The wind’s were howled fiercely at the port town of Hargeon. The waves rocked far past the port, which wasn’t too unusually even if it was early Summer. The sky was a dark overcast, the sun barely offering any light making the entire province clouded in a sim grey. Waiting at the docks were two mages whose guild hailed from the port. That of course being blue pegasus. Given the turbulent ructions that were beginning to become more and more frequent on the high seas, the guild was once again commissioned to help deal with the threat. This time with two mages who were known for their ferocious behaviour due to their race.

One such mage was the werewolf, Raymus. Clad in some basic gear such as a hooded jacket, black trousers and of all things dress shoes, the usually feral looking man looked a lot more tame. This was in part due to something Alisa had told him about someone being considered truly strong by being able to fight in these fancy clothes. And considering the mission at hand he assumed there would be plenty of it. For the moment himself and Lee would be waiting for their ship to arrive.

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Lee was already at the docks, watching the waters below. The ocean had a dark nature about it today making the kitsune feel uneasy. She wasn't the strongest swimmer. Today was normal, but the wind howling made her stomach turn over a few times. Raymus had offered her to go on a job together. She took it up without a problem, seeing as they bonded at the Blue Pegasus event. Her fox tails were wrapped into a single tail to keep them dry and out of the way. She hated them so much and not too many people were even allowed to touch them, let alone to see it.

Lee sat down on a few crates to allow her legs to rest. Lector on the other hand was watching Lee and imitated her in posture and everything. Blue Pegasus had been a great thing for her despite all the shit she was currently going through mentally and physically. Going on the job was the best thing for her right now. The current moment with her family worried her sickly. Lector saw her contemplating on a few things and tilted his head.

"Something wrong, Lee?"

She looked at her friend and patted his head with a small smile. "Nothing too much buddy, just the usual worries...water," she spoke. Her blue eyes narrowed at the ocean and shiver. "Now, we wait for Raymus..." she spoke/

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Lee wouldn't be waiting too long as the young man walked into the port with the clickety clack of new shoes. For most people spotting a kitsune wouldn't be too hard and for Raymus it was the same. The large swishing tail was a dead giveaway although a part of his thought they had more? Regardless he made his way closer when he happened to overhear Lee speak with someone else. Once he had made it up to the red head he noticed a feline like animal beside her in a clue waist coat with a constant smug expression on his face. Raymus unbeknownst to himself was glaring at the cat, his wolven instincts kicking in to just naturally detest the cat.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." He said now shifting his attention to Lee. "Are you going to be okay being on a boat?" He ask while leaning to the crate next to her. "I overheard you say you didn't like water." He admitted not long after asking. Raymus himself didn't mind the water but given as how they body of water they were going to be looming over was thousands of meters deep he could understand some uneasiness.

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Immediately, Lector felt the presence of Raymus and noticed the disgust in his face. The exceed hissed a little, causing Lee to turn her attention to her new friend and comrade. An annoyed look was given to the two rivals from the kitsune. Foxes were basically a mix of cats and dogs, so she had no problem with cats or dogs. She liked both. Raymus was quick to be concerned about her and the water. This took her aback by the reaction and worry in his tone. Lee never thought of someone from her guild would express any concern for her well-being other than her exceed.

"Uh... I am fine. I just cannot swim is all", she mentioned a little embarrassed. When she mentioned she couldn't swim, even Lector seemed a little surprised by the comment. "Yeah, I know. Shocking. Now let's get going," she said. She got up, clearly trying to avoid her hidden weakness of being scared of water. For some reason, as a kid, it didn't occur to her father to teach his daughter how to swim. Her mother tried, but her father was so keen on magical training for fire, and having her join a light guild like Rune Knights was much more of a priority for her.

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Raymu's eyes seemed to shift to their wolven counterparts. His red eyes seemed to glow with ferocity as his pupil turned from round to slit while he let out a low growl from his mouth that was now bearing fangs. To most it would be sound some alley cat and stray dog were about to get into some scuffle but given that both had some form of sentience they just hissed and growled. Besides, Raymus knew better than to try and test Lee. He had not see exactly what she could do first hand yet but the werewolf had heard stories and the woman did not sound like the type he should willingly cross without good reason. On the other hand he wouldn't want to cause her trouble anyway. After the Egg Party thing they both worked at, the two forged a fairly tight bond, one Raymus wanted to keep unlike so many others that had vanished. There was the fact that she was a kitsune too and those beasts were known to be quite proficient in magic of the fiery kind, something Raymus was looking forward to seeing on their mission but not something he wanted to be on the receiving end of.

