Jellicle's Creed
Frozen Memories
Seqeunce 11
Memory 2: Hans Last Stand
21 September 2055
Siltu Norway Fjords
Sunrise
"When I woke from my dreamless sleep. I was just in time to wintess the end of the world"
-Princess Lizzy
It had been a month since Mark had returned from the dead, at least as far as Elsa was concerned. Mark had been gone twelve weeks, and it felt like twelve years, but that didnt matter right then, no what mattered was that Snowfeather was happy too, Barry had bought a small ship, formerly a millitary scout ship from the Egyptian Navy and had it upgraded and repaired and put back into service, the crew he had on it were all hand picked by him directly using meothds he'd learned from Snowfeather each year he saw her for their anniversary.
While on the ship however with Barry rather busy being captain for once leaving Mark to be down below deck with Snowfeather in the conference room/captains meeting room had things finally started to calm as a plan began to form. Elsa was now tracking Prince Hans, there was a problem however, as Mark was also tracking, or attempting to track, General Taekito Serran. however it was then that Snowfeather noticed a few things that, over the past four weeks, were different about her son.
Sure Mark wasnt her son by blood, but sometimes, he sure acted like it. Then it clicked. "You hugged your aunt didnt you ?" Of course the coming answer would be 'which one' as Mark had hugged two of them, Blackmane and Shadowmane. When Mark looked at her "When you came back four weeks ago, you hugged Blackie, didnt you ?" Of course Mark had no idea what she was on about nor did he know he had a tail, a beautiful bushy tail... of a Snow Leopard
Mark paused, furrowing his eyes, and then noticed the twitching of his own tail. Quickly grabbing it in his hand his eye twitched. Yep... that was his tail, and he sighed in minor pain as he had squeezed it harshly. "I did... looks like she's pulling a prank on me?" He replied. "Though... I feel a lot more stable... I think I'll get used to it..." He nodded.
Snowfeather smirked, Pointing at her nephew as his changes continued, "You might need a mirror" Blackmane wasnt one for pranks, but she did deal out punishment, and among other things could increase or decrease blood types, in this case she increased Marks Tigris blood a bit more. "It is a nice coat though" Snowfeather continued "I wonder why... a Snow leopard though..." Snowfeather smiled remembering some of the punishments her sisters dealt, at many points it was Kitten Playpen, which was literally turning Mark, and the girls, heck any of the kids really, into a kitten and putting them in the playpen for an hour
Standing and moving to a mirror, Mark touched his now furred face - the markings of a Snowleopard obvious, and his eyes now a beautiful shade of Sapphire, seemingly backlit and glowing. "Oh no..." he blinked and turned towards Snowfeather. "Uh... help?" He asked, his voice almost purring it out, making him blink again. His tail twitched nervously.
Eventually it would click for Snowfeather why Mark would be a Snow Leopard of all cats: Arendelle was a cold and harsh environment and he was a native. It was only common sense that he would be a cat that was used to such environments such as a Snow Leopard or Siberian Tiger. His personality matched that of a Snow Leopard's more than a Siberian Tiger's, however, with his random moments of pure hilarious stupidity and clumsiness matching his grace, elegance, and strength. Why Blackmane decided to pull this prank now of all times however was another story that wont be told here.
"At least you're not a kitten" Snowfeather said with a strangely straight face when he glared at her. But man she was right, it was a very nice coat. "I dont think it was a prank" Snowfeather said at long last, By that popint Mark was on fours and hilariously clumsy trying to figure his new stance out. "But it does have the hilarity of one though, but no I dont think its a prank" Snowfeather rubbed her chin for a moment in thought. Then nodded. "When you were on that contract we lost you on, did anything... happen ?" Of course when Mark replied it'd be in gutteral Snow Leopard, which she understood easily
Mark rolled his eyes and managed to figure out his footing enough to hop onto the table, the sturdy metal struggling to handle his weight. He was twice the size an average large Snow Leopard, and thus twice the weight. Narrowing his eyes in thought, Mark did the Snow Leopard verion of a shrug before answering, pausing to process how his voice sounded before continuing. "Well... the fuck... well, I turned into a Snow Leopard during my last fight with The Templar Grandmaster in California... swatted her head off her shoulders with a paw." he explained, playfully swatting at the air in front of Snowfeather's face. "But... I turned back after the fight." he added.
"Why?"
"Ok that is one way of putting it" Snowfeather replied thoughtfully, she set her hands on the table, her magic went to work only enough to keep the thing from busting under her sons now double weight. "Alright lets try this. Do you remember exactly, how you turned into... this ?" She knew her son was being playful and actually let him bat her face cutely, If he were infact a snow leopard kitten, it would have been flat out adorable. But at this moment both of them were serious
Snowfeather raised an eyebrow. "Swatted her head clean off ?" Mark... somewhat nodded. Well it did work, Snow Leopard claws were dang sharp. "And you werent a Snow Leopard when you socked the brains out of Taekito either were you ?"
Mark shook his head at the second question. "No I was human... felt stronger than usual though." he said. "But that could have just been adrenaline." he did another cat-like shrug. Not only were his claws stupidly sharp, he already was strong as a human, but as a massive big cat? His strength grew with his weight: By a fuck-ton.
Snowfeather smirked then. "Alright, les go over the facts, First, you were human when you beat Taekitos brains out, but you were a Snow Leopard when you took down the Grand Master in California..." Then it clicked slightly to the left and she pointed a thoughtful finger at him. "You said her" It was strange, a female Templar wasnt anything new, but a female Grand Master was indeed something new. "What did the Grand Master look like ?"
"Remember my old Girlfriend you and Blackie made me break up with and then kill her parents? Turns out she was a Sourceress or something like that. Really pretty, but Elsa's Prettier." Mark said, lip twitching in amusement as his tail twitched and he flopped onto the table, and turned himself into a giant loaf, just like a housecat, his arms and legs folded neatly under his massive body. A giant housecat loaf.
If Snowfeather was trying not to laugh at her sons sudden ability to transform into a Snow Leopard, she wasnt smiling anymore. Snowfeather simply stared at her son when he mentioned his old girlfriend. "Talak Horde... survived your attack ?" Mark never exactly told her WHAT happened to Talak, only that, it was done. Talaks parents, the whole really, was torched shoertly after Mark had returned home. Of course Snowfeather had no idea the pain she had put her son through. "A source of magic is not as common thing, you know your aunt Blackmane is one, by natural birth. But Talak Horde, she had no magic abilities. How could she have them now ?" She wondered aloud
Then she saw how her son was acting, big loaf of Snow Leopard on the table. Cute sure but when he mentioned the beautiful woman Talak had grown into, and that Elsa was prettier, she smirked "Better not let Elsa see you in this ... look" Dunno how she'd react for one thing, Would Elsa freak out, or would she be head over heels in love with the sheer hilariously adorable clumsy oaf Mark really was ?
"Might wanna turn me back into me then... or teach me to change back into a human." Mark commented, serious despite his position.
