Yei, I'm up and running again! *pats the side of her head* The gears are oiled, and my motor's, well, motorized. Sorta. I'm tiiiiiired.....sooooo tired. But being tired, however crazy it is, makes me write all so much better! *grin* Anyway....Chapter four's up now, so I hope ur all ready for a coupla new chars....not that there hasn't been enough already, hehehe....
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"New Faces"
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By: Laura M.U
Dedicated to all my readers! lol
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Rey stared.
Grabs tapped his foot impatiently, "What do you want?" he called to the strangers.
"You're late!" barked the larger, more demanding man of the two. He and his comrade could be seen clearly now in the moonlight's dull glow. "Just wait until Baku hears about this! He said twenty-four hundred hours, not tomorrow!"
"It's quarter past..." Grabs muttered. "How is fifteen minutes late?"
"Aw, Slick...." Rascha growled, dropping the rope from his hands. He had an expectant, almost defeated look to him, like a robber caught stealing red-handed. "And ye had te bring Creepers wit' ya too!"
The smaller, hunched figure lifted his head to stare inignatly at the giant. 'Creepers' snorted, and shook his ragged hair, "Don't call me Creepers, pal. I'll box ye one."
Slick, a very tall, lanky man with a hooked nose and intelligent eyes, approached them with long, unforgiving strides. He stopped short, and reached forward with one hand. Rey, at first impulse shrunk back a little. But the hand was not dirrected at him. Instead it hovered for a spilt second above Grab's head, made a fast fist, and rapped the theif's skull a few time. Slick scowled, "Well, at least you still have some brains in there."
Grabs ducked under the taller man's hand, and snickered, "Yeah, the ones that were spared from Lanslo's lectures."
Rey blinked, "Lanslo? Grabs, who is this?"
"Slick," said Grabs simply. "He's Jack's son, case you haven't noticed his little flaw."
Rey blinked, and peered closer at Slick, but couldn't find any little 'flaw' so to speak of at all.
"And this," Grabs continued, clearly sick of introductions. He gestured nonchalantly at the hunched figure shouldering, or more siding Slick. "Is Lanslo. He's ugly, but brilliant. Oh, and try to refrain from calling him Creepers. He hates that name, even though it is his first."
Lanslo peered up into the prince's face with a half-sneer. Or perhaps it was a smile? "I aint ugly. An' I aint no Creepers, so mind your tongue."
Rey raised a brow, but said nothing. Lanslo was, in fact, fairly unattractive. His jaw was a slightly misshapen sqaure, and his nose was bent to one side. But his eyes, green, and clear, were the brightest,, and most all-knowing eyes that Rey had ever seen, save for Professor Tot's. The old scholar, however unfourtunately, had died but a year ago. He now rest in an elegant, albeit short grave in the safest of Alexandria's cemeteries -- The Brahne Memorial.
The prince shook his head from the sad thoughts, and cleared his throat, "Well, I'm sure you all know by now who I am."
"Yeah," said Slick, tucking his hands into the pockets of his large vest. "Yer the one-hell-of-a-lucky guy that was born a royal, among the rest of us umentioned."
Grabs shook his head, when he saw Rey look at him rather inquisitvely, "He means that you're the son of a man that became royal by marriage, when he was nothing but a common thief like the rest of his friends, and everyone fusses over you, instead of the children any other one of the 'heroes' have."
"You got all of that from what he said?" the prince inquired, amusingly.
"There's more, if you care to hear it," said Grabs, shrugging.
"Baku wants te meet ye," said Lanslo, shuddering. It was clear he either feared the leader of Tantalus or loathed him. "Tha' man is one temper an' a half, I tell ye. Logically, 'es only using 'is reputation to control the minds of others. If I were born tall, an' without a speech impediment, I'd teach 'im a thing 'er two abou' leadership."
Grabs shot the prince a what-did-I-tell-you look, and landed his glare on the hunched, scruffy man again, "Lanslo and Baky-man are actaully pretty close. Mr. Creepers here just thinks that Baku being Boss is a little too much for an old man. He won't admit it."
"'E can't lead a chocobo to water, let alone a fifty-strong groupa thugs...." Lanslo muttered, mostly to himself.
