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Assisted Regicide 01

Work, work, work. It didn't seem to matter what happened or where they went, Pluvian was always expected to work. Even now that the crew had docked in the Koluman International Trade Annex, their job was to barter and trade as much of their loot as they could for more usable materials instead of gold and gems. This should have been a time to relax, to enjoy the company of the local women, or just gorge himself on all the most delicious seeds and fruits the Koluman Locals had to offer.

Instead, he was perched atop Pariah's back, struggling for balance as the centauric chimera made her way through the busy crowd. The bags of coins that were slung over her haunches were making it difficult for them to slip and glide between the dozens of others that were around.

"I can't believe we have to do this." Pluvian complained, his eyes slit to show his grumpiness. He clicked his beak a few times and pecked at her horizontal back, the one he was perched on. "We really should be...well, not partying, but at least enjoying the bounty we've unearthed."

Pariah's snake-tail - named Eschar - coiled up and struck gently at Pluvians feathered rump end. "Ssstop whining, we've got plansss."

Pluvian stabbed his long beak down at the snake's head, pinning it to the strap laid over Pariah's haunches. "Quiet you. I need to get something to eat. Let's go to the tavern or something. Get a good drink, maybe some high quality fruit seeds or something. I don't know. I've had enough of this trading. Time to get some full bellies."

Pariah turned her upper head and stopped walking, glaring at the bird on her back. "Would you stop complaining, dear? I'm heading to the Coliseum Cuisine and I intend to get us something divine. Went there last time, and they feed folks pretty well there. I bet an appetizer tray of fruit would feed you real well. Now you be quiet and make your decision. If you complain again, I'm gonna kick you off me and you can fly on your own;find your own food and dining experience."

"Ugh. Fine." He accepted, ruffling his feathers and crouching down for added balance.

The two of them continued through the busy marketplace to eventually find a large, wide road with dozens of horse and ulokar-drawn carriages carrying blokes to and from said marketplace. The entire Koluman International Trade Annex was a massive port city with over fifty docks for ships of all sizes from single dinghies to massive frigates, with inns, hotels, motels, and accommodations for the crews when on land. That included hundreds of restaurants, pubs, taverns, and brothels for all a sailor's needs, and that was just near the shore. Deeper inland, the city was made of a dozen smaller marketplaces all connected by huge highways and dozens of homes and businesses in between. The farthest inland was a thick rim of rich, luscious farmland to supply the many vendors and merchants in town.

People from all around the Ijimulian ocean would make port here, be they sailors, travelers, or nobles looking for a vacation in a well-regarded and tropical region. The sheer volume of traffic - both nautical and terrestrial - that made its way to and from the Koluman International Trade Annex meant the city had grown into a small-scale metropolis with worldwide acclaim, filled with some of the best restaurants and accommodations in the world, and that was a truth no matter what industry one was interested in. Looking for love? KITA had the largest, best regulated of all the brothels in the land other than the one in Klyneth. They had the biggest produce markets, an entire district to smithing and weapons forging, another district to armor production.

Coliseum Cuisine was not quite at the level of the more renowned locations in the city. In fact, it was a little bit on the casual side, but it was still respectable. When the two of them burst through the swinging doors, they were quickly met by a tiny amphibious saurossin in a black and white suit, brandishing a tiny wooden clipboard that appeared to have the seat layout. He tried to talk to Pariah and Pluvian, but the hundreds of people in the dining room were collectively too loud to be heard, so he leaned in close and spoke loud enough to convey what he needed.

"Do you have a reservation ticket?"

Pariah's dragon-goat-end head, named Hearth, shook her head. "No, but we have quite a lot of coin!" She reached back and grabbed a single jade coin out of her saddle bags and gave it to the waiter. "I'm sure you can find a spot for a single chimera and her bird friend."

The value of a single jade coin was quite immense, valued at the equal to one hundred gold coins. She was really going all out to get them a meal, so the waiter pocketed the jade coin and bowed. "Right this way, m'lady." The tiny saurossin snaked his way through the tables, leading Pariah and Pluvian to the back area, a nice little two-seat quadruped location farther away from most of the louder patrons. The place was classy, but not high class. It had an air of dignity without feeling like it was snooty or noble; its tables were set up and nice, but the patrons were half rowdy.

The food must have been fantastic for that price.

"That's a lot of money you wasted, Par." Pluvian grumped, rolling his eyes. "That jade coin could get us enough smoked meat to last us our entire next trip, and for what? A half-baked meal at a too-fancy restaurant? Come on." It wasn't that fancy, but it was finer than Pluvian - a pirate - was used to.

Eschar bit at Pluvian's rump again, hissing. "Would you ssshut up? I'm hungry, and nobody seems to care what I think, here."

"You're going to eat a rat, snake. That's it. This place doesn't look nearly grubby enough to have the kind of meal you'd want to eat." Pluvian chirped back with a bit more aggression than intended.

Before Eschar could respond, the saurossin waiter sat the two of them, offering them each a menu. "Today's special is rack of....Lamb." He paused, looking over at Pariah's goat parts, clearly worried about the similarities of the patron and the special. "...uhm, with our special roast hickory barbecue sauce, and, um....a finely ground nut medley coating. That's for the meats, and for the herbivore special-"

He was cut off by Pariah, who smiled and waved him silent. "Yes, please give me the herbivore specials for today; I can enjoy meat, but I've had so much jerky as of late I could go for a good herbivore meal today. My rump end here might want to hear more, but I just want something delicious and made of not animals. And keep in mind, I'm a chef myself aboard a Ijumulian renowned ship, so I know my stuff. You'd better impress." She gave a sly wink and a nod, showing she was not being serious.