"If you dont stretch soon your arms are going to hurt" Snowfeather started to say when the door slid open and who else but Blackmane walked in, Well it wasnt exactly Blackmane but the panther was ... pink ? "Aunt Snowy, Mom wanted you to have this" Asami said after setting a watersealed letter of a sort on the table, and then shook herself of water before getting to all fours and transforming to her human body as she stood up. Man, swimming as a cat was easier than as a human especially in such freezing waters
"Thank you Asami" Snowfeather said opening the letter and a crystal fell out, activating the small hologram of it she nodded, they had their destination, which meant Elsa was already waiting for them in Siltu, their next state of attack was to find the Duke
Asami turned to the Snow Leopard on the table. He looked big, and smelled oddly familar. "Mark ? Is that you ?" The green dressed woman asked walking around to face her cousin. No cat could be THAT big, unless it was her cousin, even as kittens, when turned into one as punishment, Mark was.. aheh. big
Mark narrowed his eyes as he got up from his loafing, and hopped onto the ground beside Asami, raising up onto his hind feet to sniff her and job his memory. "Yes... yeah It's me. Asami?" he blinked before thudding back onto his front paws quietly, his weight making the ground shake a bit. "Ma... any time now?" Mark nudged her hip with his head.
"Yeah its me" Asami said, it wasnt easy to mistake her, The first time Mark really met her was just before the attack on Arko District. She looked at her cousin confused as he did the same, Her hair was lighter than the last time he saw her, a lot lighter. Her hair was normally dark green wasnt it ? It didnt matter. "How did you become a Snow Leopard ?"
Snowfeather read the crystal then nodded. When her son headbonked her in the hip, nearly knocking her off her feet as the ship shook with his weight She spoke "Alright, alright, calm down, Asami, Get up to the bridge and let your uncle know our new heading, give him this, I have to teach your cousin a few tricks" Asami nodded and took off, easily shifting into her more favored form, of course her father Martin didnt much care for seeing his daughter in her pink fur, but there wasnt really anything he could do about it so he gave up on trying to keep her from transforming
Soon as the door shut Snowfeather magically sealed it, sealing her, and her son in the boardroom of the ship. Turning to Mark she sighed, Ok this was gonna be a fun road trip. "Alright, first things first. When you started to transform moments ago, what were you thinking about ? Other then me naked in my fur" Of course how she knew THAT was anyones guess, infact it was one of the many reasions for Kitten Playpen timeouts when Mark was growing up
Mark blinked, doing the equivalent of raising his eyebrow. "Wasn't thinking of you... just Aunt Vaeyuko... aside from that... nothing cat-related. Was thinking I should catch a nap." he answered. "What does that have to do with my form?"
Snowfeather simply gawked at her son. Ok that was one reason to turn in to a cat. Vaeyuko iwas/i indeed very well built to begin with too "Maybe I should leave you in this form for an hour and let Vaeyuko teach you..." She mused aloud
Mark reared up onto his hind legs again. "I would greatly appreciate if you didn't, mother..." He half begged, half growled.
Snowfeather smiled and nodded "Alright, fine, listen carefully. Since you transformed for the first time, unknowingly so, we have to first know what triggered it, was it a thought, a musing, or something else... Say the cold ?" It was then she realised the window was open and the cold air off the ice floes outside made the boardroom rather chilly. "If you were thinking of how cold it was, and I asked you if you had hugged Blackie, then it makes sense" She said
Closing the window with a wave of her hand she turned back to her son as the temperture went back up. Taking hold of his massive paws where his hands should have been she helped him stand up. "What was it about Blackmane, and the others, and I, that made you jealous the most ?" She then asked him. Of course she knew the answer to that already. They had fur, he didnt. "By hugging Blackmane her magic must have done something to you, maybe magically triggered your Tigris blood most likely" It was also possible she saw his memory of him fighting briefly as a Snow Leopard.
But they had no idea of what Talaks magical abilities were on the outset to begin, had she triggered the transformation, or did something else ?
Mark awkardly stood with his paws in her hands, and thought about what he thought about before he transformed... besides his aunt, and what he was always jealous of. "Okay... yeah, it was cold... and... I Have always envied you and your fur..." he admitted. Even his paws were heavy! Mark knew Snowfeather didn't know about Kalda, and thus didn't tell her that it was the Dragon who had made Mark shift during his fight with Talak.
"You noticed my new cloaks have had fur lining, right? My old ones never had that..." He added. It was an addition he insisted upon before returning to Arendelle. The Type of fur? Snow Leopard - harmlessly gathered from old dens used to birth wild cubs since the Mothers lined their dens with fur they had shed. How convienient? Or Coincidental? Either way, it also explained it further.
"I had indeed noticed yes. However I was not definitive in my assement of the fur type. Snow Leopards are known for their natural down in their fur. and Arendelle in the winter, is dangerously cold and not because of Elsa's magic" Snowfeather said, so with the exact thought of what her son was infact thinking of besides her older sister, there was a good possiblity he could change back., But it happened entirely on its own. And four weeks ago he had indeed hugged Blackmane. her magic had increased the strength of his Tigris blood. So when the cold air entered the boardroom through the open window it triggered the change on its own. Mark of course was infact quite warm at that point too
"So naturally, as due to the cold, your memories of what made you the most jealous of your aunt, and I, and the others, is that we are able to grow fur when needed to remain warm. So your body, doubtless thanks to Blackie, can now do what you were so jealous of for so long" Of course Snowfeather nor Blackmane knew, well, Blackmane might have known briefly of the draconic part of Mark due to the magic in his bloodstream. So by increasing the strength of the Tigris blood within Mark actually decreased the Draconic, Eagle and Human bloodlines
As Snowfeather held her sons massive hands in hers she smiled as he started to return t ohuman form, still clothed just fine with no issues, as the room warmed up nicely. "See ? What you were thinking about when you transformed was that you were jealous of Vaeyuko, and your body was cold and wishing it had what she has. The ability to grow some thick warm fur" By that point Mark was steady on two feet like he always was. Of course, Vaeyuko was an Albino Panther, not a Snow Leopard
"I think you might have to thank Blackmane for it too" Snowfeather added, now quite sure it wasnt a prank. "If you dont, I'll turn you into a kitten, for a day, and let her take care of you like any mother cat would" Oooo that was a really evil thought right there. The mere idea of being turned into a kitten, for an hour as the normal punishments were, was scary enough, but to be Blackmanes own KITTEN for a single 24 hour period was even scarier
Once Mark was back to his usual self, He released Snowfeather's hands and stretched out his shoulders, his back popping a few times before he sighed and blinked, his eyes being the last thing to turn back to their normal brown, backlit by bronze. "I don't think you need to go that far... but fine, I'll thank her next time I see her." Mark scratched the back of his head nervously. He ran the information he'd recieved through his head - so for now, anyway, the transformation was triggered by jealous thoughts and memories? Weird.
"How can I control my transformations? Like you and everyone else do?" he asked.
"It wont be easy, but on the first time your body was reacting simply to the sheer cold, while your mind was focused on your jealousy of us having fur coats and you unlucky enough to not have one. Over time it will be come natural and easy to control. But that first time, just now, it was your body reacting to both your thoughts, and the cold. Thankfully the fur type and feline type were prechosen it seems" Snowfeather went throughful tyhen as she tapped her chip with a fingernail turned claw. Then she nodded "Alright, we'll start with the basics. Along with a small memory trip, when you first met your sisters, my daughters, what did you see through the window ?" Of course it was the face of Serenity, the beautiful Bengal Tiger girl was only a year older than Mark at the time
With that answer down Snowfeather nodded. "Alright, focus on only your face changing" She conjured a mirror of glass wreathed in smoke as it ripped a hole in reality quite nicely then and there. Marks face easily formed that of a Snow Leopard, while the rest of his body remained human. Snowfeather took his hand in hers and held up a finger. "Now, focus on the nail becoming a claw. Just the nail..." he did, and he got her in the wrist dead on with it which caused her to go dealthy quiet.
