Island Beach, Night [Open]

[Kissa Deactivated]

For some reason Celestine hadn’t even considered the possibility of hiding herself too. If she had had enough time to think this through properly, she would have stayed out of sight because as a woman she was likely to get unwanted attention and complicate things. 

^Tsk! Maybe you sank them all…^ The scarface lizard scoffed and glanced at the pier. It was impossible to see in this dark if the boats were lying under the surface. 

^We came here for the boats.^ The black fox revealed. He had a feeling his boss knew this would be a pointless trip, which was why only they were sent here. ^Radio the boss about the boats and these people.^ 

A short haired wolf guy nodded and pulled a radio out of his pocket. He pushed the button. ^Boss. Boss? … Fuck. It’s not going through. We must be too far.^ One of the reptilians tried their radio and came to the same conclusion. 

^I’m gonna join the sights, but you are standing in the way of the sight itself.^ A lizard who was the shortest of the three reptilians grinned and shamelessly licked his lips as he stepped towards the three. Celestine couldn’t hide her disgust. There were races the upper class vulpeculans considered as equals, some less than equal but still acceptable. The reptilians were at the bottom of the barrel in their eyes. 

^Say… You guys have awfully lot shit lying around for just three.^ The dark vulpeculan could connect the dots. There were some prison sneakers, forgotten paper mugs and pieces of clothes lying on the sand. His ears stood up, turning as he tried to hear something that could give away extra people somewhere around them.

^You won’t mind if we take a look in your bus, won’t you?^

^Pretty face could come and show us around.^ The short lizard chuckled.

[Gardsorm]

"Honestly, this is bad, but still better than I thought. I can work with this." Lucas whispered to Delmar as the vehicles began to reveal the occupants. He was far from a slouch when it came to combat, even if he didn't have his full arsenal. He needed the other two to understand that he was ready to go through with this, but he didn't want to endanger Celestine or the other old timers any more than they were already. Still, there was no more time.

'Three handbags and three fleabags. All out and about, no guns... Rudimentary armor, nothing that'll protect their throats from getting ripped out. The shiv and the fork should be able to gouge them out just fine.'

The lizard thought they had time to sink boats? "Buddy, if you think I'm going to waste time and sink boats and not get away from this? I would have to be beyond foolish." He had something else he wanted to say, but after getting verbally lit up twice for speaking his mind, he knew if he said what he really wanted to, the reptilians would have been out for blood. No, they either needed a good window, or no recourse, to make this come to blows.

Lucas was a bit wary as he heard they possessed radios and were preparing to radio in the bad news... But he breathed a quiet sigh of relief when they were out of range. Plus that at least confirmed that communications weren't up yet. So this was still manageable right now. Still, the canids were the smarter ones of the bunch. His eyes narrowed just slightly, but there wasn't much to say... Except to the one who was advancing on Celestine.

"Sorry, pal, but this sight is not for those eyes. You're going to have to find someone else to gawk at. We found her first." Lucas proclaimed, before he looked toward the wolf who spoke. "What did you expect? You think we took this bus bloodlessly? We had to deal with its initial occupants. Now it's our safe haven." He patted his shirt and the blood on it. 

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

"I doubt these idiots are well trained but we're gonna be sore as all fuck in the morning. Handbags or furcoats?" he said as they started to step out and they could get a good look at them. Celestine was a bit of a handicap so they had to play this carefully unless she could make room and stay that way. Del could fight...he could fight well, definitely better than any two-bit gangster but he still didn't like the odds. He took a deep breath. Better be ready!

They were stupid that much was abundantly clear as they were accused of sinking the boats. Del didn't say what was on his mind at that ridiculous assertion "Boats were gone. Seems our previous overlords didn't want us taking the easy way off this rock." he assured them. Idiots.

They had a boss...good. Their lack of ability to radio in meant that they couldn't call for help. This at least made it easy if they did fight and win they could leave but they knew their faces. This was a shit situation but they could hopefully settle it without losing too much blood.
He stepped closer as well "I'm sure you got plenty at the prison." he warned looking down at the lizard. Lucas was playing a part good. They might have had to let them take a look around or find a way to lead three away but not with the woman.