The waiter bowed gently. "Very well, miss. Well, the special is a three layer fruit platter set upon a three layer cake stand. Caramelized fruits on the bottom, warm and steamy and crispy on the outside. Blend of apple, pear, uriel, strawberries, and adafruit. Up from that on a second level elevated from the caramelized level, a series of fruits, all dried and compressed in the most artistically pleasing ways. They are bound to look like flowers, with grapes as the bud in the middle. They are then covered in a thick cream sauce for plucking and eating. Finally, the third and final level, a series of fresh, raw fruits in cubes, balls, and petals. An appetizer and an artistic representation that all that shall come."

Unbeknownst to Pariah, Hearth's maw was open and drooling. "I'll have that." She said, slurping up her slobber.

Pluvian, ever the grump, squawked a bit at her, telling her to smarten up. "Show some dignity, Hearth. Come on." He hopped off her back and up onto the table, where he went over to his own side across from her. "Can I have just the caramelized layer of that, but in the smaller, top size? There's no way I'd eat it all myself, that's enough food to literally last me a week."

"What about me?" Eschar complained, snaking her way up around from Pariah's backside to rest her chin on the table next to Hearth. "I need foodsss too!"

"You will eat vermin later. Restaurants don't serve snakes." Pluvian said with a dull look in his eyes. "Seriously, what would you even eat?"

She grabbed the corner of the menu with her maw and flipped it open; the snake glanced through a couple pages until she saw a full, roasted wolverine meal. "That one! I'll take that one!" She hissed with a broad grin towards the waiter. "And feel free to under-cook it! Don't even have to take the fur off! Oh, and forget the veggiessss!" Her tongue flicked out excitedly, lapping at the air to taste the food of the dining room. "I can't eat them and thisss goat-butt over here won't have room for roassst veggies."

"As you wish. Would you like a drink?" The waiter asked, briskly grabbing both menus.

Pluvian hopped forward on the table, chirping at him. "Get me, the biggest, pulpiest, uriel and pineapple juice you can get. Please." He bowed and widened his wings a bit before hopping back to his place on the tall, table-height stool.

Pariah nodded with a look of approval on her goat face. "I'll take the same thing. And Eschar here will take some rodent blood." She winked and patted her snake-end on the head. The snake simply flicked her tongue and stared up at her other half.

"As you wish." With that, the waiter bowed and left the two of them to wait at the table.

Hearth hissed at Escher, restraining herself from reaching up to bite the chimeran centaur's shoulder. "I don't drink rodent blood, Escher. I drink water." She slowly shook her head, still flicking her tongue in long, slow laps at the air. "And I can't even stick my tongue out at you to show anger because you'll just misinterpret it as smelling you." The three shared a bit of a laugh. Well, two did, Pluvian was quite quiet. That's just how he was.

While they were waiting, another group of rowdy folks showed up nearby, consisting of an average sized saurossin, a hulking female canine, two equines - a mare and a stallion, as well as a small shoulder-perched cockatrice of dragon and avian halves. Almost instantly, they were shouting loudly, slamming hands down on the table to demand food, and loudly farting and belching.

It was clear their presence was upsetting the other patrons of the establishment, but that did little to nothing to dissuade them from being the most rambunctious they could. After all, they were paying customers the same as everyone else, something they were quick to point out when a pair of felines complained to them.

"I told you this was a bad idea." Pluvian said in a disappointed, monotone voice.

Hearth smiled and nodded, clearly not agreeing. "It's all part of the charm, Pluvian. Come on, it's just charred fruit. We'll be eating very soon, you'll have your pulpy blend, and we'll be out of here with full bellies and tonnes of natural sugars. Just be happy for that."

Eschar hissed quietly to herself. "You think you have it bad, I can feel their stomps every time they move over there. Very sensitive to vibrations."

Then, from between the many tables and booths, came the waiter with Pariah's meal, followed by two more with the smaller version for Pluvian and the wolverine roast, which was actually propped up on a spit with vegetables scattered around. They didn't listen to Eschar, but she didn't care.

"May you be blessed with the fullest of bellies" The waiter said as he bowed, walking backwards away from the table. Just then, another loud howl came from the canine at the other table, distracting Pariah and Pluvian from their meal.

Their meal did go reasonably well at first, with Pluvian pausing every few minutes to make an exaggerated sigh towards the other rambunctious table, but every one of his not-so-subtle complaints was wasted since they paid him no mind.

"You know, this is actually really good." Pariah said as she chewed on slice of caramelized adafruit. "Just the right level of sweet and crunch to be satisfying without being overbearing."

Pluvian wanted to agree with her, to agree that the meal was quite tasty, but he was getting increasingly frustrated with that other table, so he seemed incapable of saying nice things. "You're a chef, why can't you do this kind of stuff while we're out at sea? Would certainly make travel much more enjoyable for the crew." He grabbed a slice of fresh strawberry and bit down on it, juices dribbling down the underside of his beak. He realized what he said and how it made her feel, but he was too proud to correct himself.

Luckily, Pariah wasn't the type to be easily dissuaded by unkind words. She'd known Pluvian for years now, and knew that was just how he was. If he wasn't being grumpy all the time, she'd think something was wrong with him. "Actually, I probably could if I had better equipment. Cooking utilities are pretty limited on board the Storm, what with it being all wooshy on the high seas. I get one ademane stove, one pot for stew, and a few pots and pans for general cooking. Not really a classy restaurant level of technology." She winked, then smiled as she stole one of Pluvian's caramelized strawberries. "Next time maybe I'll just serve up some chicken, see how you like that."

His feathers ruffled as he pecked at his fruit platter. "I'm not a chicken, so it wouldn't matter much to me, but if that's how you wanna go about it, then fine. And if these primitive, half-witted morons next to us would shut up and eat like civilized folk, then maybe I could enjoy this meal a bit better!" He shouted, clearly aiming his ire at the equine from the other table.