Thankfully the lack of fight meant the growls passed quickly and the conversation could start and it began on a touchy subject right off the bat. Seemingly Lee could not swim or at the very least had not swam before causing concern with both the woman's cat and here werewolf friend. She wanted to move the topic of conversation to something else quickly but with the boat nowhere in view Raymus wouldn't be letting it go just yet.

"Have you tried to swim? You might have the nack for it. Maybe use your tails as a propeller thing or engine like in those boats with the big fan on the back that they use in swamps." He joked making a circular motion with his finger as he described his thoughts out loud. Raymus had not been taught to swim either and had an innate instinct for the backstroke. What you thought he'd be good at the doggy paddle? Hell no that was way too energy consuming. Everyone knows lying on your back is the way to go if you get stuck in the water and kicking your legs to move yourself is the very essence of swimming. "If you do get stuck though, just take of your heavy clothes, they'll weigh ya down. Then just try and go on your back and your body should naturally float." He explained quickly after making fun of the red head. Despite his teasing he did seem to care for her and not want her to panic or get herself into trouble. "Cause if you fall in I'm not getting you. These threads costed way too much to ruin." Then again maybe not! With a slight grin on his face he tussled Lee's hair as a sign of good faith. More than likely she would be fine no matter what unfolded out there. If anything all this big talk would probably come to bite him in the ass should things turn upside down for him on the waves.

As the two conversed a little more the large cargo boat would come into view. It was a shoddy looking thing that was probably older than Raymus and Lee combined. In dog years. Granted it still remained upright and there weren't any holes in the sails. Instead the boat had many many many patches. From the sails to the hull there seemed to be some newer looking piece of wood or fabric covering a previous hole on the ship. And given the size of the vessel it was surprising to think it could still be afloat given all these improvements. "Guess this is us." Raymus said aloud as he straightened himself up while the ship began to pull up to the docks. The few ship hands began to lower the wooden plank for him and Lee to climb and called them up hoping to get things started.

Raymus began to walk up as the wind and rain picked up. There wasn't any chance of the slab of wood moving on either as they scampered up but the thought instilled a slight fear into the Werewolf. It probably would have been better just to jump up to the boat. Nevertheless after arriving safely onto the ship the two were greeted by the crew and it's captain. The crew were your average set of men, fairly tall, well built and ranging from early twenties to mid forties. As for the captain, he was a large stocky fellow who wore a red bandanna over his balding head. "We'll set off now. The pirates were spotted just off the coast and judging by their positioning they'll be moving to a local cape that a lot of those scoundrels use to go through to avoid the coast guard. Shouldn't be too long. In the mean time I'll need you two to be of use and help the lads here with some of the basic work if you don't mind. If you don't have the feet or stomach for it don't bother, you'll only be a hindrance. Got it?" Raymus felt like saying Aye Aye but even that seemed to be too on the nose even for him. Before he left back to his quarters, he gave Raymus a funny look no doubt in actually getting a good look at his outfit for the day. He smirked seeing Lee in an earnest respectful way. "Those blue pegasus boys really do dress to impress no matter what the job huh..." He mumbled to himself as he disappeared below deck. Alright! it was time to set sail off to catch some pirates.

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Lee laughed a little at Raymus's comment about propelling her tails like a boat propeller. The thought made her curious if she could but kinda doubted it. Raymus seemed to have a special bond that Lee wasn't used to. She could sense through just by talking with him that they really hit it off since the egg event. After throwing a sleazeball out of the door and crying from anxiety, she probably was tired of the event already just by thinking about it alone. The energy he gave off with a bit of support by encouraging her to swim made her smile a little. Though, she had try before, but it ended up badly. Several people including her own brother had to save her skin with her stupid attempts to try.

"Yes, I have tried. Though no one has tried to stop me from trying," she smiled, nervously. Her father never really took her mother seriously that she needed to learn how to swim as well as learning magic. After all this time, swimming lessons wouldn't have hurt at all, DAD! She sighed thinking about it wishing her father wasn't too stubborn on magic either. Either way, she was very glad your father trained her in magic specifically anyways. Without it, she wouldn't be here at all. Raymus mentioned he didn't know either except the backstroke. She thought werewolves knew how to swim. Her face contorted into a irritated one mentioning he wasn't going to save her because of his expensive clothes. Rolling her eyes, that was the typical Blue Pegasus mage. "Typical. Clothes are clothes. Next time, wear something a bit more...worn. I may need some saving some time," she spoke, with a little bit of sarcasm.

