FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Another bright day of sunshine filled the sky over Gran Blue, a sky cast in cloudless wonder under the bright ball of light from above. The waves rushed to the shore in soft repetitions, washing across the grainy sand particles and pebbles beneath the bubble filled foamy surf. The island patrons filled the expanse from end to the other. Spring break was here and the party animals couldn't wait to get underway. Beach towels lined the hot soft sand, food baskets and parasols for shade, endless amounts of bottled sunblock for those with less fur than others to save from the searing rays of the sun. At the Oasis, Neros and Natty were hard at work busing tables and running bar. Neros had yet to install the grill, but the ever flowing business had been more than enough to bring in the funds. He'd already phoned for his next delivery of drinks and could expect it within the next days on rush order.

"Order up!" the wolf barked, placing out two sweet cherry red glasses dripping with moisture out onto the bar top.

"Got it!" Natty piped, snatching the glasses and hurrying across the hut to deliver to the awaiting table.

The two had yet to speak on the events of yesterday. Neros knew from the side glances Natty was stealing at him that she wanted some sort of closure from the wolf. To understand that what happened was right or wrong. Had he been satisfied? Would anything change now? The wolf watched the skunk hurry around from table to table and considered these things very heavily. His blue sapphire eyes mellow with burdened thoughts hanging on his mind. It was only the suddenly snapping bark of a voice he rather hoped not to hear for a while that brought him back to reality.

"Laddie!"

"Ahh!" Neros jumped, looking to his right. Jack, the one eyed wolf and walking pirate stereotype, leaned against the top with two calloused hands and a feral smirk. "Oh, hey Jack." Neros sighed inwardly, approaching the aged wolf, "What can I get you?"

"Boyo, lemme tell ya somethin'. If ye go through life needin' things of people, yer doin' it wrong. I'm the kind of fella where if I ain't got it, I don't really need it." Jack grinned, casting a singular gaze around the bar, "Looks like yer rakin' in the money already. Good time this season is. Plumb rich with opportunity." His eye glued to a passing beauty in a one piece bathing suit as she passed, each side of her rump balancing in turn from one step to the other. The wolf nodded his approval with a devilish smirk, "The view ain't none too bad neither."

"Well if the booze and the women didn't bring you in here, what did Jack? Surely not for the pleasure of my company. I don't see you as the social sort." Neros folded his arms over one another, squaring his shoulders and lifting his head.

"Now now lad, I understand a plenty we didn't get started on the right foot and so forth. Believe me, Zoey has been putting the bug in my ear about it ever since. So as much as this seems entirely unlikely, I am in fact finding myself in need of your services today. My deckhand happens to be busy with his real job today, so I find myself a man down. Don't worry, you'll be compensated for yer time." The elder wolf explained.

"Who's your deckhand?" Neros inquired, raising a brow.

"That boy Toby. Fine lad. Attached at my hip some days. Got it in his head that I'm some sort of urban hero of sorts." Jack chuckled, amused at the prospect apparently. "Anyhow, if ya could spare a few hours to help an old salt, I might be inclined to talk less nasty at ye in the comin' days."

Neros blinked, "...You're serious?"

"I make no promises." Jack admitted.

Neros turned his head, "Natty! I'm stepping out for a while. Can you handle things while I'm gone?"

"Sure thing boss!" Natty cheerfully beamed, giving the two wolves a wave.

"On our way then!" Jack grinned, leading the way out the front door as Neros followed behind.

"A day with Jack...this should be interesting..." Neros grumbled sourly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two Hours Later...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Neros gasped as he burst up from beneath the ocean surface, his lungs burning and filling with much needed air. "Gaaaah!!"

Jack was standing at the rails of the pontoon, arms crossed and regarding the younger male lupine with a disapproving frown, "Ye swim like a seahorse, know that?"