Eschar wanted to comment, but her jaws were wide open as she tried to eat the meal she'd ordered, so for once she just allowed the others to go about their conversation without her. Normally she'd have complained about being removed from a conversation, but she was too occupied to care, since if she spat it out now the half of it she'd swallowed would be covered in spit and...yeah, not a pleasant thought, so she kept to herself.

"What was that?" The stallion bellowed, turning around in his chair to stare at Pluvian.

Pariah gently shook her head, knowing this was about to be an argument. "Don't worry about my friend here, he's just grumpy."

"I'm not grumpy, Pariah. I'm sick of listening to these primeval slops, belching and farting as I'm trying to eat. I just want to enjoy my meal and all I can taste is their ass." He turned and looked at the equine, then gulped in fear when he saw all three of the others plus the cockatrice were staring at him. Still, he continued. "I live on a damn pirate ship and I have better manners than you do. This is not a place for children, so stop acting like it. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to eat my very expensive meal, and if you have a shred of decency in that massive body of yours, then maybe you'll tone it down a bit or just do us all a favor and leave!" He clicked his beak and stared at the stallion until the other patrons all clapped for him.

Turned out he wasn't the only one who wanted to say something, since almost every other patron in that room started a round of applause.

But then the stallion leaned in and huffed heavily, his hot breath tickling Pluvian's feathers. "And tell me, bird, what exactly do you plan to do if I don't abide by your snooty rules?" He stood up straight, staring down from far above where Pluvian sat. His form was utterly massive, must have been three meters tall and a meter wide at the shoulders. Convenient for the cockatrice that stood on said shoulder.

Again, Pluvian gulped as he realized he didn't have a witty retort for that. "I confess, I hadn't thought that far ahead, but I'm sure everyone in this restaurant would be happier if you left. I may not be able to do anything about it, but collectively I'm sure..." He gulped again, looking up and down the stallion's form. He was expecting a smack or attack of some sort, but was surprised when the stallion reached into his pouch, grabbed a single coin, and tossed it haphazardly on the table.

"Come on, folks. Looks like we're not wanted here, either." He grabbed the massive drumstick he'd bought and bit into it, heavy hooves clopping at the fine wood of the floor as he walked away. The others followed in suit, and the saurossin's tail hit the table to knock it over, food and plates going everywhere. They didn't care, just tossed another coin onto the floor next to the mess they'd left, then disappeared out the front door.

Pariah sighed and shook her head, idly grabbing a slice of her meal to chew on. "Why do you have to stir up shit when we go out?"

"I'm not stirring up any shit, Hearth. I just wanted to be treated with respect." He tossed up a strip of pressed fruit, gobbling it down. "It's common sense, they should have known better than to be so rude. Besides, other than the mess on the floor, the restaurant is much happier now!"

"And what do you expect to happen when we leave? We're in a large city notorious for hosting pirates of every kind, not just the ones that follow the NLF with us. Besides, even if they do, they're still pirates! Think they'd hesitate to gank you as soon as you leave?"

Pluvian took another bite. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's the middle of the day, I can fly, and I think you made it clear you weren't supporting my...behavior. We'll be fine." Another bite, and the platter was nearly emptied.

A short silence befell upon them both as Pariah took another few bites of pressed fruit. Behind her, Eschar was still nervously trying to down that wolverine roast.

They enjoyed their meal in relative peace as the waiters and bus boys cleaned up the mess the other party had left. Within minutes, the table was back up, the plates and silverware were re-arranged, the mess of food corrected, and the table cloth re-applied. The entire time, Pluvian kept his chest puffed out in pride as he ate. He seemed smug about having driven them out with only his words and the support of the other patrons of the diner. It felt very good to have made a positive impact, albeit just for selfish reasons.

Pariah was sure to offer a full gold coin for a tip to the waiter as an apology for the commotion they'd caused. She already paid a hefty jade, but she felt it wasn't enough; a single gold would have been enough to pay for the meal, but she was that kind of person. Eventually, they finished up their meals, Eschar swallowed the roast, and they decided to leave in silence.

When they exited the diner together, with Pluvian on Pariah's back, Pariah was quite hesitant and nervous. She found herself glancing up and down the street, keeping her eyes out for any of the folks from the restaurant. When she was sure there were no threats, she finally trotted her way out to go ahead back towards the ship.

"Why so worried?" Pluvian asked, flutter-hopping up onto her head, talons on her horns for balance as he looked down into her eyes. "We're fiiiiine. What are they going to do, in worst case scenario? It's the middle of the day in a busy port city. Come on, I'm feelin' good, let's go get some supplies, okay?"

"If you say so. Come on." They walked their way down the road back towards the shore, hurriedly moving past the crowds, the merchants, and vendors. Though Pariah didn't want to admit it or make it clear, she'd been sailing the seas long enough to know that such a dangerous band of folks would not be the type to leave them alone. No, She was a cook and Pluvian was a navigator, so neither were particularly adept at combat of any kind. In fact, if they got in a fight, it's almost certain that they'd be killed.

Her goal was to return to the ship, where Matilda, Ilorek, Krendius, and Olympia were packing crates and the like. Between their brawn, guns, combat experience, and magic, they could protect the two of them with ease.

To her delight, they made it to the wharf, where they could see the tall mast of the Storm of the Rift a ways down the pier. They were nearly there, and Pariah was eager to trot her way forward, the sense of urgency overcoming her. She wanted to be brisk, but not draw attention.

"Seriously, Pariah, why are you being so nervous?" Pluvian pecked her between the eyes, laughing gently; he rarely took things seriously, so he didn't actually consider that they could be in danger. "We're supposed to be shopping for goods, why are we back at shore?"