Rey's eyes widened, "Fifty-strong?" Suddenly, another question came to mind. "Wait, just what relation does...er, Lanslo have with.....well, anyone?"
"None," admitted Rascha, from behind. "'E just wandered in one day, an' asked fer the job. Baku took a real liking to 'im the day 'e joined, an' if ye don't believe me, ask Red."
Rey blinked, feeling half a league behind their words, "Just a second..." he said, running his fingers through his hair. "Red....tell me who that it. I think I'm absorbing this, but..."
To his surprise, Grabs laughed, and slapped him on the back with a gloved hand, "Ha! You're funny, Rey-man. Y'know that? Hilarious. An' just in case you weren't serious, Red's well....someone ye don't wanna know. I'll tell yout that much. Never met him before, of course. But I didn't know who he was, and when Dad told me, I wish I hadn't asked. Now I got nightmares that he's gonna come back with that son of his, and pluck us all from our ranks, like cherries from cherries jubliee. Got it?"
The prince shook his head, "No. But I believe that I now have a theory about who, this man is..."
"Well, keep the theory somewhere safe," said Slick, chuckling. "I don't wanna hear it."
"But it I might-" Rey began, a new though surfacing in his mind.
"Nope!" said Slick, holding up a hand to silence him. His deep voice thundered across the very lake, "Don't say it! I just don't wanna know. His name, where he may be, or why the hell he'd return."
Grabs stared at his friends, wide-eyed, "Return-" he started.
"Shut it!" snapped Lanslo, sneering with distaste. "Wit' all th' rumors and legends set abou' that man, I myself don't even wanna be reminded that 'e exists. 'Sides, even if 'e did return, it'd be a healthy 3.6 days b'fore the man could return, with or without 'is son."
"That gives us plenty of time to forget about it," said Slick, before anyone else could stretch the subkect further. "I, for one, am going to the pub. Rey, you can join me if you'd like."
"But hey-" Grabs intervened, jaw agape.
"Ye won't get inta trouble," growled Lanslo. "Ol' man Baku said he'd be expectin' you and the prince near six-hundred hours this mornin'. Ye got five hours, forty-seven minutes until deadline, hear? I'm goin' te bed. G'night."
Grabs, Slick, and Rascha all murmered a farewell, and 'g'night', before the scruffy man slunk off down the dock. Rey watched him go, a new wave of confusion bubbling to his mind's surface. "I just don't understand..." he muttered, gesturing helplessly. "I left my warm room, and feather-bed to come out here and converse with a handful of thugs."
"Hey," said Grabs, slapping his shoulder again. "Don't feel so down, a'ight? We're not all that bad. It's better than getting kidnapped and held fer ransom, right?"
"I have my doubts on that..." grumbled Slick.
"Excuse me, my fine man?" said Grabs, glaring crudely at his comrade. "Did I just hear a mouse squeak?"
"If he stays with you, he'll learn a whole fat load of bad habits. We gotta return him soundly, and in one piece, right?" said Slick, shrugging innocently.
Grabs stared, "And that's why you're going to take him to the bar."
"It's a pub!" protested the lanky thief. But he grinned. "There's no madmen at the bar at midnight. Just a buncha drunk nobles trying to drown their sorrows with a swat of wine, I'd say."
Grabs sighed, and glanced at Rey, "Everything he says is a lie," he said, folding his arms. "More often than not, the truth's the complete opposite."
"So he wants to return a shredded me rolled into a wine barrel, while creating a noisy entrance?" snorted, the prince. Behind him, Rascha guffawed a great bellow of laughter, and slapped a hand to his knee. Grabs glared at him as well.
"I like this fella," said Slick, a grin crossing his face. "Well, I'll be takin' your prince off your hands now, Grabs. Don't you have a report to file or something?"
"Later," said Grabs, uncrossing his arms. "I'll be honest. I don't trust you. Which means me an' Rascha'll have to join your little mascarade. Right, Rascha?"
