. We will fix this. Don't worry, and don't give up. You are not insane, I promise." she looks deep into his eyes, while holding his finger at lick range, but without proceeding to apply her healing again -not that it was needed, as one sip was enough-. Poor Hawks, not only did he had to face such enemies, relive his terror, but also had to deal with a hijacker. But he was not crazy, no, he just needed .. help!

Desiree had been observing an odd battle from the forgotten shadows of the surrounding perimeter. Apparently there there quite a few of the rodent race, thought to be extinct. Rodents had always been survivors, but to survive the WG's attempt to eradicate was uniquely impressive. As much incompetence as she had seen over the years. she was particularly struck by the clown obsessing over his own appearance while fighting erratically, emotionally charged over his own insecurity about his image, superimposing it upon his rivals. His self-manufactured rage was very good at affording him hard hits, but it simultaneously made him sloppy and stupid. It was the single most idiotic battle she could remember of recent times.

Was this truly part of the clown car of idiots that wanted to ally with her? No, the clown car of idiots that planned to use her to gather information about Anubis and potentially lure him into their nonsense. The thing about obsession was it meant unshakable loyalty. An obsessed lunatic simply could not be bought, tortured, nor persuaded. She wasn't part of his crew and didn't care what his ultimate goals were, for the most part - but the would spill blood before allowing any plan to harm him. She kept him informed of things of note - of significant threats, but otherwise kept to herself. She absently took out a small garment, containing an embroidered of royal insignia, brushing softly along her cheek before pressing it against her nose and mouth and inhaling deeply. A deeply satisfied sound, somewhere between a sigh and a moan softly escapes her lips before she tucks the garment away.

.....

Hawks wearily watches Jade approach him. He had already been yelled at. And stabbed. What now? There was a bit of indifferent surrender as he allowed her to take his hand. He was so exhausted from the rampant confusion of the situation that there wasn't anything else she could do to him. His eyes met hers, apathetically, as he waited for whatever fine torture she had fashioned for him, in the name of blaming him for shit that wasn't his fault. Again.

He felt himself gasp as warm moisture washed over his hand. He had half forgotten about her unique ... skill? He never really got to experience it as the sensory treasure it could have been - it always came at awkward times in addition to him being uncomfortable with the process of it, while at the same time being fascinated with it after it happened. It felt like nothing else in the world - the sensation of torn tissues entwining and knitting themselves back together as the nerve endings were repaired - it was like experiencing pain in reverse, but cold due to the rapid evaporation of moisture as the wound began to seal. Even watching it was an otherworldly experience. In another life he could appreciate the marvel of it - but with his life style, it was little more than a tactical advantage to have such an ally.

He felt conflicted each time she did this. The look in her eyes was definitely hunger but she was always gentle, but in an unsettling way like she was delicately taking her time to enjoy the last bite of the most delicious thing she had ever tasted. Blood did odd things to her - usually violent ... but his blood did something that was somehow more terrifying ... like a lion toying with her dinner to make it more satisfying in the end. Who knew what the end would be with Jade? Nothing about her was terribly predictable - save for her behavior if she spotted a cut on him.

He had been distracted by watching his flesh knit back together. His cool blue eyes met hers as she began to speak to him. His hand was still close to her but she uncharacteristically resisted her typical "over-medication" as he noticed her eyes were different. They were void of their typical hunger ... he didn't see the lust for his blood reflected back like he usually did after she had healed him. What he saw was worse. The sad glint of compassion in her voice, her words about his state of disrepair. His inability to control it made him angry. It was his demon to deal with, not hers. His eyes were filled with a silent rage. He eyed her coldly as he pulled his hand away from her. "Save your pity for the weak."

It wasn't her fault. He knew that - but he couldn't stand for her to look at him that way. The last thing he wanted to be was something she felt sorry for - a burden in need of help. He wasn't even sure she cut him anymore. What the hell happened to him? He had to destroy it because it destroyed him and everything that mattered ...

It was over really fast. The pirate, despite the fact that he was established as one of that man's officers, was taken out by a single punch. The female, which also seemed to be one of the prominent members of the crew, gasped in surprise, before she disappeared into a purple plume, leaving her fallen comrade, along a handful of grunts which, upon realizing they were left alone, panicked and made a run for it.

Disgusted by their lack of compassion and care between themselves, the masked man lets out a groan of contempt, before he turned, and kneed down to observe the badly battered Talani. "Fret not, young one." the man says, as he is approached by the now freely able to close in Talani soldiers. For a moment, the masked man seems to shift his attention via looking towards the distance, as if he heard or caught a glimpse of something, but quickly dismissed it.