"Sure if you want to look around the bus I'll give you a full tour."

[Kissa Deactivated]

The black fox sighed and spread his arms to his sides, as a gesture to calm down the people around him. ^Could we even pretend to be civilized? Rein, you can go take a look at the bus. We wait here.^

^You ain’t boss of me.^ The little lizard hissed at the fox, who looked at him like he was a bug.

^I’m not, but we are working together for now. You want to tell your boss how you fucked up everything because you couldn’t control yourself?^

^Tsk!^ He spat on the ground and followed Rein in the bus to make sure he wouldn’t get something good he wanted.

^Sorry about that. We aren’t as bad as you might think. It’s just… some guys have pressure after being in prison for so long. You know. I’m Remy. We probably started on the wrong foot here.^ As a gesture of peace he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, tapped the package and offered the cigarette sticking out of the pack first to Delmar and then to Lucas. ^Miss, do you smoke? No?^

^No boats. We checked. Let’s go back already. Here is nothing… Wait. There is some hut or something… ^ The scarface noticed the office and headed towards it, shining light with his flashlight. Remy didn’t bother because he was sure these three had already looted all there was to loot.

^It’s crazy at the prison. The gate is open. People are going to start wondering out. They probably won’t get this far tonight, but they are going to come here eventually. For the boats just like us or just because the road leads here. You aren’t safe here. You could come with us. There is strength in numbers and you are much safer with our group.^ Remy continued speaking.

^Are you sure we can bring them? What if the boss doesn’t want outsiders there?^ 

^Anjira already took some outsiders in. It’s going to be fine.^ Remy assured.  

[Gardsorm]

"Color me shocked, I thought decency was gone by this point. I guess some of you are still okay." Lucas remarked, feigning friendliness with the others, but he knew much better than to have any kind of true kindness to them. The canids were clearly the smartest of the lot, and that meant they were more likely to fake being your friend to hide the dagger they wanted to drive into your back. "Let's just say we can understand the feeling of what happens when you're locked up for too long."

Just having Celestine probably pissed off the lizards, but that was a problem for them to deal with. Delmar was definitely carrying the moment quite well, with both making sure Celestine didn't need to involve herself more than necessary. When offered the cigarette, he waved a pair of fingers as if to say no.

"Appreciated, pal, but I'm not big on smoking. I don't have plans to endanger this body of mine in any way except doing something foolish." Lucas spoke the words so naturally. It wasn't quite code for anything, but it was telling that he was willing to endanger himself doing something dumb than he was just taking a drag of a cigarette. In truth, he couldn't stand the vile things, he smelled them around the precinct long enough. He held no fondness for them.

As long as the reptile went toward the Office and not the Shed, everything was okay. He remembered a few people were hidden behind the Shed, so there was no point in getting antsy yet. "You're telling me, we were in the middle of it earlier. We didn't have any plans to go back that way anyway, and unless most of them are smart enough to carjack the vehicles in the garage, they probably won't get here that soon. So we could afford to chill here for the night and enjoy the beach."

However, as attractive as the plan sounded, Lucas would never go for it. Strength in numbers meant that whoever their bosses were called all the shots, and if they protested, they were corpses... Well, he and Del probably were, Celestine had a worse fate awaiting her. However, when Anjira was name-dropped, Lucas' eyes flickered for a brief moment, before he breathed a quiet sigh. As he expected, and dreaded, Anjira was swift to take control of the situation. So that meant these three mutts were with the Vanlith Family.

He wanted to spill blood again, but that was going to jeopardize the subterfuge. Patience, Lucas, patience... "Well, since our plan was to show you guys the bus, let's start there." He nodded as he moved toward the bus and climbed into the back, but not before giving a quick look to Del. His eyes warned that soon, something was going to happen, and it was probably not going to be clean. He was poised to properly protect Celestine while he was in there. 