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Neros asked, a hand holding to the craft, placing a scraping knfe up into the captain's outstretched mitt. Jack snorted, "Seahorses don't swim, they float along all helpless like, worse than a flounder ye might say. I'd start calling ye flounder, but that might offend the fishes." The captain turned away and replaced the knife back into his tool chest along with the other assorted implements of the trade. Neros pulled himself up onto the ship, his soaked fur dripping cascades of water droplets down his muscular toned form. Despite being a wet mop for the moment, the wolf felt heated already, the hot tropical sun shining down on him and sharing its fantastic heat. "Well if you don't like my swimming, you can scrape the ship yourself, mangy buzzard!" Neros grumbled, pressing a towel to his face and drying at his features.

"Simmer down boyo, the heat is gettin' to ya already." Jack smirked, leaning over his table and examining the chart laid out, a map of the island chains underneath. "I was just seein' how long ye can hold yer breath and how you react under pressure is all. You think I'd pay you good money to scrape my hull when I could get Toby to do it fer me a whole lot cheaper?" Neros frowned slightly, moving over to the chart table, looking down at the detailed plotting, "I suppose not. You don't hate me that much. What are you prepping me for then? Some sort of excursion?" The captain nodded, his grizzled fur chin unkempt and almost less than tidy, "Aye, a little diving expedition of the coast of Mira Island, just a bit East of the Isla del Gran, the central island as you know it. We'll be checkin' out a lagoon for a sunken haul with any luck." Marching to his post, Jack took the helm and fired up the motor, taking the boat out into the waters.

"What kind of sunken haul are we looking for exactly?" Neros asked, leaning forward in his seat now, placing the towel aside, his large sapphire eyes looking out at the view of the approaching islands on either side of the ship as they left the harbor behind. The roar of the motor was loud, but not so obscene to cut out their voices or voice one to be raised to hear the other. "Long time ago, trading ship came through here." Jack answered, his single eye scanning along the passing boats as he navigated his vessel, "Originally these islands were inhabited by several tribes. Not too much is known about their history, they didn't exactly write things down like most civilizations. Tribal cultures be like that lad, they pass down story from father to son, mother to daughter and so on and so forth as ye like. Do that long enough and sometin' is bound to get lost or misconstrued as it were. Now this trade ship, she come in needin' to give her sailors a stretch of legs ye see, and they done encountered one of these tribes. While the relations were peaceful enough, there was this air of suspicion about them ye see. This tribe claimed to be in possession of a stone, a magnificent gift from the island god they called Kasha Diaro. Course, these sailors be god fearin' men to begin with, but they still respect this tribes mythology and all that. Now the capn' is already getting that itchy feelin' the one that creeps on in yer toes and breathes that chill along yer spine." His voice put emphasis on the story, lowering and hissing as it were.

"He don't trust the situation. All the food, the drink, the women bein' offered. He thinks the tribe be a bit too friendly. He sends his boys to scout the other islands. Well when they do come back in three days, they be most horrified. They found remains of other natives, strung up on totem poles, every one of 'em with an exotic little idol laced and tied about their necks, the ground still damp from their collective blood! The captain, now he gets mad, real mad, and he confronts the elder chief about this. The native leader gives them some story about a madness, a vengeful spirit that has cursed the island natives, and stalks them like a predator at night! Fearful, the other remaining natives had fled to the central island and formed together into one last tribe, hoping that the god Kasha Diaro would protect them under his watchful eye. Well, that supposed eye turns out to be a ruby lad! A great big ruby the size of a coconut! The Eye of Kasha Diaro!" Jack exclaimed, a grin forming from ear to ear.

Neros raised a brow, his expression doubtful, "So these natives worshipped a large stone? How did the sailors get their hands on it? Theft I imagine?"