Interestingly enough, some of the Talani seemed to recognize the man. And even more so, they seemed to be antagonistic against him, but also clearly rattled and afraid of, seen from their demands to release their subordinate, but obviously reluctant to make the first move. But why would they be hostile towards the man that single-highhandedly baled them out from this dangerous battle. "You .. that mask. Aren't you ... W-why is there another one of them here ..?!"

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"Perhaps you need a moment to recollect and reconsider the situation; and who is there to fight alongside you, and for what cause." Jade sort of scolds him, but not really. Truth be told, when he'd behave in such a way -obnoxiously and in a "pseudo-polite" rude tone- it was really irritating and often she'd feel the impulse to show her that her lips can do more than mend the wounded. But she was sensing this increasingly strong instinct. That was driving her to instead brush it off and press on attempting to make him get it -once and for all-, that they were a team. Maybe she was sort of feeling as if he was "weak", after all. But not in the way that he probably assumed he was considered to be.

She was about to actually take his hand and glare at him; a fight of wills, but she didn't had the time. What happened next happened so incredibly fast that she, despite her renowned agility and ability to be aware of her surroundings, was caught of guard and acted completely out of instinct.

A massive lump of mass just dashed towards them, and she reflexively kicked -yes, perhaps to kick was a tad of an impolite way to push someone out of the way- him away. Just as that lump, which apparently had arms, captured her with intense might. She left out a moan of pain, only now realizing that the enemy had reached them; and that she pushed him away and was actually captured. How could she make so many mistakes?

It'd be impossible for her to be caught off guard like that; he really had that thing to her, make her careless, make her lose track of her otherwise near flawless vigilance. But this time, this inexplicable effect resulted into more than just conflict between them. "Ugh .. Hawks, get away from here, I'll handle this." Why was she that protective of him? There have always been so few people she'd ever risk her life for, in her whole life, that she'd easily need only one hand to count. And he was one of these .. "fingers".

He did regret his cutting words soon after they tumbled out of his mouth. Everything that was happening seemed wrong. He felt half like he was hovering over his own body, watching things happen without having much control over it. He didn't know what was happening and the confusing things she did to him always made things worse. She always managed to give him slow, intense sensory experiences that distracted him with unidentifiable and unwelcome feelings - she seemed predatory, yet helpful ... tactical, yet coy. She could go from kittenish to explosive at the drop of a hat and yet for their team to work, he had to trust her absolutely, in spite of the chaos. He turned to open his mouth- maybe an apology would fall out this time, the last thing he saw was her foot crashing into the side of his jaw. There was a blur of colour, light, the silhouette moving away from him abruptly, he felt the ground come up and smash against him and then - darkness. A familiar voice ... characteristically yelling at him ...

His squinted as his blue eyes opened after what felt like a moment. What happened? He rose to confront his attacker. She was gone. He spun around until he saw them a distance, Jade captured and struggling in the arms of someone. He didn't like this. He already knew they were over their heads but for someone to be able to catch her like that and not be eaten on the spot wasn't a good sign. Something about the way these people talked made him believe they weren't interested in prisoners. These bastards were our for sacrifice. His eyes narrowed as his hands closed around the hilt of his sword.

This anger was fresh, visceral, and unlike anything else. Why did it bother him so much - he did often think about how easy life was before that strange cat sauntered into his life - always half in danger of being eaten, but even in her human form her movement were more catlike than any ... and her need to play with her prey even more intense. She was a beautiful disaster that made his life more complicated than it had to be - he felt things that were inconvenient, confusing, and complicated. Every day was a puzzle - but now she was a necessary complication and he would die before he allowed anyone to take that complicated, annoying feline nightmare away from him. She was his nightmare, damnit.

He slipped into the mist that was pooling around his feet and emerged near Jades captor, has blade arcing in a cruel back-slice aimed at the back of the figure's shoulder. His demeanor was cool, calculated, and precise - but in those deep azure pools of light, pure unbound rage danced. "You will release her. NOW."

"Or else what .. SHRIMP?!!" Jack glares back towards the magician, a menacing, maddening chroma and texture visible in his eyes. It was the eye of an infuriated, wounded but still very alive and dangerous wild beast. The poison was effective, and it was clearly inflicting harm to him, but at the same time it felt like it was actually causing him to be the more intimidating and imposing. Anger can drive some people to new heights of scary, after all.