"I'm hungry," the giant growled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"That's his way of agreeing," said Grabs, nodding to both prince and fellow thief. Whatever grin Slick had plasterd on his face, was now tranferred to his red-haired comrade. Grabs slung his arm over the prince's shoulder, "So it's just me, you, and the boys tonight, pal. Rey, get ready fer life."
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"New Faces"
------------------------
By: Laura M.U
Dedicated to all my readers! lol
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Rey stared.
Grabs tapped his foot impatiently, "What do you want?" he called to the strangers.
"You're late!" barked the larger, more demanding man of the two. He and his comrade could be seen clearly now in the moonlight's dull glow. "Just wait until Baku hears about this! He said twenty-four hundred hours, not tomorrow!"
"It's quarter past..." Grabs muttered. "How is fifteen minutes late?"
"Aw, Slick...." Rascha growled, dropping the rope from his hands. He had an expectant, almost defeated look to him, like a robber caught stealing red-handed. "And ye had te bring Creepers wit' ya too!"
The smaller, hunched figure lifted his head to stare inignatly at the giant. 'Creepers' snorted, and shook his ragged hair, "Don't call me Creepers, pal. I'll box ye one."
Slick, a very tall, lanky man with a hooked nose and intelligent eyes, approached them with long, unforgiving strides. He stopped short, and reached forward with one hand. Rey, at first impulse shrunk back a little. But the hand was not dirrected at him. Instead it hovered for a spilt second above Grab's head, made a fast fist, and rapped the theif's skull a few time. Slick scowled, "Well, at least you still have some brains in there."
Grabs ducked under the taller man's hand, and snickered, "Yeah, the ones that were spared from Lanslo's lectures."
Rey blinked, "Lanslo? Grabs, who is this?"
"Slick," said Grabs simply. "He's Jack's son, case you haven't noticed his little flaw."
Rey blinked, and peered closer at Slick, but couldn't find any little 'flaw' so to speak of at all.
"And this," Grabs continued, clearly sick of introductions. He gestured nonchalantly at the hunched figure shouldering, or more siding Slick. "Is Lanslo. He's ugly, but brilliant. Oh, and try to refrain from calling him Creepers. He hates that name, even though it is his first."
Lanslo peered up into the prince's face with a half-sneer. Or perhaps it was a smile? "I aint ugly. An' I aint no Creepers, so mind your tongue."
Rey raised a brow, but said nothing. Lanslo was, in fact, fairly unattractive. His jaw was a slightly misshapen sqaure, and his nose was bent to one side. But his eyes, green, and clear, were the brightest,, and most all-knowing eyes that Rey had ever seen, save for Professor Tot's. The old scholar, however unfourtunately, had died but a year ago. He now rest in an elegant, albeit short grave in the safest of Alexandria's cemeteries -- The Brahne Memorial.
The prince shook his head from the sad thoughts, and cleared his throat, "Well, I'm sure you all know by now who I am."
"Yeah," said Slick, tucking his hands into the pockets of his large vest. "Yer the one-hell-of-a-lucky guy that was born a royal, among the rest of us umentioned."
Grabs shook his head, when he saw Rey look at him rather inquisitvely, "He means that you're the son of a man that became royal by marriage, when he was nothing but a common thief like the rest of his friends, and everyone fusses over you, instead of the children any other one of the 'heroes' have."
"You got all of that from what he said?" the prince inquired, amusingly.
"There's more, if you care to hear it," said Grabs, shrugging.
"Baku wants te meet ye," said Lanslo, shuddering. It was clear he either feared the leader of Tantalus or loathed him. "Tha' man is one temper an' a half, I tell ye. Logically, 'es only using 'is reputation to control the minds of others. If I were born tall, an' without a speech impediment, I'd teach 'im a thing 'er two abou' leadership."
Grabs shot the prince a what-did-I-tell-you look, and landed his glare on the hunched, scruffy man again, "Lanslo and Baky-man are actaully pretty close. Mr. Creepers here just thinks that Baku being Boss is a little too much for an old man. He won't admit it."
"'E can't lead a chocobo to water, let alone a fifty-strong groupa thugs...." Lanslo muttered, mostly to himself.
Rey's eyes widened, "Fifty-strong?" Suddenly, another question came to mind. "Wait, just what relation does...er, Lanslo have with.....well, anyone?"