"Oh no lad. Much worse. Nobody knows what happened exactly. Some say a deal gone wrong. Others a mixed message misunderstood. Whatever the case may have been, tragedy struck, and a great bloody conflict erupted across the island." Jack spoke slowly, taking the ship along the coast of the Mira beachhead. "When all was done, the remaining crew of La Sirena took what resources they had and fled the islands, but they lost most of their haul doing so. But they took with them their story, and that was dangerous enough. In a year time, they returned, and brought with them a few extra ships and hands courtesy of the royal navy. Isla Fauna became a bloodbath. Those that lived were enslaved and sold off to other countries, and the legacy of the tribes nearly lost. All that remained was the Eye of Diaro Kasha. Fate be a funny thing though. On their return, the sailors failed to find the ruby. It had seemingly vanished, no doubt scuttled away by one of the crew. The capn' whipped 'em all with the most painful lashings one could leave on a mans backside. Yet none knew or could be broke into confession. Years later, on his deathbed, the captain took ill and was given to profound mutterings. Of these utterances, he actually confessed to having stolen the ruby himself, planning to return and retrieve it from the very locale he had stashed it. Now, this wreck we be lookin' at in the lagoon, it be one of the many expeditions that set out to find the ruby from explorers of old. I have it on good authority this wreck has some valuable information we'll be needin', sometin' to put me one step closer to finding Gran Blue's most infamous treasure, the Eye of Diaro Kasha!"

"...Your crazy."

"Well I didn't say you had to believe me. But trust me lad, the ruby does exist, and its here, lost among these islands somewhere. I'm gonna find it even if takes me last breath." Jack declared, turning the helm a few degrees, the keel of the ship turning into the wide yet placid lagoon ahead. Neros turned his head to look at the sea monger, calmly asking, "Jack...what makes you so determined...what makes you believe that this ruby is real, let alone still here? If it was so long ago, anything could have happened to it by now. Someone may have found it and very well made off with the stone."

"Because lad," Jack spoke slowly, his voice somber, his single eye staring ahead with steeled will, "Someone did find it...close to twenty years ago."

Neros fell silent, looking to Jack again, "...Twenty...years...wait...Jack! Jack are you telling me you've seen the ruby?!"

"Aye lad, I have." The captain nodded, bringing the ship to a slow drift, moving to the side of the ship and down into the waters, "That be my craft down there. But I wasn't the one who found it though."

"Then who?" Neros asked, walking to his side and peering alongside the elder lupine.

"...Me brother, Connor. Him and me gal, Aislinn."

"You never mentioned them before...in fact, I haven't heard a thing about them from anyone." Neros said slowly, folding his arms one at a time.

Jack was silent as the grave. Neros raised a brow, "Jack? What is it?"

The pirate like elder wolf turned away to fetch the tools they would need for the dive, answering quietly over his shoulder, "...They're both dead now. That's why. Hurry up and get in the water, will ye?"

"Jack...I'm not trying to pry, but what happened?" Neros pressed, his ears perking forward, a shiver crawling up his spine.

"Connor was drowned not long after he found the ruby. Aislinn...she died later. Less than noble way for a good woman like herself to go." Jack's voice was bitter, his fur ruffling along the edges, "Hurry up and get in the water I said. We don't have all day."

Neros paused, the answers coming to him, speaking aloud, "...Less than noble way? Twenty years ago...twenty years ago a woman was murdered. Her body suspended and tied to a pole, and idol statue around her neck. Jack, Zoey showed me the Stained Totem. It matches that story you just told. The spirit that murdered those natives and hung them from poles! Someone...or something...Jack...was Aislinn the victim of the Totem Killer?"