Then, showing that he clearly holds no regard to the blonde's thread at all, he makes a shift spin, throwing a powerful kick towards the pirate, which, while readable and easy to miss, was clearly more of a tactic to create some space, which the monster used to leap away and several meters away, now with himself turned towards the adversary, and Jade fixated above him, tightly gripped and captured. Apparently, he was about to pull something nasty.

"Hawks, just leave, I can handle it, don't fall for this." She tries to sound as collected as she could possibly muster, part of her wishing he'd just fall for this and escape. Truth be told, she couldn't move a muscle. What on earth was this bastard?

"I'll break her back now, enjoy." Jack then boldly states and immediately, without giving Hawks a chance to reconsider his acts or her to prepare, he pressed and pulled her downwards with incredible might, a loud crackling sound followed by a scream. "And now I will tear her in half." he instantly adds up to his statement, and is about to make said movement, while Jade was still in shock from the sudden and insane amount of pain she just received. But, as he made the move, what he held in his hand was indeed teared in half. But, it was no longer Jade; instead it was a pine log. "W-what?!!"

What just happened ... for real?! And where did she go?!

He eyed the man who was now taunting him while Jade was pridefully biting off more than she could chew, as usual - and, quite suddenly, the rage unexpectedly drained away from him. It wasn't until this moment that he realized how truly exhausted he was - with her, this scenario, this endless chase - just everything. Everything had gotten so much more complicated and difficult since that bloody cat crossed his path.  Had he known the bad luck that would come with the sphinx, he never would have set foot on Water 7. He forgot the cardinal rule of women - their attractiveness is directly proportional to their insanity - it was a well known ratio. Perhaps he hadn't really noticed in the cloud of chaos since her arrival.

What would happen if he just walked away?  He hadn't heard from any of their crew mates in so long, they may have disbanded and he'd never know.  What loyalty and obligation did he really have to this woman - this perpetual pain in the ass who always had her nose half in his business and half in the next disaster?  What if he just left her to her fate - everything would be easier.  So much easier.  He was so tired.  

He shook his head pushing the thought from his mind - part of this situation was tied to his past - things that happened when he was a boy.  He was dragged into it as an innocent, just as she had been dragged into her own troubled history, which was also tied to this land. All they could do was pick up the pieces of the shattered world they inherited - and maybe she was the only one who could really understand being haunted by the ghost of the past and feeling duty bound to repair it. He could not just leave her like this - not in the hands of these dangerous lunatics.

Then, it happened - just as he started to advance - than sound.  His eyes widened, perspiration forming on his skin, cooling him and aiding the chill that ran down his spine.  That scream ... He tried to call to her but his words got caught in his throat.  Just as he launches forward, he sees the pieces fall.  Pure agony. Was this his punishment for his hesitation while he thought of leaving her?  Was his moment of doubt to blame for this?  Did her blood spill upon his monumental moment of pure bastardry? Why did it have to come to this for him to realize he never meant any of it?

He freezes, stunned, then slumps to his knees, fingers digging into the sand as he lifts his head, forcing himself to look at her? Wait ... is ... that ... wood? A trick?  What happened?  That scream - the scream that would be burned in his memory forever was most certainly her.  Had he turned her to lumber?  His blue eyes drained of colour as they narrow - his voice was quiet and raspy - yet eerily calm. "What have you done?" It was unclear if he was talking to the man or himself ...

"Don't play with me ..." the enemy finally mutters, after a pause between them both. He was left confused and perplexed and, judging from his voice, and the swear intensifying across his body and face, whatever he utilized to counter the poison he received had begun to wear off. The beast had finally calmed down, at least enough to engage in some form of conversation.

Removing a thick file from a pouch strapped onto his pelvis, he scans across the papers, until he pulls out a poster, looks at it for a mere moment, and then shows it to Hawks, a vein popping on his forehead; he was clearly about to enter frenzy soon again.

"According to this, you are the man called "The Magician, Nemuri Hawks" ... bounty of 84,000,000 ... you are small fry, but, it says magician ... so, clearly it was YOU that did something!" he drops the paper, and cracks his hand, more veins popping. "You think you can save her? That you can save yourself from this? That you are worth a peny compared to us?!"

He takes a deep step forward, which is followed by a dive ahead, towards Hawks, at unfathomathe speed; he probably assumed that the blonde had some form of a magical trick to help him and his accomplishe escape, so clearly to waste time taunting would be futile.