Mark simply said "oops" as she glared briefly at him. Yeah, she was really thinking of turning Mark into her sisters kitten. At least she wasnt bleeding a river as her magic stopped the bloodflow.
Her voice strained Snowfeather then said "Now retract" Mark did so, She moved her hand, "Again, extend the nail into a claw, and retract" He did so, it was a good skill test really. Now he had the means to climb up walls easier. "Judging by the strength in the claw alone, Blackie was smart to increase your Tigris blood" Snowfeather said, ignoring the fact that her arm had infact looked like a pile of kittens went berzerk when she tried to take their food dish by the time the lesson was done.
Once the lesson had finished, Mark thanked his mother and apologized profusely for snagging her wrist with a claw before continuing to fiddle with small transformations here and there. Claws, fangs, a tail for increased balance. Simple things, not wanting to go too far and end up turning himself into some grotesque hybrid with no way of fixing himself.
Watching her son for a few minutes Snowfeather smiled. He was learning fast, just like before. The real test was transformning on the move, and even controlling it then. She let him leave the boardroom to get the others. Sapphire was somewhere on the ship, as was Elsa. They had big plans for that morning. Big plans for Hans once they had found some food thanks to a certain drunk tavern owner who Mark somehow recognised barely as a drunken bum who cared more for drink then conversation. It wasnt that Brutus liked to talk, he liked to drink.
"See to your cousin, she should be in her cabin. Wake her up if you must" Snowfeather said before closing the door behind Mark. leaving him alone in the corridor. Sapphire at Elsas insisting, was in her own cabin rather than sharing one with her. Blackmane briefly spotted her nephew as she rounded a corner, he was still experimenting, a soft smile graced the Panthers face before she ducked into the boardroom without a sound. He was learning
Mark entered the cabin belonging to his cousin, Sapphire been told by Elsa to get some sleep as the girl didnt sleep well at night, and be so attentive at protecting the Queen when Mark wasnt there. Now Mark knew why as he observed his cousin on her bed in a cold sweat thanks to a bad dream. As Mark took a seat to wait for her to waken Sapphire's eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright shrieking "MURDERER!" Before realising where she was.
Sensing another in her cabin she reached for her sword, only to find that Mark was inspecting it and comparing the weapon to his own bladeless hilt that looked far newer. "Mark ?" her eyes adjusted to the light as Mark seemed more intent on the sword, but his words spoke volumes.
"You've allowed your sword to become dull and cracked. The same can be said for your ability to process information." he said, setting her sword down where he found it. Sleep was the body's chance to process the prior days events, and if Sapphire was having nightmares and cold sweats, something was wrong with her. Sliding the hilt of his new sword back into its sheath, he remained sitting, lifting his chin slightly as he looked at his cousin.
"What were you dreaming about?"
"The attack. What I could remember of it. Its not easy for a newborn to forget such thing. But." Sapphire went quiet in thought as she absently reached for her sword hilt. Once in hand she activated its twin blades. "I found this sword when I was five. I had to hide it even from mother." She sighed and the blades faded away as she stared at the hilt, the garnet in the center of the pommel. the bladeless sword once belonged to her father. Nathan Wolfe. "It was twenty five years ago. And all I can remember clearly aside from Papa's dead body is... those eyes."
"Whose?" he asked, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he made eye contact with her. "Whose Eyes?" he asked again.
"I dont know" Sapphire said trying to remember the face. "I see Papas dead body, then I see a face, but the only thing that stands out from that face are the eyes" Sapphire tried to remember. "Steel gray in color" try as she might, she couldnt remember the face. "I cant make out anything but the guys eyes. steel gray. Full of evil. I see them every year around this week" She looked to Mark, she knew he had to be hurting just thinking about that day, the next day of all things. Not only was it Sapphires birthday, but it was also the dreaded day it happened.
Mark was silent for a moment, letting the words run over him, the memories through him. "Our Family's Massacre. The Anniversary begins in a few hours." he said, glancing at his watch. Barely 9:30Pm. He nodded and stood, walking over to her. "And your birthday... How you can remember that night is a curse... But don't worry. You'll find a way to accept it... I managed to... Once you do, you will be able to rest easier." he said, setting a hand on her shoulder firmly, but gently and reassuringly.
"I'll see if I can't find out who has evil Steel Gray eyes... in the mean time... head back to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."
It wasnt much to go on. that was clear as it was. Sapphire stared at the sword. She called it hers but she somehow felt familar with it due to the gemstone She held the hilt up in the light of the hallway of the cabin. "The only way I will accept the destruction, the horror of my birthday. Is by driving these blades through those steel gray eyes. Only then will I rest easy." She said softly. Mark gave her shoulder a reassuring pat.
"I will try to sleep. I know its not much to go on, but. If I see those eyes again, I will try to make out more features. But I doubt it. I see only so much of the attack." Mark had learned to accept the attack, the horrifying memory of it left him scarred, yet he had learned the hard way to accept it. and yet Sapphire held the last sword made by Yaseko before she let Diamond seal her tomb. "I will see you at breakfast then ?" He nodded. Sapphire smilked and tried to get back to sleep. within seconds she was dead to the world, her hand holding her sword hilt in a white knuckle grip, yet her thumb gently rubbing against the garnet in the crossguard.
22 September 2055
Aboard the Whitesparrow
9AM
Morning dawned to the motion of a ship stuck in place and the sound of something slamming into the water. The reason of why soon became clear as Mark stepped onto the main deck and saw trhaqty the Whitesparrow had been at a anchor point, the anchor keeping it in the center of the fjord. Mark turned to see iof why they had stopped when he saw a young man at the rail looking out at the fjord. The man was dressed in dark si,.lver and black robes. A sailor stood near him. "Sir, we must continue tothe Southern Isles"
"Hold here, once the Princess returns we can be on our way. She sensed something below us most important. She wont be long" Prince Talon replied
"But sir" The sailor started to say, only to have Talon wave him off
"I said, hold here. We will not be much longer." He repeated
"Excuse me Sir" The sailor said, gaining both Prince Talon's attention as well as Marks own attention. "I take my orders from Master Wolfe. You are not him, so why did you have my men stop the ship ?"
"As of right now that is not your concern, you are to hold here until my sister gets back. She cannot carry what she sensed very far. and it is important that she gets it to the ship safely." Talon replied as Mark stepped over to the pair. Talon noticed him right off and greeted him simply. "Master Wolfe."
