Jacques did not want to say anything. The faster he got away from the depressing sight, the better.
The Fa’ar child was one of many slaves that was part of the convoy presumably led by those who wore better clothes and not just rags or nothing but fur or skin. There were many others who were given the same harsh treatment as the child, while others were treated much better, at least for a slave. Some, however, looked closer to their masters, whose appearance gave Jacques an idea of what they gained at the expense of the slaves’ well-being. It disgusted Jacques, but what could he do?
He could kill the slavers (they seemed to be easy targets), freed the slaves, and be a hero of some kind. He already tried his hardest to stay out of someone’s business, so he would not do that. Also, he might end up angering more people since the slavery business was very extensive with a lot of connections, at least from what Jacques could understand. Then again, it was illegal in most havens, so they did their business outside, in the lawless wasteland. That lawlessness made them far more protected by their benefactors. Also, was it worth it to waste precious bullets just to kill slavers, only to presumably make more enemies?
His train of thoughts was broken when the human approached him and, with a satisfied smile, said, “Can’t say how grateful we are, Loup-garou. We can’t waste too much time tracking down a troublesome asset like that rat. You’re a lifesaver.”
Jacques let out a grunt, trying his best not to show how disgusted he was towards the slaver. Considering a child as asset only showed how far he had fallen.
“Hey. You there,” said another, who was far less friendly and did not seem to pretend his displeasure seeing the Loup. “Put that thing down and get the hell away.”
“The least we can do is compensate him,” reprimanded the friendlier one. “Come on, Os. Show some gratitude.”
“Gratitude? Don’t bother. We don’t have time for this,” said the grumpy one. He turned towards Jacques and said, “Keep your claws to yourself, loup-garou.”
Jacques could easily tell that he was bluffing. Between the two of them, the Loup was far more formidable, and the grumpy one did not know it. He could easily kill him before he could alert his loyal slaves, which were more troublesome than him. Jacques, however, did not want to waste his bullets for some ungrateful grunts. He got nothing. It was better than losing anything.
The Loup gently put the Fa’ar down. He was clearly scared at the sight of the two. But before they could do anything to the child or say anything else, a smoke bomb went off at the main cart, completely obscuring it. The two of them turned around and panicked.
“Shit! An ambush!” said the cheery one, who turned serious. “The wolf’s a token!”
“Should’ve just left the worthless thing!” said the grumpy one. “Goddamn it! I knew it! I knew this is too convenient!”
The Loup was as confused as the two. He was not aware of an ambush. But there was no time to explain, not when the already tense humans already turned to the Loup, drawing their weapons with the intent to kill. They already concluded that Jacques was in on this raid.
In response, Jacques pushed the Fa’ar behind him as he drew his revolver, which caused the two to hesitate. Jacques, however, did not. He pulled the trigger. The bullet found its way to the cheery one’s head, killing him instantly. The grumpy one was agitated by his friend’s unceremonious death. It was too perfect.
The man was easy to anger. Jacques was a confident killer and a gun caster. He did need to waste time aiming. He pulled the trigger, and his bullet found its target: the man’s forehead. It pierced through his skull, stopping him in place. He was dead where he was standing, his lifeless body becoming limp and fall over like a lifeless doll.
“What a waste of bullets,” complained Jacques. “Goddamn raiders. Great fucking timing, assholes.”
The Loup would consider leaving the area if it wasn’t for some of the slavers noticing him and started rushing at him, forcing Jacques to defend himself. Good thing he managed to find out that the slavers did not have decent protection against magic, meaning that Jacques could save his bullets, after all.
Holstering his revolver and pulling another strapped under his coat in quick succession, Jacques concentrated and pulled the trigger. Instead of a loud bang, the new gun shot out bullet of pure energy that was not as effective as physical bullets but was as deadly. The energy bullet hit one of them and sent him flying, as did the other, whose head was blown off by a point-blank shot.