From atop a cliff, a partially shadowed figure wearing a cape of sorts (and with a ... fluffy black tail?) observes the scene, and then claps his fingers. A piece of male underwear, left next to him vanishes, along with a warping sound. In their place, there was .. a magician?! "That should do it. Now let's go back to my hideout before that bigot figures it out~ meeeaaarhh!!"

---

Atop the luxurious, huge ship that escorts the Shichibukai, and, more specifically, under a blanket of females, Hawks' arch-nemesis seems to be pondering. "Ararara, well, to be fair, I sort of lied ... it is not that they can't beat Jack~ it's more that, Jack won't be allowed to lose~!" he speaks to himself, then laughs, while in his imagination, the shadowed figure of what appears to be a female with a wicked, diabolic grin, emerges. Another enemy?!

Hawks narrows his eyes as the man approached, his modified dueling canes pulled from his should as he maintained a battle stance preparing for impact. It may have been a foolish mission but this man stood in the way of completing everything that he had come so far to do. Even if he died here an now, it would be better than traveling all this way, only to leave empty handed and with no answers. No, now was the time of reckoning.

His grip grew tighter on the cans, tense fingers hovered over the depression points for the venomed blade protrusion of the canes. The other cane contained a smoke chamber that created a thick fog for confusion. The smoke is released, billowing around him as he raises the bladed cane. Suddenly, his blade bites at air and his smoke is gone? His eyes widen as the scenery has changed completely.

The last thing he observes, despite it being the most obvious is the cloaked figure. That cloak rather reminded him of the one Jade wore when he first met her. Hopefully this creature would cause him less trouble. His eyes followed the lines of the figures silhouette until the rested upon a peculiar feature. Was that a ... tail? A fluffy ... tail? Upon further observation, it because clear the creature was a feline. Within moment, Hawks was on his knees, a single rain cloud hovering over his head as he murmured to himself, "Not another cat.... not another cat....."

He had been rescued from one fire and thrown into the next. Why did it have to be another cat? Wearily he accepted his fate and presented his wrists. "Alright, kitty ... do your worst."

Meanwhile Jack, who had just noted Hawks was indeed a magician, was left on the cliff with a clearing puff of smoke that would reveal a pair of underwear. Had the magician turned himself into underwear? That doesn't seem like a very useful trick ...

"Huh? What is this nonsense you are babbling there, you vexing shrimp?" The still partially shadowed, feline-like figure comments, a somewhat high-pitched, but confident and reassuring tone and voice. Before the magician has time to explain -whatever was on his perplexing mind- the figure extents one hand, or rather, black paw, to the male. "We can chatter once we are away from this obnoxious, good for nothing bigot. Take a hold of your juicy girlfriend over there, am going to relocate us in .. now!" a poof sound, and all three of them had vanished.

And now, they seemed to be underground, into what seemed to be a small laboratory room, filled with bottlings, bizarre fluids and confusing, ethereal smells. Somehow, the apparently unconcious Jade ended up falling atop Hawks, with him being laying on a marble floor. And with one of her breasts being fondled by one of his hands, somehow.

"Now, you may have a lot of questions, BUT, we have no time to waste ..." the cryptid character was talking while seemingly performing some sort of an experiment, since he was mixing around some chemicals. "Now, I know you had quite the duress but please, bare with me .." he actually brings that bottling towards his face, then reaches for a rope, pulls it, and a light source atop the ceiling lights up. "JUST KIDDING! HELLO, HOOMAN!" a black cat's face emerges, and rubs agaist the fallen man's face, while the bottle has a label that reads "catnip". What on earth is this stupidity again?

"What the -... juicy ...? Gir-..." The words fail him as his breath is taken away by an unknown force impacting his chest. His hand came up to instinctively offset the impact but it was already too late. His eyes open as his breath returns - slowly the world comes into focus. Shimmering strands of silken turquoise cover his neck and chest that colour, that smell so familiar - soothing and intoxicating woven with stressful memories.