Edited September 1 by Gardsorm

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

Del was glad at least someone there had some sense but he passed on the cigarettes "Sorry. I like my cardio." he said tapping his chest. It was funny, however, that the man was trying diplomacy now even as his co-workers raided their bus. Del didn't move though. It would have been prudent to give up some things to keep everyone else safe.

He let out a soft chuckle "Hell you think we're out here for?" showing his knuckles "Much better out here than in there with the asylum patients. We were gonna be gone by the time they get here." oh but these guys sure were determined to be a problem and now they were making an offer but it wasn't a real offer Del knew that much. These guys were clearly criminals. They all were really but these were a different breed of criminal. Del knew gangs. He grew up around gangs. He fought with gangs. He was hurt by gangs. He knew their claims of unity and strength were nothing but bullshit. They weren't in a great position no matter how this went down.

They needed a good opportunity so Del didn't reject it right away especially with the look Lucas gave "Well...maybe. We should at least show you what we got." he meant this in more ways than one and so he went with Lucas though sticking close to Celestine. He really wished she had hidden herself in time. A bus wasn't a prime fighting spot at all but if they played it right...it meant they could squeeze and make it much more difficult for them to surround.

Oh boy...what a night.

[Kissa Deactivated]

Celestine shook her head when Remy offered her a cig too. The man shrugged carelessly and took one himself. From the background they could hear something breaking inside the office as the scarface was rummaging it through not so carefully. Remy’s brows wrinkled for a moment, but he said nothing about it. Having to work with the reptilians sure got on his nerves, but it was something they had to put up with for time being. 

^My body is my temple.^ Remy smirked at Lucas' comment. 

He said nothing about the cars. They were all in good use already. ^Where are you planning on going?^ Remy asked when Delmar told them they would be gone by the time others would get here. ^That’s considerate of you. By all means, show us what you got. If you don’t mind, I will wait here. It would be kind of rude to get in that small space with non-smokers.^ The vulpeculan smiled like they were all buddies now. 

Celestine followed the two inside the bus, because she didn’t want to be left outside with these people. The little lizard who had shoved himself in the bus first was going it through like time was limited. He huffed in frustration when he couldn’t find anything that was worth the trouble. There were just some work coats and food wrappers inside in addition to whatever Lucas and Delmar had hauled there. 

^Uselesss!^ The little lizard hissed. Rein stood on a bench and settled on looking around. This felt like a wasted trip.

The white vulpeculan stayed near the door. While she was there she noticed the key wasn’t in the ignition. Had one of gangsters taken it when no one was watching? Or was it someone of their own? Or was it gone with Elias…? 

^They are a bit rough around the edges. Don’t mind them miss. There are still enough people like me who keep them under control.^ Remy continued with the friendly tone as he talked to Celestine. ^If you don’t mind me asking, what are you?^  

“Excuse me…?” 

^Sorry. My manners aren’t what they used to be. I mean, what did you do before you got here? I’m sure a lady like did something important with her life before all this.^

Celestine hesitated. Why he cared what she had done prior the prison? What he did with such information? Or was this attempt at flirting with her? “I… I was a student.” 

[Gardsorm]

Lucas waited for Del to approach, before he dropped his voice to a whisper. ""Hey, Del, take a close look at them. They're lacking collars... One of them might have keys for them... You watch the asshole fox on the bus, leave the leader outside to me. If any of them have magic, it might be one of the canines. The reptiles are probably just dumb muscle." 

Lucas tried to keep things quiet and hushed Incase one of the foxes were listening in. Celestine was going to be a liability in this, but as long as she stayed on the bus, she was probably safe. That sickening tone of Remy's reminded him of how the mobsters loved to use flowery words and feigned friendship to act like they were your friend, but they had ulterior motives. He could almost taste the lies on the air... Even if any of them were truthful, however, Lucas was dead set in making sure everything that was going to happen soon was not going to end nicely. 