While this was happening, the Fa’ar could only watch in horror as Jacques kept defending himself from his opponents. In just a short while, Jacques managed to deal with most of them and prepared himself for dealing with the raiders, who would almost certainly turn their attention to him once they realized he took care of most of their targets. Raiders could be unreasonable, even after witnessing Jacques’s deadliness.
Only that did not happen, confusing Jacques. He kept his guard up, thinking that they could still be within the smoke, ready to jump on the Loup. After a minute of tension, the smoke cleared, and the full extent of the ambush became clear to Jacques.
It wasn’t a raider ambush, but a one-person ambush. As the smoke cleared, it revealed the one who did that. Jacques let out an exasperated sigh when he realized who it was. Even the lone ambusher realized who Jacques was as he removed the bindings on one of the slaves he did not knock out.
“The hell?” said the man with an annoyed tone. “I thought you went east! This is not what we agreed on, Jacques!”
“I never agreed on anything, Windegarde. I go where the money goes, and east is not where it went.”
“You…ah, fuck it. It’s not like I’m trying to remove the competition, anyway. But still, you could at least let them live, or keep their heads intact.”
Jacques instantly knew what the man was implying.
“The slavers have a price on their heads?” he asked, intrigued.
“They’re elusive, but either they weren’t bright enough to stay low or they just can’t help it. This convoy’s illegal and full of kidnapped people. Haven people. For the most part, anyway. Can’t say they kidnapped Fa’ars from behind the walls. I guess they just can’t leave anyone behind, or they'll lose their potential income.”
As the human released more and more of the slaves from their binds and the collars, he instructed those who knew the way back to their havens to lead the convoy while he and Jacques (who disagreed) acted as security. The haven people, however, became wary of the Fa’ars and contemplated on whether it was best to keep them bound or not. The human bounty hunter disagreed on that notion.
“Keep that opinion to yourself and we’ll be alright,” said the bounty hunter. “I offered this protection detail for everyone, so take it or leave it. Just don’t come running at me in tears when you end up losing your freedom again.”
They did not seem happy about it but had no choice. The Fa’ars, however, scattered the moment they were freed, prompting the bounty hunter to say, “See? Problem solved. Now get moving.”
“How about that one?” said one of them while pointing at the still-bound young Fa’ar hiding behind Jacques. A simple glare from both the Loup and the human put them in place as they started their trek back to the haven they came from, now with the tied up bodies of the unconscious slavers on the carts, along with some of the more intact corpses.
Along the way, Jacques cut through the wrist bindings of the Fa’ar and the muzzle that kept him maws biting into the bit gag, which he promptly removed. Finally, with a little bit of help from the human bounty hunter, he was freed from the shackles and the steel collar. The human was happy that it wasn’t as complicated as it looked. He made it clear by smiling at the Fa’ar, who looked at him cautiously.
“Don’t be scared, kiddo,” said the hunter. “The name’s Raine. What’s yours?”
The Fa’ar did not reply. He kept staring at the human, clearly cautious.
“Are you, uh…alright? Are you cold?”
The Fa’ar shook his head. He opened his mouth, apparently trying to say something to Raine, but there was only a croaked whisper. The Fa’ar looked surprised and opened his mouth again. No voice came out. This caused Raine to sympathize with the Fa’ar.
“It’s alright,” said Raine, comforting the young Fa’ar, who started to cry. “I know you’re grateful. You don’t need to say it. Right, Jacques?”
Jacques scoffed and said, “He is not going to be grateful to someone who’s trying to return him back to the slavers. I can easily tell.”
“Maybe you should learn how to be responsible if you want others to be kind at you,” said Raine. “Do you think that’s the right call?”
“It’s not, but what other choice do I have? Sooner or later, he’d end up with them.”
“Except they don’t have a tracking spell to track the Fa’ar down.”
Jacques looked at Raine with a surprised look, evident from his perked-up ears and wide eyes. Even Raine’s clearly non-human ears perked up and said, “What? Of course, they don’t have that spell! They are not one of those free town slavers! They kidnapped people and sell them! You think they’d put tracking spell on kidnapped people? That’s like putting a big red mark on their backs.”
