Beautiful Thieves

[Rousseau]

Rousseau, Alan, and Tobias had been unable to find Chokk when they had awoken shortly before dawn.  Trying to make haste, the trio decided to depart and begin their mission without him.

?An? yer sure he?ll be back in the lodge when we get back?? Rousseau knelt down along with Tobias and Alan among the cold blanket of shrubbery surrounding the Children of the Water?s camp, her whiskers twitching as a fresh dewdrop slid down one?s wiry frame.  The sun had not yet risen and so the camp was filled with an almost blue, phthalo shadow.  They were invisible for the time being, concealed by the body of shadow and brush.

"I can assure you that as long as he and I are both alive, he won't be missing for long.? Alan answered. He glanced over the encampment. ?Speak of Vulpuz.?

Rousseau saw what he was referring to almost instantly.  She turned her head away from it.  Chokk?s body, a pincushion of spears and arrows, was being carried by two guard rats towards a ditch at the side of the camp, leaving behind a painted trail of blood in its wake.  The trio was silent.

Tobias was the first to speak. ?So how will this distraction work exactly??

Rousseau sighed. ?Toby, you?ll set fire t? their boats.  See if ya kin get a good blaze goin?, that way me an? Alan kin get in an? out swiftly as possible with no inconveniences,? the rat replied. ?With Chokk gone an? with ?is stupid attempt t? save everybeast by ?imself, you?ll have t? do this alone, not t? mention the guard?s probably been doubled.  Leave it t? the beaver t? make our job a lot more difficult.? She nodded her head to a few beasts around the camp, spears in their paws and bows slung over their shoulders.

?He?s a big boy,? Alan said. ?He can put his pants on by himself.?

Toby gave the older mink a hard look. 

?Alright then.? Rousseau produced a bottle of lantern oil she had taken from Chokk?s lodge and a dagger, passing them to the architect. ?Use these; it'll make it loads easier. We?ll meet back up with ya at the lodge, hopefully with three other beasts. Good luck t? ya.?

?Same to you.? The younger mink padded off into the darkness.

Almost a half hour passed when an orange glow erupted from across the field by the river bank, growing bigger over the course of a few seconds until the blaze began spreading to the ship next to the first.  The spectacle reminded Rousseau of the painting she had completed aboard The Crimson Lass while on her way to Kotir; ships exploding from storms, beasts struggling to stop the onslaught in vain as they awaited their inevitable destruction.  It described her current predicament, she realized.  She should have turned her ship around.  A satisfying shout of ?Fire!? erupted from the camp.

?Took him long enough,? Alan said, tainting the duo?s silence with the unwanted smudge that was his voice.

Rousseau blinked. ?Aye.? She stood up and followed the mink as they made their way through the brush in the direction of the camp.  Not forgetting why she hated this country, she stumbled over every concealed root until they eventually stood behind the nearest tent. The duo peered around it and scouted out what they were up against.

A few ratwives had stood up around their cooking fires in panic, watching as their mates and the other guards dashed towards the inferno that Tobias had started.  Rousseau smiled. ?Double guard won?t help them.  We got plenty o? time,? she whispered. ?This?ll be easy.? She looked around her.  No children in sight this time.

?They?re water rats that worship water,? Alan snapped back. ?They?ll have the fire out in five minutes. We need to move now.?

?But, where are they bein? kept?? she asked.

?Gee, I don?t know, maybe we should ask somebeast.?  The mink rolled his eyes and looked back to the camp, seeming to make plans in his head with motions from his clawtips.  Rousseau snarled. Every second with him was a second she was struggling to not kill the beast.  She traced her eye along a line Alan drew with his claw in the air.

?Wot about that??

?What about what??

?That.? Rousseau pointed to a young guard rat lugging the burden of a steaming cauldron in his paws and trying to not step in the sticky path of Chokk?s blood.

?What about it??

?In Terramort we ?ave a tradition called The Last Meal, t? where lawbreakers, rogue pirates, berserk slaves, an? anybeast else ?bout t? be executed gets ?is final meal.  It?s usually somethin? better than the usual slop they get an? helps calm their nerves so they don?t try nothin? stupid an? we kin move the process along quicker.  Maybe they?re doin? the same thing.?  Rousseau stared at the cauldron.  Even from a distance she could tell it was worn as it had been thrown out and just now used again. ?If ya look close, ya kin see it looks like somethin? they?d cook prisoners food in.?

?Or if you look slightly to your left, you?d see he has a key on his belt,? Alan said sarcastically.  ?Come on, rat, before we grow old.?

Rousseau bit her tongue. She followed after the mink as he weaved through the tents, careful as to not run into any unwanted company, and tailed after the guard.  The water rat stopped at a small tent set up towards the center of the camp, the trail of blood ending with him. 

?They?ll be inside,? Alan said, drawing his sword. ?Are you ready??

Rousseau followed suit, her rapier in her paw. ?Aye.?

Rat and mink sprinted towards the beast, hoping to catch him off guard and eliminate him before any suspicion could be aroused.  Alan raised his sword.  The water rat spun at the exact moment, blocking the blow with the blade of his cutlass. 

