June 30, 1976

It has been done...My plan has succeeded. It took some doing to pull it all off. I first had to get the guard away from the bosses tent. I managed this by challenging him to a drinking contest. This guard was rumored to be an alcoholic that possessed no resistence to alcohol and I saked my success on this rumor.

After an hour of slamming down shots of a fine whiskey, The guard passed out and I silently thank the powers above for letting me be born with a coyote's constitution and resilience. I swear that I still have the hangover from that contest...

Then I proceeded, slightly drunk, to the Boss's tent. Hearing rythmic snoring I slipped inside.

The tent was as it always was: a round, collapsable table in the center on which the boss's dinner and personal effect where laid. The boss's cot had a heavy blanket upon it, a bulge within it rose and fell.
The lady was laying in her cage, crying silently when I approached and I felt another pang of guilt for my hand in this. She immediately noticed me, her gaze jerking upwards from the floor, and stared at me like her gaze would cause me to fall dead and rot where I had fallen. I approached the cage and she opened her mouth to cry out.

Immediately, instinct took over and I lunge and clamped my paw around her beak then, with that threat avoided, I looked at her. She looked so miserable I couldn't help but let a couple tears run down my cheeks. She seemed to notice this because her gaze softened a bit, she understood that I was sorry this all happened.

Feeling relieved, I nodded to her and whispered "Promise you won't try and scream?" She nodded and I released her beak. I continued "I'm going to get you out of here and take you somewhere safe." and I began to work at picking the lock to the cage as the Boss had taught me, my lock-picks working furiously. Time was of the essence, who knew when the boss would wake.

Then she said "Who are you?" Her voice was smooth, relaxing and very gentle. It had a musical tone to it. But nonetheless her question surprised me and I looked up at her, confused, but I could see no harm in answering "Black Tails..."

"Black Tails? It suits you." she said as she pointed to my black tail. But continuing my work I couldn't help asking "Your name?"
She answered with "Red Rose." This explained the tattooes and I was about to say "Yours also suits you", when she shouted "LOOK OUT!" then I felt someone's arms loop arond my head and squeeze my throat, I thrashed.

I heard the boss's little cackling laugh in my ear as he spoke, "So? Decided to come back to take her for yourself, eh? You'll rue the day you tried this, Blackie!"

I always hated it when he called me that, but at the moment I couldn't really care less. My vision was curling at the edges as my breath slowly failed me. Then just as I felt unconsciousness charging towards me, my eyes focused on her. She was crying again, but this time not for her situation, or for what she was about she was about to witness...No, her eyes showed a great concern and care for ME! And I realised that I cared for her.

I've heard of women bouding with their captive-takers but never the captive-taker bonding with the captive!

Nonetheless, that gaze woke my instincts and my mind stopped functioning. It felt as though someone had stepped into my mind and anything I knew about fighting was forced aside. All will was given to instinct as I felt my feet rise and swing backwards. Then my head slamming into the boss's muzzle and I heard a distinct "SNAP!" then I was over him and I grabbed a dagger from the nearby table.
The boss drew his longsword and the melee broke out. Then this entire thing became an out-of-body expierience.
I could feel myself watching the fight a bystander and at the same time I was within my head participating.
I heard myself growl and bark at the boss, and watched as sparks flew as we lunged, parried and lunged.
More bandits joined to watch, then one tried to intervene to help the boss. I watched myself calmly flicked the dagger over in my paw and slam it into his collar,
then draw it across his sterum to the opposite collar bone and out all in one smooth movement.
Everyone backed off after that and I returned to fighting the boss, the fight seemed to go on for hours.
I've never been such a excellent knife fighter, my skills lie with the bow and the crosshairs, but I handled that thing with a skill unparalleled within this band,
easily making up for the fact that the boss's weapon had a longer reach and threat range.

As the fight went on I realised I was fighting more like an animal than a Furre.
nipping at the boss's exposed flesh and often dropping to all fours to bite his thighs and unbalance him.

The boss was tiring but I remained strong, my adrenaline pumping furiously.
Then it happened, The boss over extended and I slammed the knife into his forearm just below the wrist.
Then I thrust forward, easily slicing through the meat inbetween the boss's twin forearm bones and watched his eyes roll back as he fell unconscious.
Then I jerked the knife free and stood growling at the crowd.
I heard myself growl "Everyone get the fuck away! I'm taking the bird! Worse will happen to you if you follow us!"
Then I strode to the cage and loped off the lock with a well placed strike of the knife.
I held the knife out to the crowd as I took Red Rose's hand and helped her from the cage.
I barked, "BACK AWAY!" Then smiled as they did so.
Then I walked over to the boss's table and snatched up a several large wads of money and, leading Red Rose,
walked through a hallway of people to the tent's opening. "Good...Now everyone will remain in this tent till sunrise and to make sure you do..."
then I pulled out my back up plan. I pulled out pair of small vials with a clear liquid contained within it.
I slid one into the hooks that held the tent's flap shut and said calmly "If anyone opens this...well..."
I tossed the other vail and watched with a smile as it exploded violently, much to the terror of the others.
"Good night gentlemen!" then I lead Red Rose outside, closed the tent flap, and squeezed her hand.
Then we ran off into the woods on the trail I had scouted earilier that day.

At some point during our journey she turned to me and asked "Why did you have those vails?"
To this I could merely answer;
"It was my back-up plan. If I couldn't rescue you the least I could do was give you a way to end your suffering and take your tormentor down with you."
She smiled at that.

And that's all off it.
Right now me and Red Rose are about a week from Ryoto and no one seems to be following us,
but I know the boss has not given up his prize so easily.
She's leaning up against my chest as I write this as, occasionally adding details I've forgotten.
This may sound like I'm rationalising but although I'm not into interspecies relationships, she's just such a beautiful Furre!

She blushed as I wrote that one. There is a smudge on this comment as though Red Rose playfully tried to blot out what Black wrote.

July 1, 1976

Today, Me and Red talked a little more freely about ourselves along the way.
I found out that she was on her way to an arranged marriage to a rather foolish fiancee.
The pheonix I killed was her bodyguard and self-imposed enforcer of the marriage.
She says she's happier with me out in these woods than where she would be, but that could just be flirting.
She seems to enjoy flirting.

I asked her about her past and she's apparently some heir to a family economic dynasty.
To this I perked my eyebrows and said "You're rich!" She merely giggled and said "Not yet!"
Then she asked me about my past and I told her I not had an interesting life,
mostly jumping from profession to profession until I ended up sick of professions!

She asked me where we were going and I told her.
That sparked the question "What are we going to do once we get there?" to that I answered,
"Get a place to stay...Live there for three months then you can go where ever you choose. I won't stop you."
to that she stared at the ground and said "Mind if I stayed you a little longer?" to that I asked "How long?"
She looked up at me then leaned her head against my cheek "Long as I can..."

My answer to that was to blush slightly and say; "Whatever you choose to do, M'lady"