"Is there a reason we have stopped ?" Mark asked to the Prince waving off the sailor to wait a moment longer
"There is, and it is a most important matter. It cannot wait" Talon said turning back to the rail
"And yet you use my ship to do an errand and have us stopped ?" Mark pressed
"Your ship ? No, this is the Queens vessel, she had given us leave to halt the ship for my sister to recover what she senses below us. When she returns we will be off as if we never stopped" Leave it to the Eagle Prince to point out a flaw. Anyone the Queen deemed captain could captain the ship yes, but she had final say. and if she gave the green light, so to speak, for Talon and his elder sister Princess Fang to stop the ship and drop anchor in the middle of the fjord. Something important was going on.
"What is your sister looking for ?" Mark asked
"She is searching for an item of extreme importance, she knows it is here as she felt it as we passed over it, and requested the ship to halt and drop anchor" Talon replied simply. "Elsa gave her permission to my sister and I and now my sister is retreiving the item she sensed."
"This item your sister sensed, what is it ?" Mark then asked trying to remember the young man, he mentioned his sister. "Back up a second, who is your sister ?"
Before Talon could answer a white haired head poked from the fjord. A oblong coffin shaped cat sized item was launched. "Brother! Catch!" The woman called to Talon. Who easily caught the small ash urn. "There's two more down there, stow that one and get back to the rail, I wont be long!" Fang ducked back under the water and disappeared in a few small splashes.
As Talon held the ash urn Mark took a good look at it, not recognising the pattern type of a phoenix rising from fire. Reborn from its own ashes. After the ancient battle millions of years before the ashes were indeed scattered. And Fang was trained how to sense the urns containing them. So if she found another, let alone three. "This is one of the items my sister sensed, you can see now how imperative it was that we had stopped trhe ship to recover them" Talon said
"Your sister said there were two more with this one" Mark said reaching for the urn, Talon at first was resistive of Mark taking it but relented as Mark spoke "She's bringing back two more, you stay here and I'll stow this in my stateroom. It will be safest there" Mark said to him. Talon nodded and waited. He didnt have to wait long as Fang surfaced again and launched a second urn at him.
As Mark set the oblong urn on a shelf in his stateroom on the ship he turned around and halted fast as a young man, well built like an Ice Harvestor, almost identical to Kristoff had Mark not noticed the fact that this man had long black hair, Chinese style kept, and sky blue eyes. He then recognised the necklace the man wore, a seal of Elsa was on it. this man was Elsas trusted advisor. Turk Geraldine. "Captain Wolfe, There is a matter rather important I wish to discuss with you concerning a member of... your crew" he said. It then became clear of why as Mark easily caught scent of his cousin Miao just outside the door. Why on earth was the thirty five year old with the mind of a six year old child stalking the Queen's most trusted Advisor ?
Mark smirked to the man. But thankfully Fang's soaking wet arrival and her bvrother, dry as the desert, both carrying two more items saved Mark albiet briefly before he spoke. "I will handle it, for now try to placate her. Miao you must understand, is still a child"
"She is an adult woman and she is tracking me like a cat tracks a mouse" Turk replied, Mark smirked. This man had no idea what Miao really was. In many ways it was hilarious. Miao, an adult woman with the mind of a six year old girl. no formal training outside of natural feline instincts whatsoever, effortlessly tracking Turk. Elsas personal advisor.
"I will handle it, later. For now, do your best not to become her next playtoy" Mark advised the man calmly, trying to placate him, thankfully Turk took that as acknowledgement and let the matter drop, for the rest of the day, after that nights dinner however he remained in his stateroom
26 September
Catfishtown
Southern Isles
Nine am
As the ship docked Mark took in the small town carefully, not many houses, muchless other offical looking buildings to go with it. After Fang had found what she had sought within the fjord it was only moments later they were back under way. But it was the issues Turk kept having with Miao and why she followed him around like a kitten following its mother that made Mark begin to wonder certain things concerning his cousin. He had briefly spoken to Miao about it, but she merely rebuffed him, saying "Something just feels... familial about him" And then she wouldnt say anything further on the subject.
Of course the mere fact that telling a tiger not to do something and then praying the cat would infact do as told was not exactly a good idea either, so Mark didnt bother to correct or insist on his cousin to not trail after Turk, of course it annoyed the older man to no end. By the time they got to Catfishtown Turk had locked himself in his stateroom, only exiting for food or drink. And thanks to magic, and Elsa asking Blackmane to do so, the Whitesparrow had been greated rebuilt in a unique manner, now more of a modern battleship. Blackmane had redesigned the whitesparrow, keeping all the runes but greately expanding the structure and overall size of the ship as a whole.
Mark stepped onto the top deck, it had begun to rain as they docked. "Where are we ?" He asked to his cousin, Sapphire stood near the gangplank.
"A town I never heard of before." Sapphire replied plans had been drawn up the day before, plans to begin in the port known as Catfishtown. "Rumor has it that a powerful bloodmage was buried here" Sapphire mused aloud
"Bloodmage ?" Mark asked, those werent exactly easy to fight. One injury to either side, any blood whatsoever really, and the battle was well enough lost entirely
"Mhm, apparently there was a battle here and the locals killed it." She handed him a map of the town, it wasnt big, maybe a few dozen houses, a large palace, couple inns, the docks, and a drydock shipyard of a sort. On it was some markings, of which was numbers, marking a gravesite. In short it kind of reminded Mark of Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard actually that he visited during one of the magical based training sessions growing up.
Mark read the information Sapphire had managed to get. "Or so it wanted the locals to think" He mused aloud. "Bloodmage... huh. I'll have to ask my aunts about such a thing, for now, get your gear. We got a planning meeting in the conference room below deck."
As they turned to go down below decks a loud clearly male voice was heard from the stairwell. "Will you please stop acting like a tomcat in heat and get off my back ?!" Turk screamed
A confused, cute and rather perplexed voice replied "... But I am a girl cat ?"
"Whatever!" Turk screamed at her, "Just stop acting like you're in heat and wanting to mate with me! I got work to do" As Mark and Sapphire stepped into the corridor they found Miao watching Turk leave into the conference room where everyone else was waiting to begin the planning. Miao of course was more confused over anything else of why Turk felt so much like family to her. it was really weird
As the planning session began none saw as the second ship to arrive, but before the Whitesparrow itself was able to tie in with Marks adopted fathers ship, a third ship pulled to the warf and docked. A few men steppedo ff and others began milling about, soon business was to get booming there, but none knew what to expect concerning the much larger vessel. A large vessel almost Enterprize class aircraft carrier in size settled at the dock and much of its crew began the work of taking on cargo and removing trash and other deposits. All this occured during the planning that Mark and Elsa were doing with the others aboard the Whitesparrow. There was not a lot of time, but things were moving quickly, nicely at that
Within the conference room as Turk had just left, Mark took stock of who was within. Elsa stood at the map table, the magically generated holographic map floated over the table surface showing their surrounding area as well as the arrival of the new ship which none took notice of at that moment, Catfishtown, as it was named, was a port town and ships came and went at all hours. "Catfishtown" Blackmane mused, "A port town, nothing much to speak of, site of a battle between Southern Isles own First Prince and a few powerful mages in the area" She mused
Mark took stock of who was within the conference, thanks to Blackmanes magic, the Whitesparrow was a true modern battleship. Short of the Silver Eagle of course this thing could infact withstand a nuke attack. But then, with Blackmane present so was Snowfeather, his sisters Serena and Serenity, his aunts Vaeyuko and Senishi, the latter of whom sat upon the floor on a large coushin that once was a sleeper sofa. Mark couldnt tell if his aunts eyes were even open, then he remembered, Senishi was born blind, eyeless infact.