As he moved on the bus, he looked down at the driver's seat for a few moments, before he spotted something out of the ordinary: The key was missing from the ignition... And they had let these clowns get in before them! However, he'd never actually seen the ignition before now, so there was no guarantee if it went missing before, or not. The key missing, however, gave him the perfect reason to attack these thugs, but he needed to wait until he got outside though... If they still had it, they'd rummage through them after.

"Celestine, stay here until we say it's safe." Lucas mumbled quietly to their fox before moving to exit the bus, but not before giving Del a subtle nudge. Keep Celestine on the bus, keep his attention on Rein, and be wary of the lizard in the back of the bus. Handle Rein however he wished at the first chance he got, when the opportunity presented itself. As he moved outside during Remy's attempt to pry information from Celestine, Lucas stepped around Remy and gave him a side long glance.

"Since you seem to be in a curious mood, how about I ask you a question of my own: Which of your men took the key to the bus? No better way to force cooperation than leaving us stranded, is that it?"

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

"Wherever. We haven't been out long enough to formulate a whole plan beyond this. Live for today, don't worry about tomorrow type stuff." he said. 

Still off they went and as he got close to Lucas and heard his whispers he nodded "Probably with their boss but worth a shot." he whispered back to him. It was all likely they kept whatever keys they found back at whatever base they had. It would be a good way to ensure loyalty and sway people to their side. It looked like they weren't taking that deal though. Celestine was a problem in that event but as long as Del could get her stashed away he didn't need to worry too much about accidentally popping the pretty fox.

He crossed his arms over his board chest and looked around. Nothing much to take. It was a useless trip for them but then Lucas seemed to notice something. Oh shit. He nodded to the red head. His lead on his and he moved out of the way though whispered to Celestine "In a little bit I'm gonna need you to hide under the seats." he told her pretty sure that things were getting close to popping off.

He looked to Rein "Didn't find anything worth hording then?" a little laugh in his voice "Yeah sorry, we only found what we could."

[Kissa Deactivated]

You are planning on doing something, Celestine thought but she didn’t want to risk someone hearing it if she asked it aloud. The vulpeculans had sensitive hearing. So she gave just a barely noticeable nod to Delmar. She wished she could have been more useful in all of this… but it felt like she was more in way than what she was good here.

^We probs have all the same back at the base… So you can keep all of this.^ Rein looked disappointed. The little lizard was more than disappointed when he heard that.

^What? We aren’t taking anything?!^

^We have no use for these.^

^Tsk! We take the bus then!^

^That might be useful…^ Rein wondered aloud. 

 

^A student, huh? Let me guess… An arts major?^ Remy saw her as a heiress or a trust fund baby. Perhaps both. Then Lucas came to interrupt their little chat. ^The key?^ Remy moved a bit, just so Lucas wouldn’t be behind his back. He seemed still calm, despite the accusations. ^Rein, did you snatch the key to the bus?!^

^No. Are we going to take the bus with us?^

^Hey, Nubkis, you took the key?!^ He shouted so the scalie could hear him inside the vehicle.

^No! Why am I even answering you?! It’s not your business!^

^The simpleton…^ Remy sighed smoke out of his mouth. 

^Hey!^ The lizard standing near him snapped. 

^Chill. It’s nothing. So… yea, we don’t have your key. You sure you didn’t lose it yourself? We can start it from the wires for you if you want.^ Remy offered like a true pal.

One of the reptilians was still inside the building while the one called Nubkis was inside the bus with Rein. Remy was outside, near the door with a fellow fox and not so fellow lizard. 

^We are all stranded on this island. You aren’t any more stranded than we are. We aren’t in a hurry, so how about we sit down to talk some more? Is that coffee I smell in the air?^ Remy asked.

[Gardsorm]

Lucas stood on standby, noticing how quickly Remy was to orient himself to keep Lucas in his view. He could already see the fox was the most suspicious of the bunch, especially when he asked him if he swiped the key and his first instinct was to deflect the question to everyone else in the proverbial chain if command. He folded his arms and seemed almost bored that Remy had everyone else answer the question, but he never answered himself.