“Look, Windegarde, I don’t have any experience with the slavery business. You can’t expect me to know that!”
Raine let out a sigh and said, “Yeah. That makes sense. For you, anyway. If it’s up to me, I’d let that Fa’ar travel with me as a free person, tracking spell or not. There are shops out there who make money out of removing the spell. And just call me Raine. We’ve known each other for quite some time, now. Don’t be so formal, Jacques.”
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Jacques huffed. “We’re not friends.”
“But we got each other’s back. At least that’s saying something about us, don’t you think?”
“Oh, fine…. Have it your way, then,” said Jacques, annoyed. “Just give me my share, and we’re even.”
“Hey! I did most of the work! You just happened to be there by coincidence.”
“I took a couple of them down. Just give me their part of the bounty and you get what you get. I need some money.”
The banter seemed to amuse the Fa’ar, who let out some squeaking noises as if he was laughing. Raine heard this as his ears swiveled toward the rat person. He simply smiled, happy to know that the young Fa’ar was feeling better already.
Raine Windegarde considered himself human, but one glance could make anyone tell that Raine was anything but. It wasn’t as apparent as most beast races, who looked like the anthropomorphic version of their animal counterparts. For the most part, Raine was a human with a fair skin and wavy, auburn hair that he kept long enough to cover the back of his neck. But that’s where the comparison ended. The bushiness of his hair could easily cover his human ears, but closer inspection would indicate that there weren’t any ear lobes on that space.
His ears were visible, of course, but it was covered in reddish fur. Raine tried his best to keep it hidden, but he also had a cat’s tail under his coat. He knew early in his career as a bounty hunter how vulnerable his tail was. Anyone with a decent perception could easily yank on his tail and put him in a situation where it could mean death. He also had clawed fingers and toes, but for the most part, Raine Windegarde was human. The ears and tail were part of his Felinari heritage. Yet, they were not prominent enough for him to identify as a Felinar.
Jacques had already known about this ever since they first met. Even with Raine disguising himself, Jacques could still smell Raine’s Felinari scent. Raine, too, never expected to be associated so closely with a Loup-Garou, known to have a strong sense of smell. But he did, and both were stuck with each other ever since. They tried to go their separate ways, but they always end up meeting each other, especially when there was a high concentration of bounties in a given area. It was inevitable, given that they had the same line of work.
Good thing they were willing to share. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a pleasant meeting.
It was close to sunset when the convoy reached their destination. One of the kidnapping victims guided them towards the haven they came from: Maslania. From outside, there did not seem to be anything peculiar or interesting, but for anyone who lived in a haven or visitors knew that the wall covered most of what a haven had to offer. It could be a lively, happy place. It could also be a depressing dystopian. Maslania was a normal haven, so it was somewhere in between. Technology and magic blended well within the haven, as did most pre-war societies. The havens were thus the reminder of a stable society from the past. For some people, at least, or for a relatively normal Maslania.
The former slaves quickly identified themselves to the gate officers, feeling elated after suffering through the hot sun and the humiliation of being forced to walk without clothes covering their body. The sight of emergency responders treating the rescued slaves gave hope to those who suffered.
All except the lone Fa’ar who decided to tag along. While the rest of them were given medical treatment and care, the rat person was completely ignored. He already knew this would happen, which was why he did not follow the rest of the slaves and stayed a distance away as they reported themselves. No one, not even the slaves that shared the same fate, even bat an eye to him after they were safe among their own people. The Fa’ar accepted this treatment. At least they did not start making a fuss about him and being rude.
Raine noticed this discrepancy and was going to reprimand the emergency responders for ignoring the Fa’ar when Jacques, realizing what Raine was going to do, stopped him and said, “Let me handle the bounty count. Stay with him.”
“Maybe you should stay with him instead,” said Raine. “This is my catch. Don’t take all the glory by yourself, Jacques.”
“Glory? Me? Nah. I’ll just take the money and leave. Don’t worry. I won’t disappear if that’s what you’re worried about,” assured Jacques. “It’s just…it doesn’t feel right for me to stay with him after I betrayed his trust.”