Jack refused to answer, but his silence was enough to give some sort of confirmation. Neros didn't like the way his fur was standing on end by the second, deciding perhaps he should fall silent as well. The younger wolf left his curiosity behind him for now, climbing down the ladder and dropping into the warm water below. Beneath the surface the water was surprisingly clear as the two canines dived deeper. Jack, despite his middle age, was in remarkable shape for an older male. He moved through water like it was second nature to him. Neros imagined that even for a land animal, Jack had been at sea so long that the wolf had grown sea legs in more ways than one. There it was, down on the lagoon floor, the small sunken wreck that once belonged to the sea captain. Neros could see the name along the side of the vessel, covered by clumps of aquatic algae. The wolf swiped his hand along the cold metal clearing away the gunk. The Civet. Neros looked to Jack, who was beckoning him to the other side of the ship. Neros swam to join the one eyed lupine, who trying to budge open the cabin door with a pry bar he'd brought down with him. Together, the two wolves pushed their combined weight into the leverage, and the metal barrier surrendered with a heavy groan. Jack worked quickly, navigating into the small cabin, going to the helm. Neros watched curiously as the elder wolf fastened a cable around what appeared to be a smaller boxed safe chest. Giving a signal, Jack pointed to the surface above, and Neros nodded in understanding. The two lupines rose back to the surface, coming up each taking in a heavy gust of breaths.

"W-wanna tell me what we just hooked?" Neros asked, swimming back for the boat.

Jack wasn't far behind, "S-Safe...box...and before you get ideas, no, the bloody ruby ain't inside it neither!"

Climbing aboard the ship, Neros offered his hand to Jack, helping the captain back on board, "Y'know, that'd be the perfect thing to say if it really was." He teased, smirking at the corner of his mouth.

"Well, yer welcome to look for yerself, but ya probably will be disappointed as me." Jack laughed, a wry smile forming on his face as he fastened the cable to the winch on the back of his craft. In minutes, the motor had pulled the cable line taught and lifted the safe from the depths of the lagoon up onto the deck. Jack crouched in front of the miniature door, spinning the dial with concentrated precision, his single eye narrowed on the number combination. "Thar." He declared, snapping open the handle, the door opening with a strong tug of his fist. Inside, still preserved in prime condition sat a pile of papers and stacked folders. Jack reached inside and drew them out and flipped through the contents briefly.

Neros tried to peek over his shoulder, but the elder wolf turned away, not keen on sharing what he held in his hands apparently. "What are they?" Neros asked, his tail idly flicking around behind his waistline. The salty captain put everything back into the safe and closed the door, answering briskly, "Research. General notes and financial statements. Nothing that's going to lead me to the ruby though." Jack turned and smirked at Neros, holding up a hand sized thick leather covered book that had some years of use to it. "Except this. This be what we came for laddie. Aislinn's diary." Jack slipped the journal into his sea vest as he slipped the sleeveless top back on, moving back to the helm.

"Her diary?" Neros asked, following behind the captain, lifting a brow.

"Aye. Aislinn was a studious one. Always makin' notes and writin' down things that came to her mind. This here book is gonna give us the clues we need to find that stone." Jack explained, taking his seat, firing the motor and slowly turning the boat back out to the deeper waters.

"Hold on just a minute Jack! Now I've been pretty relaxed about this whole excursion, seeing as its your affair and all. But now you're saying us? If you want my help, I need to know all the details. If you saw the ruby before, why do you need clues to get back to it again? What does Aislinn's diary have that is so damn important? Or better yet, you've been searching for this ruby for years. Why was it now that you finally chose to raise the safe from the lagoon? If that had been my ship and I knew that the diary was down there the first thing I would have done is gone after it to start!" Neros exclaimed, crossing his arms and watching the wolf captain with a slight frown.

"Ahh there ya go askin' all those damn questions again! Do me a favor and simmer down will ye? Yer givin' me head the cramps!" Jack grunted, taking the boat back out to sea.

"Not until I get some answers." Neros stood firm, his shoulders spread broad and eyes determined.

Jack sighed, "If it means I'll get some peace of mind, fine!" The captain picked up his water canteen, loosening the cap.