"Just playing it safe, dear. We really can't be too careful, and I'd be a lot more secure knowing that we had Ilorek or one of the others by our side. We're not exactly-" She stopped mid-sentence as the echoing belch of a burp rang out above the rest of the crowd. Of course, her heart stopped for a moment as she worried it was the stallion they'd seen.

And, as if on cue, when the crowd parted, she saw that very same equine reclining on a pile of net that was draped over a crate and barrel. He was drinking heavily while looking out over the surf towards all the ships that were docked. The female cockatrice was perched on his shoulder, idly pecking at and drinking from a wine glass he held in his hand - the one not pouring drink down his throat.

Though he didn't see them, the cockatrice did. She squawked, kicking and clawing at the stallion's cheek. "Get up, it's them!" She screeched.

Instantly, Pariah froze up and immediately kicked her way into an alleyway, hoping to hide them away from the angry cockatrice. She reached up and grabbed Pluvian from atop her head, holding him close to her chest against her blouse.

"H-hey, cut it out! Let me fly!" Pluvian protested, flapping and kicking at her chest with all his might.

"S-sorry, here!" She tossed him high into the sky above the patrons that were walking and passing by the front of the alleyway. "Go to the ship, get Ilorek just in case!

He spread his wings an caught a light sea breeze, which allowed him to bank and flap his way up above the single story buildings over the pier. Turns out, she was right to be worried, and now Pluvian had no sarcastic things to say back to her, so he just flapped. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw the cockatrice, having flapped to a higher altitude than him with a net in his claws.

The cockarice swooped down and dropped the net on top of Pluvian, spreading the edges of it wide to ensure it ensnared his wings as he dove down, as if he was hunting prey.

Pluvian tried to dodge it by diving and banking, but the cockatrice had great aim and had tossed it directly at him. The net blanketed him and slammed him down to the ground at the opening of the alleyway next to a barrel of wine or gunpowder or something, and when he landed the air was knocked from his lungs. Though disoriented and tangled in net, he quickly came to realize that the holes in the net were wide enough that he could slip through. As he nuzzled his beak between two ropes, he was quickly pinned to the ground by the cockatrice.

With fear in his eyes, Pluvian glanced either direction. Down the alley was Pariah, who was running towards him to save his feathered rump. However, through the crowd the stallion was barreling through the people to catch up with his cockatrice hunter. Had Pariah made it there first, she could have kicked the cockatrice off, but if the stallion got there first, Pluvian was dead. Straight up dead.

The stallion made it through the crowd first, and when he stomped and huffed next to Pluvian and the cockatrice, Pariah had to skid to a stop, all fours sliding in the dirt as she tried her best to stay under control.

Hearth wanted to help, but Eschar knew it was futile, and was trying to control Pariah's back legs to kick away, only to have Hearth reach back and slap the snake on the head. "We can't leave them." She said, her voice wavering as she stood off against the stallion and cockatrice. "But....but....I don't know what to do."

"There's nothing you can do." The stallion mumbled before belching. "Unless you wanna find yourself...." He paused, then lifted one leg and his tail to let out a long winded fart. "Whatever. You'd better run if you don't wanna end up like your bu-" He belched again. "Burd buddy here." Clearly, he was quite drunk, which explained his behaviour in the restaurant.

Pluvian may have been a grumpy, somewhat selfish bird, but his pride overcame his self preservation in this instance. He squawked out loud to Pariah, "Save yourself! Run!" Only to have his head forced to the ground by the cockatrice's talon. A moment later, he was grabbed around his midsection with wings squeezed against his side as two massive fingers clenched him tight. He tried to struggle, to kick or to squawk, but was held up next to the stallion's face, only to get a whiff of beer-belch in his nares. He gagged and nearly spat up, but then felt a nylon band slapped around his beak and tightened, silencing him.

Pariah couldn't hold back; she dove forward, angrily pounding her hands against the stallion's chest. "Let him go you brute!" She was trying, but she was barely half as tall as he was, and she was more lithe than bulky like the stallion, who simply wrapped his arm around her upper half and held her in close while leaning in to whisper in her ear.

"If you want your little friend here to live through the day, you'd better come quietly." He squeezed Pluvian's sides, making the bird grunt and flail his legs about. "Who knows, my friend here might have a nice little meal, if she felt so inclined." The cockatrice screeched and flutter-hopped up onto his shoulder, glaring down at both Pluvian and Pariah.

Though she didn't have much of an option, Pariah begrudgingly did as she was told, halting her aggressive resistance of the stallion's might. As soon as it was clear she had submitted, he bent down to grab her around her quadruped lower half, to haul her off down the alleyway. She glanced over at Pluvian, who shot darted looks back at her. The situation was dire, but there was a glimmer of hope in them both, since the stallion's slurred speech made it seem like there was a good chance that if they complied, they'd only be robbed and raped instead of killed.

A minor step up, but better than dying.

The stallion dragged the two of them back to an inconspicuous yet empty warehouse nearby, where the other folks from the restaurant were all waiting. The female canine seemed irritated at their presence, and the mare seemed uninterested as well, but the two-legged saurossin - the reptilian one - seemed mildly interested.

"I got some fun for ya!" The stallion declared as he hoof-kicked the door behind him.

"And what good does that do for us?" Mare asked.

Stallion tossed Pariah into the middle of the room, then grabbed her saddlebags that were filled with gold coins and tossed them to the others, who all eagerly grabbed for the coinage. "Well, you can have the money, I'll have this delicious looking taur. I bet her cunt is plenty tight." He kept Pluvian in his hand for a moment before tossing him into a shipping crate, closing the lid on him.

When everything went dark, all Pluvian could do was roll to his feet and put his ear up to listen and see what was happening outside the shipping crate. Unfortunately, all he could hear was the idle muffling sounds of yelling and struggling. He knew what was happening, he didn't need to guess. Of course, that meant he also had to wonder what was going to happen to him. He was too small to be the object of affection for any of the crew, so they couldn't possibly want him for that. He had no meat on him so he likely wasn't to be food.

