Disclaimer – ½ Prince and all of the characters belong to Yu Wo
Wu Qing hesitantly took the small note from Wicked and stared down at it, wondering why it was for him. After all, Lolidragon was a member of the Odd Squad, not Dark Phantom. But perhaps the kidnappers had taken note of Wu Qing's interest in the illustrious thief, and chose him because of that. Still, it seemed weird to him.
Stupid sister, getting herself kidnapped…and in someone else's body, at that.
Unfolding the thick paper the rest of the way, he read through the scrawled lines of script written underneath his name, feeling more and more confused as he went along. After he finished, he read through it again. And a third time. On the fourth attempt, he gave a frustrated growl and thrust it back at Wicked. "What the heck does this even say‽"
"That which was stolen shall be returned, shining wealth, flawless in enumeration, for the diminished pilferer. Thrice is your chance for the equitable transposition, starting with this. Into the roiling mists you must come with none but shadows and whispers as your company. Tarry not, you of the wind, else your goal be broken."
Wicked read it through a few times with an utterly bewildered expression equaling Wu Qing's. "Well, um, it's…um."
Gui suddenly snatched it away from him, his purple eyes darting back and forth as he took in the words. However, before he could finish, Wicked grabbed it back, angrily glaring at Gui. "I was reading that, thank you very much!"
"So what‽" Gui asked, taking it again and attempting to hold it out of Wicked's reach. "I'm the literature professor, so I'll figure it out for him!"
Wicked ignored Gui's reasoning and continued to try to retrieve it from the bard's evasive hand. "Give it back!" he snapped, yanking on Gui's sleeve. Rather than allowing Wicked to take the note, Gui stubbornly crumpled it up in his hand and refused to unravel his fingers. There was a loud tearing noise when a corner of the paper parted with the rest.
"Stop ripping it! How are we going to read it again if you do that‽ Moron!" Gui's challenge only succeeded in further riling up Wicked. With loud clanking noises from Wicked's silvery armor and a gusty "Oof!" from Gui, they fell to the wooden floor, seemingly forgetting all about the note, and proceeded to kick and punch at one another. While their antics were usually humorous to Wu Qing, he was feeling rather annoyed at them for ignoring his plight.
Cautiously side-stepping the thunderous wrestling match, Ugly Wolf picked up the battered note that had been thrown to one side, then flattened it out on the counter top, reading it through. "I think Gui really would be best for this," he remarked, a thoroughly perplexed expression settling over his fuzzy face. He then gave an exasperated glance to the screaming and flailing pair on the floor. "A little teamwork would be nice."
Wu Qing took the note back when the beastman offered it, gave it one last look-over, then frowned thoughtfully at the shop owner, who had been standing behind his till the whole time, looking very frightened. "What about him? He was in cahoots with them, wasn't he? Letting them use this place as their base or whatever."
Everyone, Gui and Wicked aside, turned in his direction and his face paled. He shook his head, waving a hand and backing away. "No, I don't know anything!"
"You don't know anything‽" Lolidragon snarled, stomping over to him and unsheathing Prince's dao. "How can you not know anything‽ They kidnapped Lolidragon a week ago, and have probably been hiding out here the whole time! Wu Qing is right, you were helping them!"
"M-my Lord," he shakily pleaded, widened eyes glued to the black blade lifted to his throat. "I swear I don't know anything!"
With an angry roar, Lolidragon lifted the sword to swing it down on him, but Yu Lian grabbed her arm. "Wait, Prince." She smiled and pulled Lolidragon back, patting her hand. "There is no need to make even more of a mess in here, is there? There are other ways to get the truth out of him, though murder does sound rather nice at the moment. What we–"
"I'LL BE THE ONE TO FIND HIM!"
"–should do is–"
"OUCH! DON'T PULL ON THAT, YOU DAMN MORON!"
"–take…"
"I'LL PULL ON WHATEVER I WANT, SO YOU—A-A-A-AH! MY EYE!"
"SERVES YOU RIGHT!"
Yu Lian sighed deeply, then gave a tired look to Ugly Wolf. He immediately leaned over and yanked Gui off of Wicked, clamping one large paw over the bard's mouth. He then glared down at Wicked. "Our top priority should be finding Lolidragon, not gaining superiority over one another! If you two can't work together, then leave and take your fight somewhere else!"