The ship was in sight. She grew even more nervous, but Lector had her back. If anything, he would just carry her the whole time if he had to. The little exceed stood beside her with his arms folded with a cocky smile. He was so proud of Lee and looked up to her a lot. A lot of her anxiety was rising up. The kitsune formed her fists into a ball to keep from having a small anxiety attack. Therefore, she was not ready to go on this ship. That may all change if the ship is attacked. When the ship arrived, the whole crew showed up. they were all tall, slender men with a lot of upper arm strength from what she could tell just from their appearance. It reminded her of a whole legal pirate crew the way they were dressed in her opinion, but what did she know about pirates and their outfits. She just wanted something to punch right now.

The captain spoke saying they were going to set said and whoever had a problem was only a setback. Lee remained quiet the whole time. She heard a side comment saying about Raymus and how Blue Pegasus mage males were. She snickered at the side comment giving him a huge grin about his outfit like she had before. There was the urge to poke some fun, but she reminded quiet about it for now. Blue Pegasus was not Lee's first choice of a guild, but it was a good start to make some new connections and friends. Though, her family had a rich history with it and wanted to uphold her heritage. They never pressured her to really to do it, but it was really up to her choice. She pressure herself into it since It was the best option at the time. She liked the guild environment much better than the Rune Knights. After being kicked out of there she really disliked them.

She sighed, sitting down. Lee kept a close eye for any pirates coming upon the horizon. She pictured the classical version of pirates from the comics and books. The pantaloons, swords, and cannon balls looking for jewels and treasure. Money was always a motive for them and adventure from what her nephew had told her the past few times. He was solely convinced that he was going to be a pirate one day. But one thing at a time. She was waiting on something interesting to happen so she could take her mind off everything going on at once. She looked at Raymus with a stare. “Whatever we find we return, okay? The last thing I need is a bounty because you want to do something stupid.” She was reminding him to do the right thing which is what he would do, but she wanted to be clearly.

“Captain, Ship ahead!”

LeeAnn jumped out of her seat a little. Lector sat up and stared at horizon ahead of them. Lee narrowed her eyes to look at a tiny spect ahead. It was too small to see or understand what it the world it was. She turned her head to the werewolf next to her. “You probably have better eyes than I do. Can you see that spect ahead, right about there,” she asked. She suspected if werewolves have better sense of smell, they could clearly have a better sense of sight too? She was guessing a this point since she did not have a telescope of any kind.

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Raymus was glad to see his words sparked a bit of confidence in Lee. Her nervous expression lessened but did not vanish as she explained how she had tried but had never been taught to swim. Well it was a start anyway. Lee was quick to retort with a sarcastic comment on his clothes. “Hey! It was Alisa who said to try and dress like this! Something about being stronger or something.” He said crossing his arms looking a little sour. The werewolf didn’t really enjoy wearing these clothes either and to keep them looking good he couldn’t do his usual rough and tumble for fear of ruining the expensive clothes and wasting all the jewels he spent on the things. There was plenty of time to defend themselves later after the mission anyway.

Even as they got on the boat, Raymus could sense Lee’s worry. It wasn’t any magical or even racial sense just the werewolf’s own natural empathy. Well maybe some of his animal instincts could help him see this. The way she breathed, her eyes, humans had a lot of little subtle signs to show their feelings no matter how well they tried to hide it. He was even guilty of this. After all despite keeping a stoic expression, one could easily see the daggers he was staring at the captain for pointing out his clothes and the sound of grinding teeth behind his mouth.

Once all the specifics were said and done, Lee took a seat. Raymus took one beside her, not wanting to help the men after being teased. If he was going to be treated like a pretty boy he may as well act it! His annoyed trance was broken by Lee who quickly warned him no funny business. “Who do you take me for?” He said, sounding a little offended from Lee’s accusation. Raymus would have expected anyone else to maybe say something like that but from Lee? From her it seemed a little hypocritical. Because he was a big bad werewolf he was going to rob the cargo like some other people? Never mind the captain’s comment, that one really grinded his gears.