His focus sharpens to discover he fingers entwined in the familiar turquoise hair and the heavy object that fell on him is indeed breathing. His voice is still strained from the fall but a strained word tumbles from his lips... "Jade ..." She was alive. Somehow she was here in him arms, in a characteristically compromising position. His hands moved without much sensation, one ran through her hair and one seemed to be stroking a softer part of her body as his fingertips slowly regained sensation

So soft ...he always remembered her being a compact mass of lithe muscle due to her combative lifestyle. His fingertips wandered over the soft skin absently until his eyes discovered the source of the softness. His eyes widened and, like clockwork, the most nonsensical babbling tumbled from his mouth, despite the fact he wasn't even sure she was conscious. "You put it in my hand like that - I wanted to stoke muscles but ... just to identify you! I have muscle memory ... and magic.... YOU ARE NOT MY JUICY GIRLFRIEND!" even after his outburst, his hand was still cupped around her breast, thumb lightly flicking over the apex with insistent curiosity. "So soft ... WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!" It was unclear if his words were directed at Jade, her breast, or his own hand - either way, it didn't move.

"Now now buddy, get a room will ya?" the feline remarks, after idly observing the magician's outburst, all the while constantly attempting to successfully invoke cheek to cheek contact with Hawks; also letting out a very faint purring, which was making this already awkward position gain new heights of ... awkwardness.

The cat then extents his arm, and actually cups Jade's other breast, and takes a worrisome expression. "By the way ... your girl here suffered some pretty nasty back injury, so had to sedate her a bit. Don't worry, will fix her up in a flash, tho!" he explains with a huge, kind grin. And his fluffy paw ... hand ... whatever he had, still holding onto, and actually squizing around, her breast.

After all that awkward -and borderline molesting- act, the feline got back on it's feet and sat on a large, black leather chair, which was followed by paws sitting atop one another, and a solemn watch towards the duo. "Sooooooo ... do you like ... fancy felines? I mean, your girlfriend clearly has some cat in her. Will you continue to grop her, by the way? I really DO have a room if you want some privacy, no joke!"

The magician was in an absurd situation but wasn't in a position to fight much. His wounded comrade was on top of him while some feline weirdo was trying to purr and nuzzle him. His blue eyes flickered upward to nothing in particular as if pleading to a higher power with his thoughts only being "why does this nonsense like this always happen to only me?! Who have I forsaken to deserve this?"

He vaguely acknowledged the mention of Jade's unconscious state and injuries as the male cat randomly fondled her. He started to protest but realized his own hand had not moved. He stayed quiet, fearful of the sphinx awakening and eating them both. He watched as the cat settled into his chair and began interviewing him as if her were a psychiatrist. What. The. Hell? Was he dead? This had to be a dream - a proper fucking nightmare - why not go with it?

He shrugged a bit - "Fancy? That's a fancy feline to be sure - acts like bloody royalty most of the time ... and she's a bit TOO catlike, she could be much improved is she had more magician in her. I could help with that - I doubt anyone else could handle her ..." His words cut off as he realized what he accidentally implied ... "Um no ... I - I mean ... that is, she needs more magic in her... logical illusion... slide of the hand I could help... " His hand slid emphatically over her breast until he noticed what he was doing was making it worse. He forced his hands to innocently settle around the small of her back. He visually squirmed at the thought of his offer to 'put some magician in her' - he couldn't unsay it and he certainly couldn't un-imagine the implications, no matter how much he wanted to put them out of his mind. The only words that came out of his mouth were "go away" ... partially directed at the thoughts and partially to the leering feline engineer of this unmitigated disaster.

"Is that so? More magician in her ... pet me if I'm wrong but, you seem to be a magician yourself. Thus, do you believe that she needs more of you in herself? Do you mean that in the sense that, as your female, she needs to gain from you and you from her or ... do you mean to literally penetrate throught? You are quite a peculiar creature, sir." the cat begins to mumble, while actually taking out a small notebook, and while talking, and observing the male, he was actually writing down something. Was he actually evaluating the blonde?

"So ... on to the more important questions, for I assume that you have a bone versus that dangerous mob pirate ..." he pulls on his whiskers now, letting out a soft purr along the way. He then inexplicably blushes. "Do you satisfy her? See, you speak about her needing some magician rammed into her, but maybe you need to open up and receive some cat too? Do you ever leave her soft size press on? Does she go through?"