"Couldn't help but notice you never answered yourself, and you're quite quick to turn your back away. I could suspect if you had something hidden behind you, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and believe I'm just being paranoid." Lucas seemed to leave it at that, but didn't bother to walk past Remy either. He turned his head to look through the windows and into the bus, but there was an unmistakable side glance at the proverbial leader of the group. 

"We'll worry about hotwiring if it comes to that. Since it sounds like you can smell the coffee we had before, it sounds like you're either quite thirsty, or you can't let go of your inquisitive nature. I'm of the mind of leaving well and good enough alone usually, it works out better for everyone that way." He remarked, before he tilting his head.

"So, I couldn't help but notice earlier one of you mentioned an Anjira. Why did they send you this way? It sounds like they're trying to consolidate power, but sending people running all over the island like headless chickens doesn't really sound like an effective strategy for control. What exactly is the aim in all of this?" He mused, wondering if perhaps one of them didn't realize they carelessly name-dropped her. However, he has to be cautious not to know he knew they were a female, or they might understand he knew what she was.

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

Well things were going to be trouble, he looked out the window to see what Lucas was doing before looking at the two in the back. It seemed things were at an impasse but they were thinking about taking the bus. Del didn't say anything because that just wasn't happening. He instead just motioned for Celestine to sit down so it would be easier for her to hit the floor if things really did go off though he also motioned for her not to talk if she wasn't comfortable with it.

No keys. Either one of the old-timers took them or one of these guys did but were being coy. He just stood by ready to act "Well sometimes things get misplaced. I'm sorry you guys came out this way for nothing though." they were clearly determined to be nuisances, but they weren't taking the bus.

Who was this Anjira woman? Lucas clearly seemed to not like them but he had no idea who that was. He mostly kept his mind on his wing and the guards. It was pretty clear they were trouble though even with this thin veneer of friendship they had going on.

[Kissa Deactivated]

^You think I’m hiding the key behind my back? What? You think I’m five year old?^ Remy laughed in a good mood like it was a good joke. ^I didn’t even step inside the bus. How could I have taken anything from there? Time here has made you paranoid.^

Under normal circumstances Celestine would have protested about being bossed around like this, but now she sat down like a good girl. It felt silly to sit there like she was waiting for the bus to go somewhere. ^Nah. It’s nothing. At least we now know there are no real boats here.^ Rein tried to looked at it positively as he walked past Delmar and Celestine, heading out of the bus.

^Does that mean you aren’t going to offer me a cup? It’s chilly here. the sea breeze and all. Be a pal and pour me a cup and I will answer your question. So, like we told you already. We came here for the boats. Imagine if they had been here. Then this would have been a jackpot! You are quite a curious one, aren’t you? Someone would take control over the island sooner or later. Might as well be us. Well… Us four for now.^ He didn’t sound pleased with that arrangement. 

Celestine was looking down. Her hand moved inside her pocket, clumsily fiddling with something when Nubkis decided he wasn’t ready to leave yet. The lizard turned to look at the vulpeculan and bent closer, reaching to touch her white hair. Celes was quick to slap his hand away. The look on her face showed utter loathing and contempt. There was no way of mistaking that look. She looked at the man like he was some slimy trash stuck on sole of her shoe. He didn’t take being turned down well and tried to grab the fox. 

^You… you bitch!^ Nubkis hissed as he looked at his arm. There was a slit in his sleeve and a lightly bleeding cut in his arm now. The woman held a multi tool in her hand, staring at the reptilian with foolish defiance. Nubkis balled his hand into a fist and drew his hand back to make a proper strike.

^You should come with us. We got a good place as our base and the boss has big plans.^ Remy told Lucas as the trouble stirring in the bus hadn’t yet reached their ears. 