Luckily the two didn’t have much time to dive into that can of worms before Lee spotted a ship in the distance and quickly called out for the captain. She turned to him asking for his advice, assuming he would have better eyes. “I don’t but…” He trailed off, sticking his nose up into the air and sniffing the sea air. “Yeah, people on that ship, smells like they have some spices too. Sea air is kinda messing with me though.” He’d say out loud as the captain came out. “Aye, sounds about right, a shipment of Spices was robbed most recently.” The Captain would say walking over to the two, pulling out a telescope to look at the ship. “I don’t ruddy believe it. Those whelps are coming straight for us!” Rubbing his eye before looking down the one handed telescope again the captain nodded his head. “You two, get ready, they’ll be on us shortly with their speed. They think we’re another cargo ship. Fools.” He said before giving a hearty chuckle.

“This should be easy.” Raymus said cracking his knuckles as the ship came closer and closer. Given as the captain and the other ship hands were looking, the man decided to flip their initial impression they had of him on its head, invoking his transformation. Raymus’s mouth opened as his canines grew larger in his mouth, a mild change compared to his increasing size, almost busting out of his fancy clothes while his hands grew much more hair and fingers seemingly sharpened. Although the transformation happened in just a few seconds, the Pirates were already making their way over to the ship, using large ropes to swing from the crowsnest of their own ship. Once they landed they quickly wished they had not made such a quick entry. As the few landed in front of him the Captain would yell. “You! Red head! Get to the ship and stop ’em from leaving!” The ship was close enough at this stage to jump over or to swing across using one of their own sail’s ropes. As he ordered Lee, Raymus was doing his thing and beating the crap out of the pirates. Provided all went well all the Pirates would be taken care of and the cargo rescued!
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Exit, done! No bounty taken

She could definately tell the outfit was not suiting Raymus well. Lee did not see her fellow werewolf companion to be that kind of man. Lately, she had been reading in between the lines of the guild and didn't agree with some of their ideals. It wasn't a bad thing, but something that made her aware of where she didn't belong yet again. A small, teasing smile emerged from her lips to Raymus. "Yeah, it really doesn't suit you. Take that thing off. Forget what Alisa says and do what YOU want" she smiled. Lee knew already how the man was and it wasn't a Blue Pegasus pretty boy like everyone else in this guild.

The more she thought about it, the more she agreed with what her cousin said to her the other day. Tadashi and her have been getting closer. Tadashi was the twin of Astrid and practically polar opposite. Tadashi and Lee were very much alike along the aspects of their quiet nature. He mentioned she should open her own guild and made a few valid points that she couldn't argue with. The one point that really made her think was her violent nature and destruction. Blue Pegasus mages were known to be graceful. She was not that definitely. The other point was how there was no guilds really made for non-human races and he she seen both worlds and lived them. Tadashi was a smart kid when he wanted to be. Though, he would never speak his mind since Astrid always drowned him out during conversation. Astrid was an attention whore. That was one characteristic she didn't miss for sure about her right now. The talk reminded her when she looked at Raymus what he new mission could possibly be now, but that was for another time. She was now more worried about the water.

Her comment made him feel a little offended as she sighed. "I don't know you as well as you think I do. I am just making sure shit doesn't hit the fan okay? My apologies if I sounded rude or anything," she spoke. Her mind was more focused on the water in all honestly. Most of the things she said were with caution, but sometimes things do slip out of her mouth without thinking. The kitsune stayed quiet the whole time trying to clear her mind from the anxiety. Thanks to Raymus's sharp nose he was able to smell what kind of smell that was. It was spices and with recent events that added up to be the pirates. They were headed straight for them.

Lector carried Lee into the air with his tail wrapped around her waist. "Lector, drop me now" she ordered. Her eyes changed, letting Ragtime release some energy. "You don't have to tell me, twice. Come here boys, are you too afraid to hit a girl?" Instantly, Lee jumped onto the heads already knocked out several. There was a whole bunch of them surrounding her and dashing out of the way towards the driver with the steering wheel, she already knocked him out and into the ocean. She was already dusting her hands off, letting Raymus have some of hte fun. She laid back with Lector on her head. She lit some of the pirate's clothing on fire to help him out a little bit as their tried to hijack some of the loot from the other ship, but that didn't go as planned. Lee and Raymus collected the supplies and gave it back to the original owners. Once they were done, she had her mind on something again. All the action today didn't help get her mind off things from what happened to her cousin, Astrid. She was scared that she would never see her happy go lucky face ever again. The kitsune sighed. "Thanks for you help today, Raymus. It was a bit refreshing beating up some pirates today, but I have so much on my mind right now" she explained. Lector patted her head a little bit. This made her smile a little as she petted the cat's head. Raymus and her would probably go celebrate their victory with a few drinks at the bar or something. Right now that sounded good to her.

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[Exit]