He really couldn't think of any reason to hold him, unless they just planned to beat him; given his size compared to even the reptilian one - the smallest of the group - that would almost certainly kill him. Part of him wanted to struggle, to peck at the walls of the shipping crate and hopefully fly his way out, but he knew that would just be a waste of energy. Instead, he'd stay there, waiting for them to open the lid, then flap his way out. Of course, that wouldn't do anything to help Pariah, but he knew he had nothing to do but get Ilorek or Matilda.

Minutes passed with him lost in his own thoughts and imagination. He heard the idle struggling sounds outside the shipping container, but then what felt like an hour or so later, he noticed that no new noises were coming from outside. Curious, he put up his ear to the wall, only to have the lid open above him, and in the beam of light was the cockatrice, holding it up. He tried to escape, but was swatted back down onto the ground in a mess of feathers and twisted limbs.

"Delicious." She said to herself, then kicked the lid fully open, followed by hopping into the crate next to Pluvian. He was still disoriented, so she had no challenge pinning him to the ground, holding him in place in her talons. She was about six times his size, easily, with powerful but ragged looking wings and thick, hooked claws at the end of each talon.

She looked deadly more than anything else, and as she stared she wrapped her claws around him, flapping her way out to carry him into a confined corner of the warehouse. The others were no longer in this area of the building, but based on what he heard, he was sure they might have gone up to the office on the second level. She slammed him down and held him in place as she stared him in the eyes, licking her beak.

Pluvian struggled, grunting and kicking against her form, but it was completely futile. Her size and strength - not to mention those deadly claws - meant that every motion he made against her was met with a sharper puncture or slice along his belly. Still, he resisted; he would never ever give up his life to some scummy cockatrice.

"Not so chatty now, are we bird?" Asked the cockatrice as she snapped at his long beak. When Pluvian tried to kick at her, grunting all the while due to the nylon band keeping his maw shut, she grabbed a rope from around her tail and expertly used her talon and beak to tie Pluvian's wings up to each of his legs, keeping right and left spread wide apart from one another but bound to the other limb on the same side. The position left him with his rump up and cloaca exposed. "And now, I think it's only fair that you get the same treatment your friend received."

Pluvian knew what this meant and he wouldn't allow himself to be taken so willingly, but he found that every struggle seemed to tighten the nylon around his limbs, so he calmed down enough to concoct some sort of plan to fix things for himself. He was a smart bird, there had to be some sort of way to get out of this, logically.

While he brainstormed, the cockatrice backed off, knowing full well he was bound in place and certain to not be able to get out or away. She hopped away a few feet, and came back with a tiny satchel with heavy metal objects inside it; they clanged about inside the satchel for a bit as she clawed around inside.

"I can't...punish you the same way they can to your friend, there, but I can improvise and I'm pretty creative." She dove her head into the bag and came out with a heart shaped object, made of smooth red metal. It looked, at first glance, like it was an ornament, but it didn't take much in terms of brainpower for Pluvian to realize what it was and where it was going.

He curled his toes in anger, making two ineffective fists that he flailed against his molester, but was entirely unable to stop her. He tried to growl or hiss at her, but the nylon around his beak ensured that nothing more than a muffled squawk could be hear.

Furthermore his flailing failed to stop her from dropping the metal weight on his belly. She held it there with her talon as she stared down at him, never breaking eye contact as she spat on the rounded tip. The cockatrice used her other foot - the one she was balancing on - to prod and pry at the underside of his tail, exposing his cloaca to her. She laughed a bit when she felt his muscles contract and try to clench, keeping her out. "Oh, you think you have any say in the matter?" She gloated, then did an acrobatic little toss from one hind leg to the other, tossing the plug weight from one to another.

In one fluid motion, she stabbed at his exposed cloaca with the tip of it against his opening. The saliva lubed him up just enough that it started to part his flesh until it was as deep as it would go; the girth of it was too much for his hole to handle. Problem was, he knew that wouldn't stop her. He also knew that if he resisted, it might hurt a lot more than if he just let it happen. Years as a pirate told him all he needed to know about raping and being raped, since it was such an integral part of pirate life, at least before the NLF had such an impact on the pirate life.

Regardless of his submission, he still kept his talons bunched up in fists and he glared at her as she did her dastardly deed, working the plug deeper and deeper against his flesh. He could feel the burn of his skin stretching, since there was nowhere near enough lube to ease it in, only pressure and its smooth surface aided by her weight.

"Tight little bastard, aren't you?" She hissed at him, still locked eyes with the bird. She snarled and bit down at his neck, holding him in place as she kicked at the base of the plug, forcing it into him with a searing painful pop.

He let out a cry of pain and a writhe of agony as he felt the toy burst into his cloaca, its girth pressing out against his belly; Of course, his voice was muffled by the nylon rope around his beak but that didn't stop him from flailing about under her weight. Every motion had her fangs digging deeper into his neck through the protection of his feathers, so he eventually did relax, letting her finish her desires on him.

When she pulled away, a trail of her saliva was bridging from her chin to his chest, and she had her talons wrapped around the base of the plug to stab at the tender lips of his cloaca. "Oh, what's the matter, don't like it when you feel violated? I thought a little bitch like you would enjoy it!" She hissed again, but then swung her head around when a sound could be heard coming from the second floor office. It was the stallion, dragging along Pariah alongside him.

He forced her around the room and down to the main level, tossing her on the ground next to Pluvian and the cockatrice. "Alright, these two can get the fuck out of here. I think they learned their-" He paused to belch again, only this time it was a more reserved and restrained one; he even covered his mouth. "They learned their lessons. Maybe next time they won't intrude on celebrating folks next time they're in town."