Raine couldn’t argue with that. All he could do was simply nod as Jacques approached one of the guards, telling him about the bounties on their heads and whether they would honor the deal or not. The guards seemed reluctant, but they let Jacques in. He disappeared behind the gates, leaving Raine and the young Fa’ar alone.
It did not take long for Raine to start a conversation. He made small talk with the Fa’ar, asking about whether he was alright and if he was hungry. It was made complicated by the fact that the Fa’ar only replied with nods and shakes, sometimes with gestures. The Fa’ar couldn’t speak. Even if he could, he only made unintelligible sounds or grunts.
Raine soon realized that the Fa’ar was still naked, with only his fur keeping him warm. While this did not seem to bother the rat person, Raine was understandably uncomfortable. But giving him some rags to wear did not seem right, either. Nevertheless, it was the only thing available outside the haven. The Fa’ar could understand the discomfort Raine felt, so he approached the only source of fabric out there: a tent. He ripped out parts of the tent and fashioned a simple loincloth. He also found a discarded belt and did not hesitate to wrap it around his neck and secure it, giving himself a collar to wear.
This only made Raine even more uncomfortable, to the point where he said, “Look, uh…you don’t need that collar. You’re free.”
The Fa’ar shook his head and pointed at the collar, making gestures that seemed to indicate that he liked it, along with a smile on his rodent face. Raine considered convincing him otherwise, but he decided not to pursue it and let the Fa’ar did his things.
It’s not like he never wore a collar before. At least the ratfolk was far more confident than he did. Not having a bell helped a little. Raine never understood his ex’s fascination with the ‘catboy’ thing, especially when he identified more as a human than a Felinar. But…each for their own.
“I promise I’ll buy you something better than rags,” said Raine. “And something warm to eat. You look like you might be on your last leg.”
As if confirming that, the Fa’ar’s stomach let out a loud grumble. The Fa’ar looked flustered.
“Hey, don’t be embarrassed by it. You don’t need an expert to tell how famished you are. What’s your name, kiddo?”
He was mouthing something, but Raine didn’t quite catch that. When offered a pen and a paper, the Fa’ar was reluctant, but then scribbled something unintelligible. Raine surmised that the Fa'ar might have not learned how to write properly, or at least write in common language. It was quite common for Fa’ars to be either one or both. Both failures only made the Fa’ar even more depressed, evident by the movement of his ears.
“Don’t think too much about it, kid. Is it okay if I call you ‘kid’, at least until I learn your name? You do have a name, don’t you?”
The kid nodded before putting his hand on his throat, as if trying to find a way to regain his voice.
“I’m sure you’ll get your voice back someday, kid” said Raine. “Stay hopeful, alright?”
The kid nodded and smiled. He never heard such kind words before, especially not to a mostly human who smell like a Felinar.
“You know, I started wondering if that wolf ever gonna come back,” said Raine. “I know Jacques isn’t the kind of person who’d do such a thing. If he is, I won’t even bother trusting him. But kid, on behalf of him, I want to say sorry. Even if the decision’s hard, it was not the right kind of choice.”
The Fa’ar kid shook his head while trying to assure Raine that it wasn’t his fault. He was taken aback by how he wanted to ask forgiveness. He did not need to, not to a Fa’ar.
Before Raine started to become suspicious, he found Jacques walking out of the haven carrying a pouch which Rained assumed to be the reward. He assumed correctly as Jacques produced a second pouch from under his cloak and handed it to Raine. It was heavy, full of coins and paper of significant values.
“As promised,” said Jacques. “That’s for the live ones. I got mine from the corpses. Now that our business’s done….”
“No…not yet” said Raine. He had contemplated saying it ever since their journey back to Maslania. He wanted to tell Jacques about it before, but he had a feeling that Jacques would refuse. In fact, Raine had no confidence that Jacques would listen to what he had to say.
But it’s better to say it than keeping it in him for months since he had the idea.
“What?” asked Jacques, teasingly. “Changed your mind and decided to take credit of my work?”