"What?! What are you writing?! Stop that immediately! NO! I'm not putting my self anywhere! I am a gentleman, Sir and have NO INTEREST! I meant magic! I can't penetrate her - it's not like I have a wand-- I... " The magician reddened further. " ... I mean I have a... wand... but not magic that could definitely... " He was almost purple at this point. "NO! You are making this worse! I don't need to penetrate the cat with magic, wands , or anything else! She would only eat it anyway! "

The more frustrated the magician got, the worse things got. It infuriated him that the stupid cat was calmly asking absurd questions after removing them from a tense situation. This wasn't a rescue, this was WORSE than being torn apart. "SATISFY? There is no satisfying a CAT... wait ... NO! I made no such attempt! We are CREWMATES, DAMNIT! I don't need to open up! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

In his frustration, his hands had moved further south and now had a strong grip on the sleeping Sphinx's notably well toned ass. Toned?! Where did that thought come from ... better than slipping some magician in her... wait NO - not that again ... sweat trickled down his forehead ... he move his hands off to the sides and shoved them in his pockets, but due to the proximity, missed and shoved them in her front pockets instead, pulling her tightly against him as he struggled to free them while the most compromising, unwanted thoughts danced through his head.

The feline was observing the male's frantic spasm of an explanation with suble entertainment, eyes flickering with interest and perhaps some form of mischief; after all, these were some odd questions he presented to this mess of a magician. "Well then, from what you tell me, I believe the picture has painted itself pretty clearly. Now, if you excuse me." he says, while getting up, and closing the notebook which, he then slides into the interior of his slick dark robe. He approaches them, and offers an arm, seemingly to him, but in the end he ended up rubbing her well-toned posterior. "Now if you excuse me, as I was saying, am gonna have to borrow your squeeze here. Her back has sustained severe injury thus, would deem it necessary to perform some emergency operation on her. Fret not, am a good doctor ... much better than you'd think."

Lifting her up, and carrying her on his shoulder, one paw still patting her posterior, he turns and moves towards a red door, next to a large table filled with bizarre instruments; what looked like a deformed exhaustion pipe, a pair of keys attached to a huge contraption that looked like a large machine cube, and many many bottlings. He opens the door, then turns, with a wicked smile on his face. "From our little session here, can tell that you'll be of use to me. In exchange for fixing your busty girl of yours, you'll have to do a favor for me. Will let you know soon. You may call me Catz, by the way."

"STOP ANALYZING ME, YOU CREEP!" Hawks snarls, still trapped under his unconscious, wounded comrade. Where the hell were they anyway? Was it even on the same island? How was their randomly a full laboratory and medical facility under a desert?! He sighed as the odd creature approached and proceeded to touch Jade inappropriately, which caused an unexpected rage to rise within in him. This was too much. Fantasies of wrapping his hands around the neck of that trespassing feline crept into his mind. He wasn't sure if this creature was a doctor or if Jade's injuries could be taken care of by her own self-healing capabilities, he just knew he wanted those creepy paws off of her.

"She's not my gir- HEY! GET YOUR FILTHY PAWS OFF OF HER!!!! NOW!!!!" He did like the way he looked at her, touched her, or constantly referred to her more voluptuous body parts. After Jade is lifted from atop him, he stalks after the cat and lifts her unconscious form away from the feline creature, setting her gently on the table before his bubbling rage prompts him to slip his hands about the cats neck, shoving hard with an attempt to slam him against the nearest wall. He leveled a cold, icy blue, seething gaze at the cat - his expression dark and void of amusement.

"Now. I don't want to hear you mention or even LOOK at ANY part of her body that isn't DIRECTLY related to her healing - I don't want to see you touching any part of her body that isn't injured, and I don't want to see that creepy gaze of yours where it doesn't belong or I will END you. I don't know if you are a doctor or not so I bloody well intend to oversee everything you think you are going to do to her. You will NOT be left alone with her and I won't agree to ANYTHING until I'm satisfied with your skill and your answers about what the hell is going on. Who are you? Who do you work for and where in holy hell did you come from, you slithering, miserable beast?!"

Catz was slammed face first against the wall, but, outside of a faint squeel when the magician's hand made contact with his neck, remained generally unfazed. He let the blonde speak out whatever he wanted to tell him, which turned out to be a thread, without really resisting or reacting. After he finished talking, he slowly pointed his right hand's index finger towards the back of Hawks. And, with a calm, devoid of concern or fear, tone, added this to the conversation: "Careful now ... or you may end up losing your head, blonde shrimp."

Right behind Hawks actually hovered a broadsword, aimed horizontally at where his neck was. "Inside this place, the rules and laws of physics themselves all bend to my will. So, you really don't want to be the one trying to pull the trigger on me, alright? Now, if you excuse me, I have to go and save your friend from staying on a wheelchair for the rest of her miserable life." this time he neither called her his girlfriend, nor did he exhibited any interest in joking around; although, his tone was relaxed and almost friendly. Almost.