Cockatrice sighed heavily as she hopped off Pluvian's body, letting go of the plug's base to let it pull in tight and snug against his cloaca. "Awww, I was just getting to have fun."

"No time, Kouta. Staine says we're heading south to the Koluman Coliseum, gonna compete. If we don't catch a caravan soon, then we won't make it." He paused to look down at Pluvian, then over to Pariah and back to Pluvian. "It's their lucky day."

"Skies damn it, Wevon, I was just starting to have fun." Cockatrice protested, but then hopped over onto the stallion's broad shoulder. "Could we bring the bird with us? I could have some real fun with him. Could dispose of him when I'm done."

Stallion brought a fist up to his maw to halt an incoming burp before leaning over to untie Pluvian's limb-restraints and beak strap. "We're not murderers, and like I said, he's learned his lesson. Come on." He grabbed Pluvian and tossed him gently towards Pariah, who had gotten to her hooves. "Now begone, and let us never speak of this again."

Wevon and and Kouta walked back out through the sliding doors of the warehouse's rear exit, leaving Pluvian and Pariah alone to ruminate on what just happened.

The second the door slammed behind the bandit crew, Pluvian hopped off Pariah's back to furiously tug at the base of the plug that was still inside him. He yanked and flailed and was foiled by the tightness of his cloaca every time. When he went to tug, the pain was too severe and the natural lubricants his back end secreted kept his talons from getting a grip. "Hearth, can you help me here?"

Pariah slowly made her way over to him, her eyes kind of distant as she reached down and picked him up with one hand, using her other to gently tug.

"Owowowowwwwww!" Pluvian screeched, kicking her hand away. "That hurts."

"Should I needle it? Do it quick and get it over with?" She asked, voice somewhat monotone. "That's what helps me when I have to take a bandage off after burning myself when cooking."

Pluvian aggressively shook his head. "N-no, let's not do that. Um, just leave it for now, we'll get back to the ship first, okay? Get one of the magic users to-" He paused and rolled to his feet in her hand. "You have a bit of magic, right?"

Pariah nodded, then shook her head. "I do, yeah, but not any sort of healing or numbing spells. I could cauterize the wound if you tear, though."

A look of utter despair came over Pluvian's face, his beak drooping and feathers pressing flat to his body. "N-no. I'd really rather not think about something like that. Let's just get back to the ship, we can deal with it then, okay? But...do me a favor and don't let the others know. I have...a reputation to uphold." He nodded, she nodded, and they came to an agreement as they left the warehouse in silence.

When they emerged into the wharf, neither of them said a word to each other or anyone else as they walked towards their ship. Around them, the hundreds of others all appeared to be walking very slowly, as if in a dream or hallucination. Things seemed weirdly dire for both of them, and doubly so when Pluvian attempted to speed up his return to the Storm of the Rift by flying, only to struggle to stay afloat in the skies. He made it a few meters before falling into the crowd of people due to the weight of the metal that was inside him. Pariah was close enough to scoop him up before anyone stepped on him.

They stopped only a brief moment to take a quick detour in order to buy Pluvian something to cover up the blatant red metal plug that was tied to his cloaca, since he really didn't want anyone else seeing his plight. Luckily, they had pirate style parachute pants in his size. When he was fitted and dressed, they then proceeded to return to the ship.

As luck would have it, Valencia, Mikhail, Arnika, and Jarell were all returning around the same time, so they helped pack up the ship in silence before departing, where both Pariah and Pluvian opted to stay below deck. They needed a bit of time to recover.

The entire afternoon seemed to last a lot longer than a typical afternoon for Pluvian. The violation he felt was bad enough, but the lingering unpleasantness of the plug in his cloaca was a constant reminder that he had been victimized. He never got victimized. Ever. This was an affront to his pride, and he couldn't dare let himself be shown to be at all affected by it all. If the others saw, they would certainly be laughed at.

What he had to be careful to present was that he couldn't properly fly. The weight of the metal plug ensured that he couldn't flap more than a few times before being tugged to the ground. Ashore, that was a mild inconvenience, but at sea the ocean would swallow him up. Instead, he had to play it careful by hopping from one rope to another, using the rigging as a ladder instead of wings to flap. It meant that he was useless as a navigator, but that was fine because Matilda was covering for him.

"Heads up!" Krendius called out.

As pluvian turned, he saw a guiding sail swing by him, the wood of it barely missing him. He managed to flutter-hop down to the deck, where he brushed himself off and then quickly flapped and jumped his way back up to the rigging. "Be careful, mate!"

Krendius saluted. "Aye! Sometimes the thing gets out of control." He then went back to worrying about his rigging and sail-maintenance. This gave Pluvian time to get away and find some time for himself.

The sails were up and wide, catching all the wind they could to get them to travel eastbound. Pluvian had absolutely no clue where they were headed, because when Ilorek told the crew their next destination, Pluvian was more or less on autopilot. His mind was focused on the unpleasant feeling of thick, solid metal in his tight little cloaca. No matter what he did, he kept coming back to that.

Almost killed by a sail? Who cares, he had a plug stuck in him. Sudden wave splashed up onto deck? Who cares, he was a little preoccupied. Matilda offered some witty but stinging barb of an insult to him? Ah well, he had more important things to attend to. Once the swinging sail's anchor nearly hit him, he realized that had Krendius not called out to alert him, that was the end of him. He'd have ended up dead in the sea. He needed to go below deck.

Since he wasn't up in the nest helping with navigation, he made his way back to the helm, where Captain Ilorek was steering the ship. He hopped up onto the base of the wheel well and looked the hippogryph in the eye. "Captain, I am....curious, what is our next destination?" He was going to ask for a bit of a shore leave to get this issue resolved, but then chickened out at the last minute, since he really didn't want to show discomfort or weakness. His unpleasant mentality wasn't helped as he saw just how phallic the handles of the steering wheel were.