"I loved the sea since I first got me swimmin' legs. Somethin' about bein' out here and seein' the sun set, turning the sky green on the horizon just hits a mans soul. The ocean be a wide open world, both above and below, and there be no truer test of a mans character when he's out ridin' on the wind and sailing across the never ending waves, voyaging into the unknown and all the mysteries it yearns to share. I apprenticed as a cabin boy for more than a few captains in my time since I was young. Me brother Connor though, he was a smart one. Younger brother but by no means less capable. He went to school everyday studyin' those books of his. Earned top marks in every course. There was nothin' he couldn't figure out nor come to learn. A knack for everythin'. One family holiday, he brings home this firebrand to dinner. Hair of red and eyes of the brightest green! A lilt on her voice that could charm any man that heard it spoken softly, put the fear of all nightmares in his bones when she chose to raise it! Oh, Aislinn was a rare treasure for sure. Put stirrings in my mind like I never knew before. All my life, the water had been my love, but now I faced somethin' that was twice as vexing!" Jack drank from his canteen, while Neros looked around as they coasted through the many islands on either side of the craft.

"Connor and Aislinn were both historians and natural archaeologists. They loved venturing out and chasing myths. Me brother was relentless in his pursuits. One day he comes to me, ranting and raving how he was certain he had found somethin' most extraordinary! He shows us these notes and maps, all these articles pointin' at the myth of the Lost Eye of Diaro. We had hardly the money for an expedition, much less knowin' where to begin or crew to hire! No, if we were gonna do this, we'd have to do it alone, just the three of us. Aislinn is no fool though. She meets someone with the money to finance our supplies and equipment. An ambitious young jackal intent on makin' it big. His name was Lucius Hargren. His father owned a fuel company supplied our harbor on the mainland. First Hargren is skeptical, Aislinn persuades him with that unflinchin' spirit of hers. He gives us the money on condition he be given certain percentage of the earnings should we find anything of value. With money in hand, we set sail to the Gran Blue, searching for the wreck of La Sirena. When we arrived, we figured we'd be here for a year at most to search the islands, interview the locals, study the sailor logs. Nothin' but dead ends each month. Connor grew more and more determined though. He was convinced the ruby was within reach and wouldn't ever be swayed to think otherwise. Well, our financier surprised us all with a visit after four months. Hargren took one look around Gran Blue and saw the money makin' potential. Not long after he was setting up shop and giving it a more modern civilized development against the locals wishes. The jackal made his money hand over fist day by day. Yet still, he never took his eyes far away from us, keeping that greedy stare on how our ventures fared."

Other ships were passing along now, Neros surveying the central island from afar as it came over the horizon. Jack continued his narration, the breeze blowing through his unkempt furred face.

"Times changed. Months became years. We dig, we dove, we climbed. Each search coming up empty. Hargren was getting tired of wasting his funds, not that he was starvin' of them to begin with though. I didn't care for the way he ran business on the island he knew it. We never saw eye to eye to begin with. Two bulls can't share a single stall if you get my meanin' lad. Aislinn was more fearful for Connor though. Under pressure from Hargren, sufferin' from his own stress, me brother had come to be obsessed with the Eye of Diaro Kasha. He wouldn't sleep, would barely eat or drink, even given to sudden bursts of nastiness. His relationship with Aislinn suffered for it. I was there for her though...somethin' I regret to this day. Aislinn was no angel. Her eyes wandered and found a new wolf that reminded her of the wonderful lover she once had before this ruby chase. We sinned in our desires and betrayed my brothers trust."

"An affair?"