He smiled sheepishly. ?Oh, hello. Nice to meet you too, I?m Cefin.?

Rousseau didn?t waste any more time.  She swept her arm in a wide swing, relieving the beast of his blade and making it spin through the air.  It landed with a clink beside the corsair?s footpaw. 

Cefin?s eyes widened. ?That was a neat trick.?  He looked behind him and took a step back. ?Uhh? sorry about this? but? FIIIIIEEEENNNDDDSS!? 

Alan moved forward and struck the rat a blow on his forehead with his sword hilt, knocking him to the ground in an instant, out cold.  It was too late though, the damage had been done.  Any beast still in the area had been alerted of the intruders.

Rousseau grabbed up the beast?s cutlass and the key from his belt.  ?Guard the entrance, I?ll get them out.?

Alan stepped into the entrance, holding his blade at the ready as four rats ran in his direction.

?Rousseau!? Clutus? voice greeted her as she walked inside and stuffed the key into the lock. 

?Ms. Rousseau!?

?Please don?t tell us your goeeng to die een front of us like Chokk deed.?

The sound of steel clanging against steel arrived at Rousseau?s ears as she opened the door. ?Don?t know yet, haven?t gotten that far.?

Alan slashed through a rat?s chest. ?No really,? he said, ?take your time." He blocked a blow from a saber.

Rousseau was at his side in an instant, slashing her rapier through one of the rodents who had left too big of an opening.  The mink grunted as he kicked one in the chest and knocked him to the floor, stabbing him quickly as he touched the ground. The corsair finished off the last one with a quick thrust. 

Panting, Rousseau turned and smiled. ?Hi, we?ve come t? rescue ya.? She turned to Rexim and passed him Cefin?s cutlass. ?Don?t know if ya know the art, but anybeast who kin swing ?is paw kin protect ?imself.? She noticed the beast had barely any claws left on his paws. ?You kin swing it, right??

The fox nodded, stuffing it into his belt.

Alan slashed his sword across the neck of a particularly unlucky rat. ?Wonderful.  Can we go now? Getting killed is not on my to-do list for the day.?

The rabbit, tears streaking down her cheeks, stared down at the blood staining the dirt. ?But, what about Mr. Wulgar??

?What about him? He?s dead. Let?s go.? This caused more tears to erupt from the lass?s eyes.

?Are we just going to leave him??

?He?s dead, of course we are. Now, let?s go, or would you rather join Chokk and Luka?? Alan snapped.

?But??

Rousseau rolled her eyes. ?I know wot she?s gettin? at.  It?s a woodlander thing; they don?t leave their beasts behind, alive or dead.  They?ll make sure they get a proper burial.? The rat clenched her fist. Terramort was the same way, never abandoning anybeast.  One would receive more shame by leaving a dying beast alone and surviving then staying with the beast and getting killed themselves.  It was a stupid tradition, resulting in more deaths than were necessary, yet everybeast followed it to the letter. 

She hadn?t thought about it, but soon realized that she had broken it with Luka. She had let the beast die, not bothering to retrieve his body or save him. A poor excuse for a captain she was.  She wondered if she were ever killed, would her crew abandon her as well?

?I?ll get ?im,? she finally said.

?As admirable as that is, Rousseau,? Clutus said.

?You will not.  That's an order, captain."

Rousseau looked to Alan. ?Try orderin' me around again, captain," she added an extra sting to her voice in his rank. "We?re the same rank if ya don?t remember. I?ll see ya back at the lodge.

?I doubt it.?

The rat clenched her teeth and ran past him, ducking and weaving through the tents as she followed the trail of painted blood.  She was alone once more, nobeast to rely on as usual.  Nobeast offering to help her.  Nobeast even understanding why.  She panted.  Where did it end? Why was she doing this?  She didn?t even like Chokk.

?Wot the??

She cut through an unfortunate rat in her path.

Rousseau pushed on until she arrived at the ditch Chokk had been thrown in.  His still-opened eyes gazed back at her, unable to see yet seeming so full of sight. Had they had that sense, they would have seen a rat covered in blood, a rapier in one paw.  She knelt beside him. She had no time for a real burial, but she could give him the honor of one. Covering her paw across his face, she closed his eyelids.

?I didn?t like ya, you probably didn?t like me, you were stupid, but I ain?t gonna let ya die alone, mate.  Nobeast deserves that. Not Tobias or Rexim, or even Alan.? She stood back up. ?Maybe you?d ?ave done the same fer me, woodlander.?  Would he have? Would anybeast give her the same honor? 

She turned to leave.

?Hey, it?s the demon fiend!?

Rousseau spun around.  Standing in front of her was a rat child, the same one that had found them and alerted the tribe the previous day, probably up far earlier in the morning than he should be, unattended, and in a ditch where he couldn?t be seen.  A perfect opportunity, a masterpiece in waiting, was by himself and in the rat?s sight.  Both rodents stared at each other for a moment.  She smiled. 

?Aye, I am. Now, if ya don't mind, hold still.?

Rousseau drew her sword.