"None," admitted Rascha, from behind. "'E just wandered in one day, an' asked fer the job. Baku took a real liking to 'im the day 'e joined, an' if ye don't believe me, ask Red."
Rey blinked, feeling half a league behind their words, "Just a second..." he said, running his fingers through his hair. "Red....tell me who that it. I think I'm absorbing this, but..."
To his surprise, Grabs laughed, and slapped him on the back with a gloved hand, "Ha! You're funny, Rey-man. Y'know that? Hilarious. An' just in case you weren't serious, Red's well....someone ye don't wanna know. I'll tell yout that much. Never met him before, of course. But I didn't know who he was, and when Dad told me, I wish I hadn't asked. Now I got nightmares that he's gonna come back with that son of his, and pluck us all from our ranks, like cherries from cherries jubliee. Got it?"
The prince shook his head, "No. But I believe that I now have a theory about who, this man is..."
"Well, keep the theory somewhere safe," said Slick, chuckling. "I don't wanna hear it."
"But it I might-" Rey began, a new though surfacing in his mind.
"Nope!" said Slick, holding up a hand to silence him. His deep voice thundered across the very lake, "Don't say it! I just don't wanna know. His name, where he may be, or why the hell he'd return."
Grabs stared at his friends, wide-eyed, "Return-" he started.
"Shut it!" snapped Lanslo, sneering with distaste. "Wit' all th' rumors and legends set abou' that man, I myself don't even wanna be reminded that 'e exists. 'Sides, even if 'e did return, it'd be a healthy 3.6 days b'fore the man could return, with or without 'is son."
"That gives us plenty of time to forget about it," said Slick, before anyone else could stretch the subkect further. "I, for one, am going to the pub. Rey, you can join me if you'd like."
"But hey-" Grabs intervened, jaw agape.
"Ye won't get inta trouble," growled Lanslo. "Ol' man Baku said he'd be expectin' you and the prince near six-hundred hours this mornin'. Ye got five hours, forty-seven minutes until deadline, hear? I'm goin' te bed. G'night."
Grabs, Slick, and Rascha all murmered a farewell, and 'g'night', before the scruffy man slunk off down the dock. Rey watched him go, a new wave of confusion bubbling to his mind's surface. "I just don't understand..." he muttered, gesturing helplessly. "I left my warm room, and feather-bed to come out here and converse with a handful of thugs."
"Hey," said Grabs, slapping his shoulder again. "Don't feel so down, a'ight? We're not all that bad. It's better than getting kidnapped and held fer ransom, right?"
"I have my doubts on that..." grumbled Slick.
"Excuse me, my fine man?" said Grabs, glaring crudely at his comrade. "Did I just hear a mouse squeak?"
"If he stays with you, he'll learn a whole fat load of bad habits. We gotta return him soundly, and in one piece, right?" said Slick, shrugging innocently.
Grabs stared, "And that's why you're going to take him to the bar."
"It's a pub!" protested the lanky thief. But he grinned. "There's no madmen at the bar at midnight. Just a buncha drunk nobles trying to drown their sorrows with a swat of wine, I'd say."
Grabs sighed, and glanced at Rey, "Everything he says is a lie," he said, folding his arms. "More often than not, the truth's the complete opposite."
"So he wants to return a shredded me rolled into a wine barrel, while creating a noisy entrance?" snorted, the prince. Behind him, Rascha guffawed a great bellow of laughter, and slapped a hand to his knee. Grabs glared at him as well.
"I like this fella," said Slick, a grin crossing his face. "Well, I'll be takin' your prince off your hands now, Grabs. Don't you have a report to file or something?"
"Later," said Grabs, uncrossing his arms. "I'll be honest. I don't trust you. Which means me an' Rascha'll have to join your little mascarade. Right, Rascha?"
"I'm hungry," the giant growled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"That's his way of agreeing," said Grabs, nodding to both prince and fellow thief. Whatever grin Slick had plasterd on his face, was now tranferred to his red-haired comrade. Grabs slung his arm over the prince's shoulder, "So it's just me, you, and the boys tonight, pal. Rey, get ready fer life."
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