"Well, Captain Ceylon says that there's going to be a bit of a meeting over at the Rissen caves. His, ours, and the Olfrin's Wrath are all going to head there for a party at the end of the month. Take us about a week to get there, that's why we got all stocked up." Hell of a party on the horizon. Might even meet up with Dragon Lord Thade!"

"Th-that sounds wonderful. I guess. Um, well I guess I should probably go check the stock, right?" Pluvian offered. Instantly he knew he was being a little too obvious about his inconspicuous nature, especially since he was being plucky and helpful instead of naturally grumpy and reserved, but Ilorek didn't seem to take heed.

The captian shrugged. "I suppose you could, yeah, but I've already got Miki and Arnika working on that. It's kind of their job. Why do you suddenly want to do that? Seems boring to me, you're much more useful to me as navigator."

"Oh, no reason. No reason. Just, you know, I want to be as valuable as I can, learn all the roles. I'll go down and ask Miki how he takes his stock and inventory when we're at sea. Mmmkay?" He paused a moment to see how Ilorek responded, and when the captain offered a casual nod and salute, he turned and hopped down off the hull, fluttering his way down each stair to the main deck.

Pluvian got a good look at each crew member before disappearing below deck. Krendius and Olympia were both tending to the port and starboard cannons, Miki and Arnika were carrying messages back and forth, writing on a scroll every time. Matilda was in the nest high up in the mast, and Ilorek was captaining the ship. Pariah was below deck cooking them a meal, and Valencia was likely sleeping, since she captained at night with him as navigator.

And that little bird was being a coward, hiding from the problems instead of talking to Captain Valencia, the medic. He wanted to talk to her, to find out if all was well or if she could help, but no matter how much he wanted to get help - nay, needed it - he couldn't muster up the courage to accept weakness. Because that's how he saw it. Weakness. Victims were weak, and he was no victim. The only way he got the courage to get close to the captain's quarters was when he realized he should talk to Pariah and see if she was alright.

As he was about to peck at the door, he came to realize that maybe it would make more sense if he went to Pariah, to see how she was doing. Down the stairs he went to the personal deck level right below the main one where the rest of the crew was sailing the ship. There, the barracks had rooms for each and every crew member, with a kitchen at the end of it under the bow, a little chimney billowing up to let the crew smell what she was cooking.

When Pluvian arrived, he saw Pariah sitting back with a stew bubbling up on a gem-heated stove. She stared blank-eyed across the kitchen, apparently very keen on a sack of flour that was sitting in the corner. Eventually, she noticed Pluvian standing in the door watching her. "Oh, hey there." Then her snake end Eschar slithered around from behind her haunches to flick her tongue at him.

Pluvian waddled his way over. "So how are you? Doing good?" He didn't know what else to say. He wasn't the consoling type. That was what Arnika was for.

She shook herself out of her daze and swept her hand over her horns and scaled cheek. "Uh, yeah. Yeah I'm fine. Why? Haven't you got that, uh, thing out yet?"

"Yeah, it's fine." He lied, still waddling towards her. When he got up close, he flutter-hopped up onto the crate next to her, with Eschar too distressed or traumatized to even offer a playful nip. "How are you holding up. I don't know what happened, and I kind of don't want to know, but...I need to know you're going to be okay." In truth, he kind of hoped she'd be traumatized, so it would give him an excuse and easy way to talk to Val instead of making him feel weak.

Pariah shook her head and took in a long, deep breath before looking down at him with a smile. She caressed his beak and blinked slowly, eyes emitting a warmth that was very motherly. "Actually, I'm quite fine. Better than before, in fact. Great, even."

"Wh-what do you mean? What did he do to you?" He squawked, backing away from her caress. For a moment he was worried that something truly terrible had happened; perhaps the stallion was skilled with mind control spells, or had potions to make her bend to his will and they hadn't worn off yet. His mind was racing with possibilities, only to be cut off mid-though.

"Nothing like that. Not like you'd expect, anyway. I mean, we're pirates. We plunder and pillage and rape and stuff, it's kind of our thing, other than the rape. But still, when you come on a vessel like this, you just accept some things are truth. The sea is unforgiving, the land is safe but boring, there's treasure everywhere if you look hard enough, and sailor's need to get their dick wet. But...he wasn't rapey. I mean, he was, he did take me against my will, but...it wasn't bad. If anything, it was actually compassionate, enjoyable, and dare I say, pleasant. I kind of wouldn't mind lifting my tail to him again."

Pluvian narrowed his eyes, knowing for sure now that something was wrong. He clicked his beak at her and widened his stance a bit, as if in defense; for a brief moment he did forget about the cumbersome toy that was lodged in him, even though it was the main reason he'd come below deck. "No, that can't be right, that horse was massive, how are you not...I mean, what? No. Please explain, because I'm not following." His grumpy, cynical side was coming back out, even in the wake of tragedy.

She nervously giggled a bit and glanced back across the room as she offered her explanation, or perspective. "I don't know how to describe it. I mean, I was expecting it to be worse, and when he forced my tail up, he was almost remorseful. Like he didn't want to do it. Then, when he forced himself in me, he was a slow as gentle a lov-" She paused to correct herself. "Partner as I'd ever had. It actually felt really, really nice despite how big he was. Maybe I'm going into heat early? Maybe I just....I dunno. I really don't know. All I know is that I wasn't traumatized like I expected. I kind of liked it. I really hope the events ashore don't trigger or awaken something within me, because that's not the kind of thing...I want to be turned on by. Honestly, the worst pain was losing all that coin."