And then there was Shadowmane, who stood across from Elsa at the conference table. Dressed in a bodysuit that showed off every curve Elsa at first felt intimidated at the appearance of the woman, yet once Mark's mother, Snowfeather explained things to her she wasnt as scared or worried around her, though she was still intimidated by the womans sheer beautiful figure. Also present was Sazhori, and Wezaki, both birds were crazy and one insisted on being near Mark for the last few months. He focused on the then and there. With three of his aunts outside of Blackmane present, this was a big deal.
That and Turk was rather put out that Miao kept trailing after him like a kitten after her mother. He needed to talk to her about that event of why she kept trailing after him.
"So, now that we know where we are. What are we doing?" Mark asked, examining the map carefully, zooming in on the White Sparrow, a now modernized Iowa-Class Battle-Ship, and the surrounding area.
"From what Diana told us, Hans and the Duke were last seen here in this town. its not big, a few dozen houses and major road in the middle of it, but it is aiming to be one of Southern Isles larger shipyards." Shadowmane said simply. "All we have to do is find any indicatrion that either of them are here" The map focused on five points in the town, including what looked like a firebombed hill just outside town.
"So we're looking for the two men who started the war with us this spring. The men who are responsible for Arko." Elsa said simply. Shadowmane nodded. Sazhori flicked a feather off her arm and it smacked into the map briefly, dining off the burned off hilltop. A small blinking dot appeared at that point
"Mark, You and I will go into town and see what we can find, bring Miao, she's got a good nose for sniffing out people." Vaeyuko spoke up.
"What about me ? Its my kingdom they provoked, me. My people. You dont have to do this, I'll go into town" Elsa said
"The risk is too great. The minute any soldiers of theirs see you they will take all risks and try to take you down, I on the other hand, along with my nephew, havent been seen here before and they dont know what we look like." Vaeyuko said. It made sense
Mark nodded softly as Vaeyuko spoke, crossing his arms as he continued to look over the plans. As Elsa spoke out, he let his aunt answer her before shrugging at her. His aunt had a point, and he wasn't one to argue with his aunts much at all. He knew better by this point.
"I promise I'll come back this time." He winked at Elsa to reassure her. "Plus, if I can get back at the guys who ruined Arko... it'll be the ultimate payback. One that I've desperately needed to get for a long time."
"You better." Was all Elsa said when she finally nodded to Vaeyuko, conenting to their plan. "And if the Duke or Hans are here ?"
"We will let you know where they are and where they are staying, there are many innocents here as well, so shelling this place wont work unless we can lock exactly where Templar and Hans troops are located to minimise the damage to civil life." Vaeyuko was a puzzle master, she loved puzzles, Shadowmane was a master of Shadows, she loved Shadows, and Senishi ? Well, it was hard to drop a trank moving at the speed of sound.
The plan settled Vaeyuko stood from where she had leaned against the at one point sleeper sofa her much larger yet younger sister sat upon. Senishi looked like a dead suit of armor. "Mark, find Miao, and meet me on the dock. We have work to do." That said Vaeyuko left the planning room.
Mark nodded, and before leaving to find Miao, he walked over to Elsa, hugging her softly. "I'll be back." he promised again, kissing her forehead before turning and walking out of the room, making his way to a vending machine down the corridor, getting a coke and clearing his throat as the can clanged its way down the machine to the vending area. Grabbing the can, he flicked it a few times before opening it with that crisp crack.
"Miao! Where are you, Cuz!?" he asked. "I'll drink this without you!" he said, slowly beginning to bring it to his lips.
From around the corner and down a ways came a sudden sound of claws on a blackboard as Miao, naturally in her feline form was running pell mell through the ship to find her cousin, after all hearing the crack of the can opening, then him calling for her easily reached her ears from her perch outside Turks door
But that sound suddenly ceased as a pale blue eye and white furred ear poked around the corner of the corridor to Marks right as he lifted the can to his lips. All sorts of thoughts went through Miaos mind, He saved her was one, she'd never forget that. He was her cousin, and called her Cuz... whatever that meant. She didnt exactly have many fgriends growing up... other than Talak..
A third thought went through her head carefully plotting out the size of the corridor, the size of Mark in it, and the size of the can before nodding. Ducking back behind the corner she took a deep breath and let it out. And then bounded towards her cousin. Fast
When she was still a good half dozen meters away she jumped at him. Aiming mostly for the can. Thankfully the carpet was nailed down and wouldnt come up thanks to Blackmanes magic. "Caffiene! Mine!" was all Miao said however as she was about to collide with her cousin dead on. a four hundred and twenty pound, now very healthy, white tiger. Onto a large man. her cousin.
Mark could see his cousin leaping for him, and as she left the ground, he dropped the can of soda and hopped back, automatically transforming into his Snow-Leopard Form for added agility and landing gracefully on his paws before shifting back to his human form, blinking at his hands as he stood up. That happened.
"Enjoy it, Miao... we're going on a mission with Aunt Vaeyuko." he said, strolling up and putting a hand on her head softly. "Come on - we need your nose for this mission." he said.
At one point, somehow, Miao coulkdnt explain it, but as Mark let go of the can her focus shifted for it directly. However out of the corner of her eye she saw another cat, a Snow Leopard. Briefly of course as her massive paws engulfed the soda can as she hit thefloor and pretty much landed on her back. Putting the can to her lips she guzzled it, and briefly hiccuped.
Then She saw Mark again. No cat. No Snow Leopard, just Mark, looking confused, yet oddly graceful. Of course the first words out of her mouth was actually a very unlady like noise as she shifted form easily and sat up, still drinking the coke she burped, loud and hard. Enough to rattle a window actually the more she thought on it. Then the next words out of her mouth was... for once, a coherent sentence. "Where'd the other cat go ?" OK so it was more a question. Her eyes lit up. "Mission ?"
Then he mentioned her nose. "He just... I dunno, smells like someone I swear I know but cant quite place." In this case her mother. Of course she thought he meant Turk. "I didnt force him to jump off the ship did I ?" Thankfully that was not the case.
"That other cat was me... apparently." he answered. He nodded at the mention of the mission, and started walking towards the deck, to where Vaeyuko was waiting for them, lifting his hood because of the rain outside as they approached the door. He paused when she was talking about Turk, and then shook his head. "No, we're not looking for him. Looking for someone else." he answered.
He opened the door and stepped through, walking up to his aunt and stopping beside her. "Auntie..." he greeted.
As the two stepped into her view as the rain fell Mark noticed right off she didnt have any means of shielding herself from the rain, her hair was soaked, yet she didnt seem to care. "Good, you're here. Do not use your armor here, if you do you might get recognised by some of the soldeirs here. If we're lucky the soldiers wont be expecting us, nor will they recognise us"
"What about me ? Mark said you needed my nose for this mission, I can tell you're a cat too so why not use yours ?" Trust Miao to be so danged innocent, an adult woman with a childs mind. Vaeyuko knew she meant no harm in asking that question however
"I have seen, we all have, seen, how you follow the Queens personal advisor like a kitten trailing after her mother, and everytime we ask you why you follow Turk Grayfeather you always told us something felt family like about him, like he is someone you swear you know but cant quite place." Vaeyuko said to her.