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

Sure got on their nerves though. He felt a little bad for Lucas if the red-head decided to cause trouble. He was with most of the idiots but it was his call or at least...it should have been. The lizard decided to bother Celestine again which made Del unfurl his arms "Back the fuck up." of course Ceres had her own little fire but what he didn't expect was for her to have a little multi-tool. Funny as that would be at any other moment he could see she had just used it. He didn't blame her at all.

And then the lizard very clearly was about to punch her. Del moved fast moving to intercept and lock the the lizard's arm back, wrap an arm around his neck, and squeeze...hard all in one smooth motion. Hopefully if that worked the people outside wouldn't be immediately alerted but it wasn't like it mattered.

"Dumb fucking move." and Del signaled to Celestine to get down and hide like he had told her.

[Gardsorm]

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't paranoid, so you might be right. Then it's only fair I apologize for suspecting you." Lucas bowed his head in apology slightly, but he wasn't completely convinced. The fox man was already wary and on alert. If it was just a matter of not trusting them,  they wouldn't have had any reason to get so close, even get on the bus. He just got off the bus and looked at him, but he turned with a practiced movement like he was actively trying to keep himself from being vulnerable. If Lucas was paranoid, then the redhead could tell Remy wasn't far behind.

"Ordinarily I might not mind, but we only really made enough for us. Can always try to make more with what we have left, but there might not be as much coffee... Might still have some whiskey though if you're into that." Lucas began, before he had to turn away as he sneezed, conveniently aligned with the moment Del had chosen to make his move on the reptile.

"Fuck me, I knew I shouldn't have taken my shirt off earlier. I planned to go for a swim before, but the cold air and water was just a little too disagreeable." The redhead grumbled as he sniffled lightly. "These damn prison threads don't do a damn thing for comfort. Anyway... I thought maybe the most important directive was escape. Don't want to control the island and then have its owners come back later armed to the teeth." 

He had to hope none of them heard what happened on the bus, but if it came to that... Well, at least most of them were out here. The odds were very unfavorable, but he would make it work somehow. Remy or Rein, one of them needed to be the next to go, if it came to that. 

[Kissa Deactivated]

Celestine closed her eyes, preparing to have her lights punched out, but instead she heard something move near her and then Del’s voice. The vulpeculan nodded and Delmar could see a flash of white fur as the fox nimbly moved over the backrest of the seat and continued towards the back of the bus. There was rustling as she dug under the work clothes that had been left behind. It was an awful hide-out, but in this darkness it might work momentarily if necessary. Celes pulled her tail in her lap so it wouldn’t give her away and held the multi tool with a tight grip. 

^Kgghhh!^ Nubkis gasped, trying to fill his lungs with air but it was impossible because of Delmar’s grip. The lizard began trashing around, whipping the  human’s legs with his tail as he tried to free himself. He didn’t even understand to reach for the stunner he had in his possession. If Delmar kept his hold, he would succumb into consciousness soon… and some time after that to death.

Nubkis didn’t manage to make enough noise to alarm the others outside. Lucas was alone near the fire with the three canines and one lizard. ^You got whiskey here? Damn! Pour me a shot then!^ Remy said in a good mood. The reptilian was quick to go grab a used paper cup and stretch his hand out so Lucas could pour the whiskey in his cup. There was something childlike simpleness in his small eyes as he looked at the man, waiting for the liquid treat.

^I think the plan is to get out of here, eventually. Meanwhile, we have to make sure we can be here as comfortably as possible.^ Remy wanted to believe that was the end game plan, but he wasn’t 100% sure. ^I answered your question. Now it’s your turn. Where did you guys off those poor bastards who got this bus first?^

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

Del had no intention or desire to kill anyone but he knew how to strangle someone. His chosen sport required it so the large dark man remained locked with the lizard cutting off his air. The creature's tail meant so little to a man who was trained to take some of the hardest kicks someone could manage "You should learn to take rejection better. Ugly as you are. Goodnight." one last line before the lizard finally went out. Del held only a short bit longer for good measure before he gently set the lizard down. He looked at the stun stick and slid it over to Celestine. Del was better with his hands and just in case she was found....