As she spoke, her snake-tail bunched up in a tight coil around her haunchs, the tongue flicking rapidly. Escher didn't tall, but did hide her head under one of her folds like a python that was rolling up in a ball to defend itself. A moment later, a subtle shiver went through Pariah's spine, a subtle motion that most wouldn't have seen but Pluvian's keen eyes did.

"Well, I suppose I'll leave you to your cooking, then?" He offered, still gently walking backwards. A gentle rock of the boat followed by him tripping over a knot of wood made him fall on his rump, which in turn made him land square on the plug, forcing it ever so slightly deeper. The painful reminder made him bunch his talons in fists before getting back up to dart back to his personal quarters.

He left her alone in the kitchen, not knowing what to do other than knowing he wasn't going to be able to use her as an excuse to talk to Val. What a peculiar situation to be in, nothing felt right and at this point all he wanted to do was to get that plug out at any cost. It would hurt, but as they say, easier to ask forgiveness than permission. In this case, the urgency of an injury was easier to ask help for than an embarrassment.

Almost instantly, he threw his clothes off and hopped up to his bed, a tiny one in the corner. He rolled onto his back and spread his wings for balance as he angled his feet to wrap talons around the base of the plug. "Alright, let's do this." He said to himself, gearing up before tugging on it with all his might, an audible grunt echoing in the room. He pulled and pulled, but it barely budged inside him, instead only shifting slightly and making his flesh burn.

When he let go, it slid back into him as his opening clenched on the base again. It hurt, but not nearly as much as the shame of being caught in this situation in the first place.

Again, he tugged on it as hard as he could, the motions rolling him from side to side until he felt onto the ground, his beak slamming to the ground as he was too focused on yanking the plug out to bring his feet down or flap his wings. Still on the floor, splat onto his belly, he stretched out and used all the muscles in all his body for leverage, yet the plug just straight up refused to budge.

Panting, he let go and shook himself off, tail up and wings spread. At this point, getting Pariah or one of the others was the only option. Or, if that was too embarrassing, he could just leave it in. Maybe his natural cycles would push it out. Who knew? He didn't, but leaving it in forever was a lesser shame than asking for help, at least in his mind.

The entire room swayed and rocked as the ship sailed over the gentle seas, and the wood kept creaking and groaning against the torque, so Pluvian didn't take the slightest bit of noise when he heard a nearby footstep that he mistook for the natural sounds of the ship.

A knock came suddenly. "Pluvian?" A voice called to him from his door. It was Valencia! Did Pariah say something? Was he being loud? Did she hear him fall off his bed. He couldn't know, so he kept it casual.

"Yes captain?" He asked, idly tugging at the plug's base, still struggling with himself over what he could possibly do next? His clothes were over close to the door, where Valencia was almost certain to step in soon. He could fly up to his bed and fake sick, but Valencia was the one person on the ship he couldn't lie to. She seemed to know any time he lied, and seemed to always know what was on his mind; it was like she was psychic or something.

"Everything alright in there?" She asked, the handle of the door gently turning to warn him she was coming inside.

Pluvian froze in place, laid out on his belly with tail up and talons wrapped around the base of the plug. As the door swung open, all he could do was stare up at her with a sidelong glare, as if to question her intrusion.

"Oh, I see." She discretely closed the door behind her, locking it in the process. "And what mess did you get yourself caught up in this time?" She leaned over and gently scooped him up, cradling him in her wing-arms before placing him on his back on a nearby table. She used her thumb and forefinger - the only two digits to not be bound by her wing - to part his lower belly feathers so she could get a better look.

All the while, Pluvian could do little more than clench his beak shut and stare up at her. HE wanted to tell her, and she was staring right at his distended cloaca flesh, and the smooth base that was sticking out of him. She knew, as clear as day, yet Pluvian couldn't bring himself to explain it or say anything. He just laid on his back, defiantly refusing her information. Because that would totally help and wasn't a sarcastic thought at all.

She shook her head, a sly grin appearing on her visage to peel back her lips and show her teeth. "Let me guess, you pissed someone off, and they felt they needed to teach you a lesson." She laughed a bit, then squeezed the base of the plug to get a feel for it.

Pluvian avoided eye contact and deliberately stared across the room at his bed across the room, offering only the slightest of reluctant nods to confirm her suspicions.

"Well, that's easy enough to fix, isn't it?" Valencia squeaked. Her cute vocalizations were as adorable as anything Pluvian had heard, but he couldn't dare say anything to make this any more awkward than it already was. He just balled up his talons into fists and sigh heavily, his chest heave revealing a noticeable bulge in his lower abdomen. She noticed this and gave his foot a shake. "Well I'll get you fixed up right good and proper, mate." With a gentle tip of her hat, she leaned down to get a closer look, still parting his feathers to see the swollen lips wrapped around the toy.

She kept her grip on the base, gently rotating it against his flesh back and forth a full rotation each time. "Well, it's not barbed or anything, so pulling it out won't be all bad. Might hurt your little bum, but don't worry, I'll kiss it better!" She smiled and pressed her palm to his chest, holding him in place as her long prehensile tongue slipped out from between her fangs to gently lap at his tender cloaca around the neck of the plug.

"Wh-what are you doing?" He protested, kicking off against her cheeks with his talons, hoping to dissuade her from further violating him.

"Cut it out, Pluvian, you got yourself into this mess, now let me get you out of it." She squeaked at him and gave the base of the toy a gentle kiss, then once again wrapped her tongue around it to give a subtle tug.

It was clear this was the only way to make this work, so he reluctantly spread his legs wide, yet kept a keen and distressed eye on her to make sure she didn't do anything funny. Well, any funnier than using her tongue to extract a plug from his cloaca.

Humiliating or not, he had to admit that her tongue massaging his lips felt a lot nicer than he'd expected. Of course, he couldn't possibly tell her that. Just let her do her thing, get the toy out of him.