"Yeah, he does smell oddly familar, like someone I swear I should know somehow but. I think I make him nervous he locked himself in his room" Miao said
"As for why we need you, your nose is stronger than mine. And hopefully nobody will pay attention to us." Vaeyuko said. She held up a rain soaked sleeve, over her hand black mist formed swiftly turning purple and white as the palm of her hand soon held a scrap of cloth. "We found this in a hotel within Arendelle, where Prince Hans men where staying guarding the Duke. Using this we can track and hopefully find them, with luck, they will lead us directly to the Duke."
As the cloth appearred in Vaeyukos hand from nowhere Miao reared back, the hairs on her neck sticking out and her nose wrinkling as she covered it with her sleeve. "Yuck! That smells like the jerk that kittennaped me a long time ago!"
"So you know what they smell like ?" Vaeyuko asked
"Yes, just, please get rid of it!" Miao said, thankfully becauase of the rainfall Mark couldnt see the tears streaking down her face as the rain had soaked both women and just fell off Marks coat without issue. Vaeyuko nodded and with a wisp of purple smoke the scarp of cloth faded away and soon Miao uncovered her nose, sucking in the rainfall fresh air.
"Well, with the scent fresh, let's get to work..." Mark said, patting his cousin's shoulder reassuringly. He wouldn't let her get cat-napped again. He nodded to her with a smile. He was glad he preferred such water-retardant materials for his Assassin Cloaks, as well as the warm fur lining on the inside. He didn't much care to be wet if he could avoid it. His boots likewise were heavy leather with steel-toes, making them likewise water-proof so long as he didn't dive into knee-high puddles of water.
"Lead the way, Miao... I'll buy you a few more cokes after we're done." he said, teasing her for her caffeine addiction. While it was great to have her back to her old self, Mark was somewhat pained to see that his cousin hadn't changed much since he last saw her as a child. She was still that silly little girl, just now in a grown woman's body, and the strength of her genes. It made her, in a way, more dangerous than he was even with his own growing magical powers and his masterful Assassin's techniques of fighting and stealth.
He stepped off the deck and onto the gangplank, resisting the urge to bring his armor to himself, but nonetheless following his aunt's request. He hadn't been seen in this area of the world in a long time. And those who had seen him hadn't spread the word quite far enough for it to have spread to the common rabble that they would be facing, or that would be looking for him. On top of that, his new cloak held a few differences than his previous ones. The fur being the most obious, but also the slight pallete swap of Black and Green to Green and black.
Vaeyuko, likewise, was relatively unknown outside of the Egyptian branch of the Assassins, and even then, only a scant few knew about her outside of the Elisar family. Sometimes Mark wondered if he really even knew her. And Miao? Well, no one knew her, which kept her safe.
Odd as it was, Miao didnt bother with the gangplank, easily hopping the rail to the dock below, a good half dozen meters and lightly landing on her feet before getting onto two feet, her nose getting right to work. Marks words, and promise that she wsnt going to get catnapped a second time made her happy. But she could tell her cousin was worried. But had no time to ask what made him so worried. What was startling however was the mere fact that she caught scent of at least one guy easily from the cloth rag that Vaeyuko had conjured up.
Which meant that there was at least two men who knew her, but thankfully that was ages ago, to a cat like her it was a few hundred years, maybe. In truth it was about twenty six years since she had last been in Arendelle. Vaeyuko stepped off the ship onto the gangplank and vaulted the rail of the gangplank to get after Miao who caught the scent easily and darted off down the dock.
Thankfully Marks assessment was right, nobody outside the Egyptian dens of the Assassins had met or had knowledge of, Vaeyuko, infact the Cairo Public Library at the main branch in downtown Cairo had her on staff there. Mostly because she was there so much thanks to the puzzles of history, and the jobs and missions of the Assassins had left little else for her to do but work and work out, puzzles at the library. At a fast walk she caught up to Miao who halted near a building and peeked around a corner. "Do you see anyone ?" Vaeyuko asked her.
"No, but I can smell them, two guys, Maybe a girl. Soldier types. really stinky, and very mean. But the girl not so stinky, but just as mean." Miao replied as Vaeyuko also peeked around the corner. Right at the Catfishtown Shipyard. "I remember when I was first catnapped, two guys grabbed me and a girls voice asked why they were being so rough to a kitten like me"
"So they're using a shipyard as a front." Vaeyuko mused. The gate of the yard opened, Miao stared, deathly silent, if it werent for the rain they'd have been easily seen. But even then Vaeyuko pressed up against the building corner as Miao backtracked and hid behind a stack of lumber, scared out of her wits at the sight of two huge men, and a tall slender very evil looking woman came from the shipyard gate and headed up the road. Passing a signpost stating "Duskglow Place" with another sign post with an arrow pointing the way to a place called "Candleman"
From their cvorner Vaeyuko waved Mark to stand beside her. "Follow them at a distance, do not engage. Miao head back to the ship. Take this for the cook, he'll give you anything you want once you show him this" It was her pendant, Mark had to stare, she never took that off. Miao nodded, took the pendant in her hand and wrapped the chain a few times around her wrist befoer heading back to the ship. her part of the mission done. "Mark, track them, if you can try and find out their plans without drawing attention to yourself. I'm going to check out the shipyard" With that she let Mark to his own methods of following and eaves dropping. When it came to eavesdropping and tracking without getting seen, Mark was, even in a thin a crowd as the town of Catfishtown had. could easily get around unseen
It wasn't until Vaeyuko actually waved Mark over that either of them really physically saw him while they were walking. He seemed to vanish and reappear out of the corner of their eyes while they walked through the sparsely populated streets of Catfishtown, and when he stepped next to his aunt, his eyes followed the three, marking them Gold with his Eagle Vision before watching his cousin walk off back to the ship. Nodding to his aunt with his orders, and once more vanishing into the crowds, trailing a couple meters off of the three he was following. His boots hit a loose bit of cobblestone, and his eye twitched at the sound.
"Did you hear something?" one of the men asked.
"Probably the sound of you being an idiot." the woman replied sharply. There was a sting to her voice. Definitely the type of woman Hans would end up marrying.
"Yeah, you're probably right." The man sighed, shoulders drooping slightly.
"Oh come, now. Don't pout. What good are big, strong bodyguards like you two if one of gets his feelings hurt?" The woman looked over her shoulder. As she did, Mark shifted his position slightly, always just outside visual range. She looked away before the man could make eye-contact.
"You ever get the feeling we're being watched?" The other man asked.
"Probably because you are both almost eight feet tall in a place where the national average is five and a half?"
"Fair enough."
Mark lowered his chin as a cart rolled by, splashing up water at everyone on either side. The water caught his hood and dripped off easilly, the three he was following weren't so lucky. He smirked softly, and then turned a corner as they did, walking ahead of them as they entered a sort of market street. Filled with stands selling various foods and goods. Power-walking slightly, Mark stopped about twenty feet in front of them, in plain sight, and considered some of the fruits the man at the stand was selling.
"Won't find fresher fruit in town, friend. Trust me! I grow 'em myself!" Mark nodded softly.