"Aye. The two of us sharin' a bed whenever he wasn't around. Young and shameless we were. We actually believed our passion for each other was pure and the thing of all forbidden romance tales. Some days I suspect Connor knew, but he never showed the wiser. Dark circles under his eyes and his voice was sick with madness. He had to find that ruby. Everything he lived and breathed was about that damned ruby. Then one night, he comes to me room and shakes me awake. Jack! Jack! He shouts, a gleam in his eye as he stirs me from slumber, wakin' Aislinn from their bed in the other room! I've found it, I've found it! I know where the Eye is! He proclaims, tugging us to the table. He gave us no time to rest, oh no, he throws me a batch of clothes and shouts and demands we get to the boat! We set sail that night. Aislinn speaks to Connor, but he says nothin' back, only mutterings about the Eye being on us the whole time. We sail to the southern island chain, and he has me take the ship to the rocky cliffsides of the isle. Connor explains that the crew of Isla Florita never made it back to the mainland, it had to have a smaller vessel that made the return voyage instead. Bein' so few survivors, they couldn't have been able to sail the large ship on their own. Perhaps he was right, perhaps he was wrong, I'll never know. What I do know is, we found a cavern inlet leading into the cliffs. The way Connor figures it, the crew were trying to escape the isles that evening the conflict broke out, but the same night a storm must have swept up and the ship was tossed and turned every which way struggling to escape. The crew sought shelter and discovered the cavern by mistake, but not without cost. They struck rocks entering the cavern and the ship was sunk against the stone walls. We had found it, the wreck of the La Florita! There she was, all sundered and broken, half above water and decrepit!"

Jack sighed and spent a few moments in silence, "...We should have gone back and got help. But Connor was so determined that we'd never have another chance like this. I pulled the ship close, he and Aislinn both scaled the wreck, searching the contents and remains. The waters churned and the tide rose high that night. A storm swept in from outside, pulling the wreck loose hour by the hour. Connor was growing wild, smashing and cursing everything in sight, insistent that it was here. While I tried to convince my brother this wasn't worth our lives, Aislinn scaled the mast. True enough, it had been watching us all the while from the crows nest. You should have seen the look in Connor's eye when he saw that large ruby in her hand. Never had I seen him so happy in his entire life before. Aislinn handed the ruby over to him and he lit up like a firework show, all smiles and rants of being famous! Yet...a moment later, the wreck broke loose, being pulled out of cavern bit by bit. Aislinn and I made it back to ship, but Connor was not so fortunate. He plummeted through rotted floorboards on the main deck. The rest of the ship collapsed on him and the Isla Florita sunk into the ocean depths. I tried to go after him, but Aislinn held me back, not willing to lose another lover. We watched as my brother and the eye went down into darkness. A vision that haunts my dreams to this day."

By now, Gran Blue central was within reach. Jack navigated his craft back into the harbor, coasting along slowly down the beach. Neros looked at the many faces and bodies out enjoying the evening sun. Jack's story was easy to understand now given the details. The elder wolf wasn't finished yet though.

"I couldn't look at Aislinn, much less speak to her. She could never bring herself to love me, nor I her. We'd only been together on the account of heated passion and weakness. Her heart belonged to Connor and it had sunk along with him. When we returned to Gran Isle, Hargren demanded answers. He couldn't even respect that my brother had just passed, no, he was more furious that we had lost the treasure. Now I truly hated him, the first person in my entire life I had ever been brought to despise more than myself. Aislinn and I parted ways, I made money fishing and giving tours about the islands, still do to this day. I never heard from Aislinn, not for another year at least. She comes to me out of the blue one day. Tells me she found the ruby. We sail out to the lagoon that night. The weather turns vile and showers us with rainfall. The winds pick up and throw the ship to and fro. Aislinn insists we couldn't turn back. My boat rams against the rocks, taking damage, but Aislinn still urges me to go on. I remember going out onto the deck, cursing her luck and going to inspect the damage. That's when I see it lad."