He would move to the bus and out for a moment "Yo!" he called "I think your friend is sick!" hoping to lure a few of these idiots away from Lucas or at least in a better position but Lucas could probably figure out that he had limited time to do anything. Del would try to deal with these beings as quickly as he could just like Nubkis.

There was pretty much no way out now.

[Gardsorm]

"Sure, coming right up." Ingaril was probably not going to be happy with him wasting any of the bottles they had collected on these thugs and hooligans, but if it bought them a few more moments to not have to deal with how they were going to handle this situation. From the sound of things, Del had dispatched one of them, which meant there were five to go. As he and the others stood near the fire, the call from Delmar made him groan.

"Christ, what the hell, did that guy try to eat something from the bus?" Lucas grimaced, the whiskey bottle still in hand. "I don't believe this... Alright, before any of you go deal with that, here." He insisted, tipping the bottle into the lizard's cup, before he fetched others from around the campfire to serve the three canines. He didn't know how many would actually fall for the ruse, but for now he had to engage them in conversation.

"I threw a few adrift in the water, so they're going to be fish food. Other I think we're buried in the nearby woods, but I didn't get those. We figured no one else would be able to pick up on it since they wouldn't smell up... Oh. Right, you guys can probably smell them." He sighed. It occured to him that those scents were probably why Remy asked questions about others earlier...

"That's about all I can say, we're the only ones that handled disposal. Why, you want to go dig them up? Fair warning, I'm going to need your noses to find them if that's the case."

[Kissa Deactivated]

Delmar might not see Celestine in the dark, but he could hear scratching against the bus floor as she pulled the stun baton closer. It wasn’t as lethal as her little knife, but in her hands it would be much more useful than the multi tool. Celes slipped the tool back in her pocket and held tightly to the stunner in case someone would try to approach her with bad intentions. 

There was a moment of silence after Delmar’s shout, like the group was checking who was missing. The foxes looked at the fellow scaly criminal with ‘it’s not our problem look’. ^The fuck happened? He threw up in there? Yo, Nubby, what the hell are you doing there?!^ He chugged the cup empty with one go and threw the empty cup in the fire before walking angrily towards the bus. 

Remy sniffed the offered whiskey before taking a little sip while he listened to Lucas’ story. He might notice a clever glint in the eyes of the vulpeculan. ^Thank you for your generosity. That really did good.^ Instead of throwing the cup away, he set it down before straightening his back. Her rested tip of a long baton against his shoe as he looked at the human man. 

^There are no signs of a struggle, even less of a killing. All of this…^ He spread his hand to his side, gesturing at their surroundings. ^People have been here in peace. All these cups, plates, clothes… Here have been more than you three.^ Remy lowered his voice to a whisper. ^You are hiding them somewhere. If you don’t want us to go look for them, you three come with us without a fuss.^ He believed they were hiding women. For some reason one of them hadn’t gone into hiding. ^You don’t need to worry about us, but those… ^ He nodded his head in the direction of the bus.

^The WC is broken. It doesn’t flush.^ The scarface lizard complained as he finally stepped out of the office and headed towards the campfire group.

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

Del looked to Lucas hoping he understood what was about to happen although he was still surrounded. There was no way Del could do this three times in a row. He would step aside and let the other lizard on "Threw up and passed the hell out." he said but of course at least one of those wasn't true. He just needed the idiot in position and by the time he realized what was up? He likely wouldn't be able to react....or it was Del's home.

Del moved swiftly again moving to kick the back of the knee and wrap his arms around the other lizards neck as he had in done with his friend and so it looked like they were just leaning down to check. Two down would make things a little more fair although who knew what sort of magic these freaks had without their collars?

Hopefully Lucas was ready.

[Gardsorm]

Ah, this was why he didn't like dealing with foxes. They were too crafty, sometimes for their own good.  Lucas reasoned it wouldn't have mattered what he said, he could tell Remy knew something was amiss the moment he first arrived, sniffing around and understanding there were more than three here. Lucas turned his attention away from the fox as he spoke, casting his eyes down to the remaining drinks that were near the fire. He swished one of the bottles and popped it open a bit, grunting as the scent was a tad strong, but he still took a sip anyway.