Hawks steadied his jaw, his teeth grinding against one another.  It took restraint to keep from lashing out at this bothersome bastard again - but he didn't know how extensive Jade's injuries were and antagonizing this weirdo, in this strange land wouldn't do either of them any favors. He actually completely failed to notice the sword behind him.

Just then, a patch of a stone wall moved aside, the bright light from the outside highlighted and hour glass shape that approached before the door snapped shut to resume the dim light of the ... cave? Hawks squinted at the new figure, his eyes adjusting after briefly being blinded by the brightness.  More company was the last thing he needed.

His eyes were finally able to fully see the creature that had just entered.  A tall, slender female clad in short, sand coloured shorts and a simple grey cropped tank with copper skin and boots?  Her hair was pulled back into twin ponytail sections - wait ... were those ears? ... a rabbit woman?  What he thought were boots were actually fuzzy rabbit feet and her fur was a soft, plush copper, accented with a patch of cream from her fluffy cheeks down to her abdomen. Just as she turned to the side, he noticed a fluffy tail on the backside of her shorts.  It made him feel uncomfortable that he felt oddly attracted to this curvy desert bunny.

The figure moved toward jade, her amber eyes settling over the injured woman.  Small contusions caught her eye - little fingerprint shaped bruises, complete with tiny puncture marks above them seemed to be scattered over the woman's chest. Claw marks - cat claw marks.  Her eyes were began io narrow, then blaze with fury.  She stormed over to where Kats was looming near Hawks - ignoring the blond man, she leveled a glare at the cat.  

"I see you've been molesting my patients again - and you've utterly ignored the list of protocol I've provided for you to complete.  I agreed to train you because I owe your parents a favor for smuggling in medical supplies at this dangerous time - and assued them that if you did well and were worthy, you would be certified. You have again, failed to follow simple instructions.  One more infraction and you will be sent home and word will be sent to the board of physicians that you are untrainable and unfit for certification. Ever.

As for your idiotic threat of joining a pirate crew with your mediocre skills, as you have learned little - good luck with that.  They would mop the floor with your spoiled ass - which would be the least of your worries after you failed to treat, or possibly killed enough of their crew for them to comprehend what kind of charlatan they've adopted. There is no easy way out for this - you train or you fail.  You behavior here is unacceptable.  Now is you will please prepare the patient like I asked... unless... "

She hooks a hand around the back of the cats neck, tugging him close, her rapid movement causing her hears to fall softly over one eye.  She lightly blows them from her face before speaking.  "... you want to go home to mummy and daddy ..." She releases him to fall on the floor.  

Hawks swallowed hard, watching it all play out - he felt almost bad for the cat, having been destroyed by that rabbit ... but maybe it wouldn't have been so bad?  She seemed to like to play with her victims - she almost reminded him of Jade that way. He took a moment to imagine Jade with ears like that before he caught himself and put his head in his hands to lament what his life had become in that moment.  The rabbit took vague notice of him, approaching to give him a plainfully slow look up and down - he almost felt naked under that intense gaze.  The rabbit finally spoke.  "It doesn't look like you've sustained any injuries outside of a few scratches unless there's something you'd like to share. I could give you a thorough examination after I get your companion stabilized. You are fortunate to be in such good shape, considering what you were up against - this companion of yours wasn't so lucky - but even she seems to show remarkable stability and even improvement after such a horrific injury - do you know if she is an enhanced being of some kind?"

Hawks kind of nodded, trying not to let his eyes wonder too much. She was so professional.  He was not accustomed to meeting anyone who wasn't ... completely fucking insane. It was refreshing, almost distracting ... like the rest of her. He definitely expected a creature who looked like her to be crazy - it was like there was a law of nature dictating that the attractive ones were proportionally nuts ... and the fact that she wasn't was almost confusing. She also seemed to have no tolerance for that lunatic who was apparently her underling. "Thank you ... I don't quite know what happened or how we got where ever here is but I am grateful for your assistance, Miss...?" He tucked on hand behind his back to offer a slight bow while offering the other.

"Doctor, actually. Dr. Kotaki ... or Lexi, if you prefer ... "

Hawks was distracted again ... oooof course her name rhymed with ... oh, was she talking to him again? "Thank you Dr. Sexy--AHH Lexi ... Dr. Kotexi ... Doctor!  Thank you, doctor."  He would never attempt to say her name again. "I am Hawksi ... um... Hawks..  Just Hawks."