The younger wolf lifted his muzzle curiously, the sea captain fumbling his canteen to his lips, "In the darkness it looked to be a mass of vile fangs and burning eyes. A monster the likes I couldn't even begin to fathom. Around its neck a ring of wooden idol statues. Not the kind you see in a gift shop on display. No, these were cracked and the paint worn, faces foul with fury and despair. Dressed like a tribal warrior of some sort. But no natural being I had ever seen was that large. It had to be close to nine feet tall. A hulking monster of nightmares. It came at me fast. The struggle was quick. The monster clawed my fur and I remember that hot breath on my face, a mouthful of teeth snapping at my nose. That was before a dagger the size of a machete plunged into my eye." The ship docked, Jack sighed and sat back in his seat, looking at Neros with his good eye now, "Aislinn came out on deck and surprised the thing. Her scream stole its attention from me. What I saw next horrified me to the soul, ya hear? The soul. The damned thing smiled at her. A most wicked and nasty grin that stretched from one end of its feral face to the other. It rushed and took her overboard, the two plummeting out of my bloody sight. I searched, but I couldn't find her at all that night."

Neros looked to Jack, "...Until she was found on the totem."

"...Aye. Until she was found on the totem."

"...No one believed you, did they?" Neros asked, resting on his palms against the ship railing.

"I never gave them reason to. You think I'd tell them that monster story? Nay, they'd think I was a true loon. They already suspected when they saw my wound. The detective that frequents yer bar, he searched for months. Turned up nothin'. I think he still comes back here not for the sights or the splendor, but because he still wants to know what happened. I've never told a single soul that story until now." Jack finished, rising up and climbing over the boat, down to the pier, securing the ship with strong knots. Neros joined him a moment later, his ears perked and face quizzical, "Jack...why me? Why now?"

Jack rose straight and eyed Neros, his lungs filling with air before releasing in a long sigh. "I've spent years afraid to go back and find that damned stone. But now as I get older, I need to know what I saw that night. The ruby be my only way to find what took Aislinn...and possibly me brother. I find the ruby, I find the killer."

"You still haven't answered my question. Why me?"

Jack reached forward and seized Neros left forearm with a surprisingly strong grip, turning it face up and pushing back the fur to the skin. "I may be blind in one eye lad, but I'm not entirely daft. Normal people don't wear this." Beneath the fur, his finger pointed along a faded line of ink, surrounded in serial numbers and letters. Scar tissue faded and barely visible lined the limb going back along the arm toward the elbow...

Neros jerked his arm away quickly, falling silent, his eyes a mixed of ire and warning at Jack, but the azure wolf silent.

Jack stood nearly nose to nose with the younger wolf, his one eye stare just as dangerous, "...I don't know your story lad. But I do know what I've seen of you. The way you eye the exits of yer bar when it gets crowded. The way your eyes have to look at every loud noise. The stare in yer eyes as you size up everyone in yer sight. There's more to yer story than just a simple retired fighter from the mainland hoping to find some peace. That name...Neros. Shit name. You barely react to it. Whoever you are...you ain't no Neros Rigaldo. It's just a cover. Yer on the run from somethin'. Whatever that somethin' is, I'm warning you. Don't bring it here or I'll fuck yer life harder than the girls here ever could."

Neros pulled back his lip, showing a single fang, his eyelids squinting dangerously, his voice a low hiss now, "...My name may be fake...my story may be a little stretched...but take my word for it Jack. You don't want to bring the Maverick out of me."

Jack shared the staredown in silence, a slow smirk forming at the corner of his mouth, "...Sure I do. And when you do decide to come out of that shell...Maverick...I want it to be right in front of Aislinn's killer. One monster to another. Now that...that's a real fight worth seein." He clapped a hand to Neros's shoulder, turning and walking away with a low whistle on his lips.

The younger wolf watched the captain go, his face softening bit by bit, eyes closing and low groan escaping his throat.

"Fuck..." he cursed, pushing a hand up through the front of his long hair, a slow sigh escaping his lungs. Neros walked down the length of the pier with a slow pace, his mind racing now that Jack was onto him. He looked up, hearing a familiar friendly voice, the charming cute ferret waiting at the end of the dock for him.

"Saw you two coming in from beach." Zoey grinned, her hands folded sweetly behind the back of her yellow summer dress. She tilted her head to the right, looking up at the wolf pleasantly, "How was your day with Jack?"

Neros pressed a kiss to her cheek, "I need whiskey."