"That man's got the right clothing for this weather..." Hans' wife commented as they passed, her voice kept low so that Mark wasn't supposed to hear her. He did anyway.
"Hood's a bit much, ain't it?"
"You like getting your ears wet?"
"Fair enough."
The trio kept walking, and Mark continued to follow after buying an apple, chomping at it while continuing to follow, either staying out of sight, or pretending to shop if they ever looked his way.
The trio headed from the market towards a tavern of a sort, looking rather well kept and quite large for such a small port town, there was one of three different taverns to go to, and Candleman was considered the best, had the best beds, best ladies, and best meat. Then again it also had the best beer too. The two bodyguards were briefly looked at by the man at the door standing under the overhang not getting wet. "Welcome back madam, sirs. Your normal table ?"
"Yes, make it quick" The woman replied. The two men traded looks thoughtfully, well this was interesting. Sonya came there enough to be recognised by the staff ? That didnt really make a lot of sense. Stepping inside Sonya said to the two men. "Try not to stare at anyone. Or look mean" Of course both men were indeed huge, and once Mark entered he'd find that he too stood out among the people who were pretty much half his height at best. Or at least a head or so shorter. The threesom sat at the womans normal table. The host then lead Mark to a nearby table close to them at his request.
As Mark sat down the woman got down to brass tacks. "Hans informed me, his contact in the states has been shut out. his in, also removed. We're losing ground. However, he's gaining ground in Arendelle. He still wants that kingdom. I doubt he will get it"
"He still wants the place, and the Duke is backing him. So is whats her name. Called herself Sutri. Pretty girl, never seen her much before though." Said one of the two men. Their food came.
"Hans and I devised the plan in the first place. And he's getting upset that he cant get anything out of his prize. Everything we tried, everything his brothers tried, have so far failed. What makes the Duke think you guys can do what our own brothers can not ?"
"We catnapped that cat for the connection in the states." Said the clean shaven of the two men. "It wasnt easy either. We had to first isolate the three, then get the white one. Once we did that, we we had the postal service handle the rest just fine out of Siltu." Marks eyes went slightly narrow as hisbrow furrowed slightly. So the Duke was behind the kidnapping of Miao ?
"Fine, when we're done here I will go to the Spring Palace. Hans is coming here soon. The two of you are to go back to the shipyard and oversee the final of the operation there. Once that is done, head for the ship and wait for my command." Sonya said.
The men left, and Mark waited for a few moments before getting off of his chair and, with a mug of ale in one hand, sat across from Sonya with a tired sigh. He didn't remove his hood, but instead took a drink.
"Can I help you?" Sonya asked, narrowing her eyes as she looked him up and down.
"No, and neither can those things you call bodyguards. But then, if I wanted to do anything I'd've already done it." Mark answered, taking another swig and then setting his mug down. "Why does Hans want Arendelle so bad?"
"You've been eavesdropping." Sonya stated, crossing her arms over her chest. She was unnerved and made uncomfortable by Mark's presence.
"You're loud. It's hard not to."
After a tense pause, Sonya blinked. "Simple Imperialism and jealousy." she answered. Mark smirked, chuckling to himself.
"If that's all he's got then he'll die. Just letting you know." he downed the last few gulps of his ale before standing, setting a coin down, and walking away, leaving Sonya alone with nothing but her thoughts and that prophecy.
At the same time as Mark let Sonya, Vaeyuko was trying a dozen different combinations to a lock before finally just zapping the thing with a small shot of electrical power and overriding the system. Some locks were too puzzling, others, like electronic locks were dang easy when one was short on time. Sliding int other first nearly finished ship within the shipyard she saw two things, one, there was light inside, and two, the place was packed with pallets... of apparently, product.
Drugs.
So this was how the soldiers of the Templars got their drugs Vaeyuko went through the pallets, she could set fire to them, but chose not to. Not yet. Once she knew where they were headed then she'd worry of setting the fires.
"I dont get it, the lock worked when we left" Said a voice behind her. Without a sound Vaeyuko pretty much vanished into the pallets and hid as two men walked past. "One second it was working, then we come back and its... smoking. I'll have it replaced. the rain musta got to it like the other lock"
"By time we're done here. Locks will be the least of our worries" Said the other man. "Come on, the Duke is ahjead we gotta get our orders and ensure the next shipment." The two men went towards a doorframe and ducked through it. Vaeyuko followed without a sound. Shifting as she did into her feline form. the albino panther had the two on her field of vision thanks to her eagle vision and was able to track them, and also two more soldiers to get around without a sound. Ships liek that were steel and otherwise. Well made vessels for sure
"What about that ship in the harbor ? You know that one in strange colors"
"You mean that fuckin' huge thing ? The boss said not to worry about it. They're only here to take on supplies and then head south for Arendelle"
"I dont mean that ship I mean the one that came from the south" Camer the retort
"Listen Dick, the boss wants us to finish the job we should have done years ago. Which means, that when we are done here, we bait the trap" Said the much larger of the two men
"Alright Don, you're the boss" Said Dick.
"Now stop whining and make sure the shipments ready." Don said, the two split up. Vaeyuko went topside into the rain and quickly transformed. Going to the edge of the shipyard she saw a building built into the wall. A construction office, and something else based on the smell, which even thanks to the rain, only made things easier to to hide, and harder to track.
The two men had kidnapped Marks cousin, and were also running a drug operation. Meth, speed, crack, and weed. even black tar. Why soldiers were smoking a fertilzer she'd never know. Easily scaling the wall she met up with Mark on the dock moments later. "Tell me you have good news" She said to Mark. of course, based on her voice, and current soaking went form, she didnt have that good of news. Or news that could be considered good.
"The apples in the market are very good. Freshly grown." Mark said, eating another one as his aunt plopped next to him. "This is nothing but a staging ground for an Invasion of Arendelle. Hans is behind it all, and of course, the Duke." he went on. "Even better news: Hans doesn't have the drive to take Arendelle. He just wants it."
He started walking back towards the ship. There was a sort of feline stalk to his walk even in human form. He was truly taking nicely to his newly unlocked feline genetics.
"That is good news. The Duke is here" was all Vaeyuko said as they went to the gangplank. A soldier from Arendelle spotted them and briefly halted them. Once Vaeyuko showed a pendant belonging of course to her older sister Redmane, which had the Arendelle crest on it. The man let them pass int othe ship without a word.. "So are the drugs the soldiers have been using. But I found something more. Thisplace is more than just a staging ground. Catfishtown is a port town, no real city or soldiers to garrison here. Why use such a small port, with only one completed warship as a staging ground ?"
"Because no one would suspect anything besides a resupplying warship to pass through here. Therefore it's perfect. That, or the Southern Isles have Submarines capable of launching amphibious invasions. Which is unlikely. Even Japan hasn't gotten those working yet." Mark replied, opening the door, and stepping through into the warm, dry interior of the White Sparrow.
Vaeyuko dried herself off with a provided towel. "I did hear that a ship took on supplies. This is a large harbor. But our vessel is too large even for this tiny dock" She said sticking a finger wrapped in towel to clean out her ears which turned briefly feline for her to be able to clean them easier.