The rabbit slowly blinked during that very slow train wreck looking board as if this happened a lot, glanced down at his offered hand with disdain, glanced back up at him, before a single word is dryly emitted. "Charming." She turns away, leaving his hand hanging there.  "Now - if you will excuse me, I've got work to do. I'll deal with your apparent concussion afterward - just try not to fall asleep - the last thing I need right now is a damn corpse."

"This ... is like, totally unexpected ..!" the bizarre female states, while observing the masked man throw away a bloodied Bishop; their "skirmish", if you could even call it that, was over in mere instants. The masked man turned and faced her, together with some lesser of her minions. "I would recommend you vagabonds to retreat at once; or you will have to share this poor hamster of a man's fate." the female bites her lower lip and glares at him angrily, but instead of further comfrontation, she noddes in humiliationg and walks away. "Let's go .. we need to report this to Jack immediately .. you won't get away after that, masked one!" apparently her teenage demeanor seen before was no longer present while she was agitated.

The masked man then approaches the fallen Mink; after all, they were part of the Mink tribe, merely a branch that had moved and reloccated here hundreds of years ago, and picks him up. He then turns and looks at the frozen, still unsure as to what they should do, comrades of his "This man needs immediate help ... don't just stand there, he's your friend."

*I know you are observing me ... Shadow Stalker.*

Back to the weirdo cat's hidden sanctuary, it had been a few hours since he and that equally awkward assistant -or maybe Hawks himself viewed creatures with a normal behavior as weird after all they have been throught- of his closed that door and begun operating on Jade; her back was apparently broken, but he made it seem like it was child's play.

Suddenly, a creaking sound signaled the door's finally opening. From within, a puffy-faced cat emerged. What in the world was that again? Could he become weirder? "Athrighth! Thou are now fithed!" and immediately after that, a kick on the back on his head sent him smashing on the table some feet away. From within the poorly-lit room appeared a clearly outraged Jade, wearing ... fluffy mittens on her hands?

"Remove these at once, you lowly, despicable pervert!" She yells, incredibly ticked off, Hawks probably never show her legitimate go berserk -well alright, he has, but that berserk was the "I will now feast upon X person" which, usually wasn't a metaphor- in such a way.

"Operation was a success ... doctor being a pervert .. a success too." the rabbit one then calmly stated to Hawks.

Annoyed with the constant parade of absurdity she constantly encountered, Jade was on the brink of insanity. She began to tear the fluffy while mittens away with her teeth, this did not help her look less crazy - it only made her look like she had recently slaughtered a chicken. She was unaware of what happened or that she had even had an operation. She only remembered being suddenly in so much pain it caused her to immediately lose consciousness and even now she was still in a bit of pain. What happened to Hawks - did that monster get to him too? Was he alive? Who were these strange people?

She took a moment to partially take in her surroundings and the individual in the room. They seemed to be i some subterranean medical facility. "What the hell is going on... Who are you and who do you work. f-.." Her voice trails off as her gaze finally falls upon Hawks. Relieved, she moves toward him, too quickly, not fully appreciating her condition. She staggers forward a bit, catching herself at the last minute with her hands flat against Hawk's chest. She cringes slightly, annoyed to catch herself in a compromising position yet again. She finally looks up, almost afraid to see his reaction given his recent erratic and unpredictable behavior - that could be cold, creepy, or even cruel ... all of which she somehow always gets blamed for. She finally speaks, her voice low, missing it's typical fierceness and sounding almost fearful. "Hawks ... what happened?"

Somewhere away from these events, in fact, at the same shore that these two washed up, a raft reaches the coast and sets anchor. And then, a red and white flash leaps from it and lands onto the soft, loamy sand. "LOVELY! We have arrived. Maha~"

---

"That I'd like to know as well ..." Hawks calmly comments, while embracing her into a protective hold. "Are you alright?" he adds, in a lower volume and softer tone.
The feline-man makes a sort of a half-assed backflip, bringing himself right back up. His face was bruised, probably because Jade was pummeling him with those mittens once the procedure was done, and his nose was bleeding, but he seemed completely unfazed and unaffected by these issues; instead, he just thumbed up at them. "All done."
"Believe it or not, that clown there saved you .." Hawks then tells her, then walks in front of her and between her and that man and his assistant. Almost as if guarding her. "So, what is the meaning of this? I owe you my graditude, that is true .. but who are you? And how did you knew when to take us away? Were you spying on us?"