“Seriously? Do I look that shady to you?” Raine sighed. “No. I have been thinking. What if we start a partnership?”
This was something Jacques did not expect coming from Raine. He was so taken aback by this suggestion that he said, “Not an option, Windegarde.”
“It’s Raine,” corrected Raine. “Come on, Jacques, hear me out, will ya?”
“I work alone. Find someone else to bother,” said Jacques with a huff.
“Hey, come on, now. How much money did you get for your share? Even if you say it’s enough, you can’t spend them for both your expensive bullets and for food.”
“Which is why I don’t like getting involved in anything when all I did was waste money and get almost nothing in return,” said Jacques.
“Then why don’t we work together? Jacques, one of these days, we’re both going to die. I’m being serious here. In my previous job, I almost lost a leg. I barely got out with only a gash, but it’ll leave a mark. I’m just lucky you’re there when I ambushed those slavers and took care of the heavies, though considering your skill, killing them was unnecessary. The point is, I finally realized that going solo isn’t gonna work forever. So, I decided to turn to you.”
“And in case you forgot, you declared us rivals after we fought to a standstill,” said Jacques.
“I changed my mind.”
“After only a month?”
“I thought you’re the one who thought how stupid it was. Maybe now I start to see it your way.”
Jacques let out an exasperated sigh and started to become annoyed by Raine’s suggestion. Working together? That’s the last thing the Loup wanted, not after he was screwed up so badly by his previous group, he lost all trust for anyone who wasn’t him.
Yet, unlike them, Raine proved himself to be reliable and trustworthy. He even let Jacques took care of the bounty. Jacques had all the opportunity to simply leave them be and use the money to buy some foods and supplies, but his conscience would not let him, not after he almost sentenced a child to suffer a long death.
Jacques’ hesitance was further eroded when the young Fa’ar approached him and grabbed his trousers. The Fa’ar was only half the Loup’s height and might stay that way when he aged. But Jacques knew that, between the two of them, the kid had gone through a lot, evident by him losing his voice and the wounds on his back and his ear, not to mention how emaciated he looked. He could argue that someone out there fared worse than the kid, but without evidence, the kid’s condition was the worst. He could even barely stand up.
Yet, despite all this, he tried to say something. The Loup’s sharp hearing could catch a coarse voice, but it was unintelligible and only made the Fa’ar cough. The kid gave up trying to speak and pulled the Loup’s trouser while pointing at Raine. He then put both hands together, mimicking a shake.
Raine caught on quickly and, with a chuckle, said, “Seems the kid understands. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Jacques could just turn away and say nothing, disappointing both the kid and Raine. But he started to see the benefits of sharing the price when he, too, was reminded by how much less his part of the bounty was compared to Raine. There was no guarantee that he might get any job any time soon, not after he started struggling to find one lately. Raine, too, was clearly motivated by the scarcity of bounty hunting jobs to the point where he got an idea proposing a partnership.
So, with all the options weighed on him and the kid’s effort to convince him despite his muteness, Jacques gave up on being stubborn. He silently walked back to Raine and, with his hand extended, said, “Don’t make me regret this, Windegarde.”
“I told you…ah, fuck it. You’ll eventually get it. Anyway, let’s go get something to eat. The kid needs it so badly, and I bet you do, too.”
Jacques concurred. He hadn’t had anything good to eat other than dried jerkies.
“So, now it’s your turn taking care of him,” said Raine, referring to the kid. “Don’t do anything wild while I buy us some hearty meal, ‘kay?”
“Wait. Let me do it. I can—”
“Trust your partner on this, will you? Come on, now. How hard can it be? He’s not gonna bite you.”
“You’re not—”
Too late. Raine was already walking towards the haven’s gate, blowing a kiss with a wink. Under his coat, Jacques could tell his tail was curled, conveying his amusement to the situation.
The exasperated Jacques could only groan, with the Fa’ar kid looking at him worryingly. If he could talk, he would tell him that the ‘Felinar-scented human’ was trying to cheer him up.
But that depended on whether Jacques wanted to have the kid’s company.