Wu Qing was very relieved to see that they calmed down at once upon hearing his reprimanding words. Gui quickly stopped struggling in the wolf's grasp, focusing instead on his blackening eye. Wicked reluctantly stood up, wiped the blood off his swollen lip, and nodded.
After letting go of Gui, Ugly Wolf gave a smile to Yu Lian. "You were saying, my dear?"
She cleared her throat and turned to Sunshine. "May we use your flying carpet for a bit, Sunshine?"
He gave her a confused glance, but nodded. "Why do you need it?"
"Persuasion tactics, of course!" she promptly replied. "Prince, Wu Qing, you two are coming with us to help interrogate our friend here." She clamped a hand down on the trembling shopkeeper's elbow, then waved her other hand at the shop goods scattered all over the floor nearby. "The rest of you, please, clean up this mess. Oh, Kenshin—not you."
The second pet paused in his movements to pick up a fallen box of crossbow bolts, and looked questioningly toward Yu Lian. "If you would be so kind as to draw up some sketches of the kidnappers? You're the only one who saw them, after all."
"There's paper and pencils upstairs," Wicked informed, ushering Kenshin over to the stairway leading up to the shopkeeper's rooms. He probably just wanted to get away from Gui, Wu Qing thought.
While the others began to tidy the wrecked shop, Wu Qing quickly followed the other four outside, curious as to how they were going to use a carpet to persuade the guy to talk. Roll him up so he couldn't move, take his boots off, then tickle his feet until he gave in and answered their questions?
Sunshine whipped his golden rug out of nowhere, shook it about, then hopped up and neatly seated himself at the front, keeping it steady while everyone clambered on after him.
Under Yu Lian's direction, Sunshine raised them far up into the sky, high enough that the city looked tiny, and then leveled out. "Are you sure you don't know anything?" Yu Lian pressed in a sweet tone, giving the shopkeeper one of her icy smiles. She wasn't directing it at Wu Qing, but he quickly looked away, feeling his heart rate speed up in slight fear. How did the rest of the Odd Squad manage to hang around her all the time?
The shopkeeper shook his head, looking utterly terrified.
"That's too bad," Yu Lian mused. "Prince, Wu Qing, grab his ankles. Hold on tight." The two warriors quickly obeyed. "Got him? Good." She then roughly shoved the man off the edge of the carpet and he flew upside-down through the air, screaming in fright. Wu Qing tightened his grip on the man's boot, holding onto the carpet with his other. This magician was ruthless…
"ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING‽" Yu Lian called, peering down at him over the edge of the carpet.
"A-A-A-A-AH!" he replied.
"ANSWER!" Lolidragon snapped, yanking on the man's ankle, so he bobbed up and down.
"NO-O-O-O-O!"
Wu Qing glanced at the other two. "Do you think that was a refusal, or just more screaming?"
"Pull him up for a moment," Yu Lian commanded with a frown, sitting down again and sighing. Sunshine looked quite horrified over his carpet being used in such a way, and he sent many worried glances over his shoulder while he flew the carpet in wide circles over the city.
Once the man had been relocated to the carpet, he clutched at the thick, golden fabric and sobbed hoarsely. "Are you ready to talk yet?" Yu Lian asked.
He made a vague mumbly noise in response, and Yu Lian motioned to Wu Qing and Lolidragon. They shoved him off the carpet again, holding tightly onto his ankles. Wu Qing heaved a sigh, watching the man swing back and forth as he was battered by the wind. This "interrogation" was taking way too long. He wanted to go back to the shop and have Gui translate that stupid note.
They pulled the shopkeeper up again a few minutes later and he simply flopped down on the carpet, barely making any noise at that point. Rather, he looked like he was about to faint. Wu Qing, not particularly wanting to wait for the man to wake up, hoped very much that he wasn't going to pass out.
"You'd better start talking, or else we'll get rough," Yu Lian warned, glaring down at the white-faced man.
His watery eyes flickered to her for a moment, then glanced toward the angry looks of Wu Qing and Lolidragon. A long minute of silence passed by while he thought, then he gave a tiny nod. "Okay…"