"Hans wants Arendelle, there are six districts let in Templar control. But there is is also a problem. each district, is starved. or in ruin." She mused aloud. It didnt make sense to her, at all. "Why would he want Arendelle anyhow ?" Then it hit her. "He wants to lead, he and his brothers each want their own kingdom. So by enlisting the duke..." Vaeyuko smirked, a puzzle worth well worth it for once.
Sonya headed towards the Spring Palace. Once inside she sent word to the duke, it was time. Catfishtown, while a good shipbuilding site, was going to be the bait. The orders were simple. Get seen by the spies. And have his mean ready their ships cannons. It was time to have a party. Making it appear that someone was attacking Catfishtown only to have that anger aimed at the Whitesparrow, which was docked there, made things easier. Their enemy was inside their home already.
A few moments later aboard the Whitesparrow as Mark and his aunt entered the bridge did word come to them. "We have a smallish vessel a thousand meters to starbard, and they're lined up, portside to us in parallel. Orders ?"
Elsa lowered the spyglass. it didnt look good. "Something's wrong. That's the Dukes colors"
"Blast it." Mark said casually. "One High-Explosive Round should scare'em off." he said as he moved to the binoculars and looked through them. "Besides. They're readying to fire." he nodded to the gun-control officer, and the Rear Turret swung around, the middle barrel raising to the appropriate angle.
"Cover your ears everyone." Mark said on the intercom before snapping his fingers.
The entire ship shook, and the water under the barrel physically deformed from the pressure as the shell was launched at some ungodly high speed towards the ship flying the Duke's colors, the 16 inch, .50 caliber round set to explode just after impact so that it did the most damage inside the ship.
The round came hurtling down, a burning red cinder in an otherwise rainy sky, slamming into the ship, and exploding just below the decks.
Unfortunately right before Marks shot was fired, each shot from the ship went off. "It seems it is not us they were aiming for" Snowfeather said hearing the whistling of the rounds going over them and slamming into areas of the town.
In the predawn rainfilled light more ships were seen on the water. More cannons rained hellfire on the town and with the shots fired from the Whitesparrow only caused a few minor issued. The people of the town thought it was the Whitesparrow shelling them. Just as Sonya planned.
And then, as soon as it started, as the sun rose. The canonfire stopped. At the top of the hill, the one that was burnt away from a battle long past. Stood a single, balding man, with wire rim glass, and his chicken like stature. The Duke was watching everything from the hilltop. The man was overjoyed at how it was working, but the loss of his bodyguards was to be expected.
"Well played..." Mark had a smirk on his face, but his voice was a feral growl of anger. "Gunners, have fun. Take out the Duke's fleet." he growled. Seeing The Duke, or at least his silhouette, Mark narrowed his eyes. "Anyone want to shoot him too?" he said, gripping his fist tightly. He didn't notice Elsa was also looking at the Duke as the ship shook with each of her main-battery guns hammering the Duke's fleet with ease. This in turn helped those who survived the bombardment realise that if the Whitesparrow was the one shelling the city, everything would be gone. Not just on fire.
"I think he is goading you to shoot at him. He sees you taking down his fleet so easily, with just a single vessel. But, to shoot at him, would start a war" Snowfeather said, using the binoculars her son handed her she looked at the man. "There is another man with him, one I have never seen before" She handed the glasses to her son. The man with the Duke was taller than the man by a good two heads or so. Cloaked in black, his face unseen entirely thanks to his hooded coat.
"So, fire at the Duke and start a war, or face him one on one in a honorable duel to avoid a war..." Elsa thought aloud, if Anna were there, she'd have said bomb his ass, but Elsa wanted to look at things as diplomatic as possible, the real person calling the shots was infact Princess Sonya of the Southern Isles, Hans wife
Upon the hill, the Duke of Weselton simply watched his small fleet be destroyed, the main ship had yet to fully arrive at the site of battle. The plan of course was simple for him. Everything was going exactly to plan. And for once he was happy. He had to stare however, that ship was indeed the vessel of his enemies. Which meant something had happened to it to match the day and ages technology. When the Assassins had interviewed him and Prince Hans under the guise of fellow Templars, getting everything they needed to ensure the safety of the kingdom. The Duke was sure that some of that information was lack of a proper navy.
"They do not fire upon the hill or the town, only upon the ships shelling it" Said a deep voice.
The Duke looked to the hooded dark coated man. "Yes. Were they to fire at me, it would start a war. a war that Arendelle would not want. They have but one ship. Not a fleet. this vessel may yet fall."
"And yet they do not, they fire upon your ships, which are shelling the town." Said the cloaked stranger
"Oh, come come, Xiaoden. Queen Elsa is nothing more than a scared girl. she reopened trade with Weselton as I had hoped many years ago, that allowed for knowledge to also be traded. But I knew nothing of that vessel. Yes Arendelle did have a ship, but not that one" The Duke said.
The hooded figure removed her hood. Xiaoden, or Xiao for short, had long spiky black hair tied back in a loose ponytail. "Then it is to your plan" She said simply
"Yes. I will be in the Spring Palace. Inform them, and our truce is finished as expected." The Duke replied
"You do not want me to inform the Queen of Arendelle where you are ?" Xiao asked him, her bright green eyes looked confused. Mortals were strange. Which did he want, did he want her to inform Elsa, or not ? Then she remembered. the truce was for her to indfeed inform Elsa and those with her of where Hans was, not where the Duke was.
Elsa of course was mostly after both men. "No, I want you to inform Elsa that I will be delivering a Currygram!" The Duke screamed at the cloaked woman. Xiao merely quirked an eyebrow in odd facination at this weird human "You will inform her that Hans is in the Spring Palace, when he isnt. his wife was here and had left when the shelling started. Distraction was key to both our plans. Though she seemed rather put off about something"
"And what of your men ?" Xiao asked "Surely you do not mean to lose your own bodyguards"
"My men will have jumped ship before the shelling started as planned. Their job was to act as if giving the orders to shell the town, when really all their arrival on the ship was to signal the shelling to begin.. By that point they were off the ship and on my submarine to return to Hans as ordered." The Duke looked at the woman. "Besides, why are you of all people so interested in my plans ?"
The woman crossed her armos over her chest. "Its our job. Besides, you didnt find us first, we found you... interesting to watch before you knew of us." Xiao said simply to him. the Duke Scowled at her and a portal opened of swirling purple and black with white vinery swirling around it rapidly, the woman simply smirked at him and walked backwards into the portal, disappearing as it faded away into nothing as if it had never been there.
It never had
The Duke snarled something under his breath and left the area calmly towards the Spring Palace, very briefly however, his magic disguise went off, making it seem like Hans was walking towards the Spring Palace. his hands behind his back, walking along in thought. However, Snowfeather never saw the activation of the disguise of the Duke transforming briefly into Hans, by magic, as all their attention was taken by the sudden ripping of reality right before them as white vinery ripped into the air and formed a swirling purple and black portal upon the main deck as the rain stopped. Without thinking one of her swords formed in her hand as the portal swirled.
But a person or thing never came from it, or did they ? A soft clapping noise was heard from Snowfeathers left. "I knew the portal was too distracting, but its the only way to really get around" Said a womans voice. The group turned towards the sound. Spotting the dark coated woman, long spiky black hair upon her head, lumicent bright green eyes. Most interesting really.