"Ugh, this stuff's only good for killing brain cells and livers. Not a bad taste though." He sighed, before he looked to Remy. "Congratulations, Detective, you're right. There were other people. Not everyone wants to be caught up in the gang drama. We prefer to left them kill each other and leave us in peace. We'll sort them out if needed." He remarked, stepping around the fire a bit. He knew Remy would never let him get close, and that long baton... He had it ready to keep him from closing the distance.

Smart. But the other two didn't seem as wary just yet.

"I can't say I'm fond of being strongarmed to join a regime I don't want any part of, but I can recognize this isn't a very good situation. So, just like you said. Just us three." Lucas finished, realizing he wasn't going to be able to take on four threats at once in this situation, especially when he wasn't sure about their magical prowess. For now, the only thing keeping the situation stable was diplomacy, but there was no telling when that was going to come to an end. 

"You just let us worry about them. We'll deal with that as it becomes a problem. For now, if we're going, I would like to not have to deal with thinky veiled threats."

[Kissa Deactivated]

^Were? No. They are still somewhere close.^ Remy was guessing, but everything here suggested that there had been more than three people. He saw no reason for them to gather here first and then go somewhere else. Most likely if the group had been going somewhere, they would have followed the road instead of wandering in the dark woods, so they would have met the group on their way here. ^I was trying to offer you a deal where you could something you wanted.^ The fox sounded bored by this point.

Once the scarface joined their company, the offer was off. Remy looked at his side, giving a meaningful look to both of his allies. He didn’t put any trust on the reptilian, so there was no need to try to relay the message to them. 

Everything seemed to go according to the plan in the bus. ^Nubkis, the hell…?!^ The tall lizard started. About the same time the situation got too suspicious even to him, Delmar made his move. The reptilian threw his whole weight back, taking both himself and Del down to the ground. Then he began moving like a crazed wildhorse, getting up just enough to slam the annoying parasite against the seats and ground with his mass. 

Now others could hear there was definitely something going on inside the bus. ^What are you-^ The scarface started. The noise of a struggle was like a sign for Remy to act. He took the cigarette from between his lips and with a quick move of hand stretched his hand out. The small burning red dot of the cigarette bursted into a flame that shot forward and as it collided with the flames of the campfire it grew instantly bigger, like the larger fire was feeding it. Like a splash of fire, the flames crushed towards Lucas. They wouldn’t reach far, but it all happened fast.

As soon as Remy made his move, his comrades moved, circling around the fire. One from each side so Lucas would be left between them. The one on his left had one of the long batons while the right one wielded a long stun baton, which crackled as it swung towards the ex officer’s head.

[AsBloodTurnsEverCold]

This one was definitely more spirited than the dumb lizard from earlier. Hopefully Lucas was skilled enough to last until he got this one taken care of! Delmar kept a good hold even as the lizard thrashed about and slammed him weight into the seats and walls. Delmar was used to this sort of thing! It almost like being back home though he knew he was definitely going to be tired and sore.

He waited until they got to the ground again before making his move but sticking close as he attempted to pin the lizard with an arm and his weight. No time to waste! He would start punching aiming directly for the lizards jaw and face. A little classic savage assault on the ground, and with no ref to call it. Sooner he could knock this idiot out the sooner he could help Lucas.

He could hear the sudden roar of flame though from the distance....well shit. Hopefully Red was REALLY on his A-game.

Edited September 3 by AsBloodTurnsEverCold

[Gardsorm]

"I wanted to be left alone, if it's all the same. But clearly that was never an option in your mind if you stuck around all this time." Lucas sighed and rolled his eyes. When you knew the Vanlith Family like he did, you knew to expect there was never true friendliness in their voice. The canids here were like lesser, more forgettable versions of Anjira lacking any of her distinctive qualities. But they had her same rotten personality, and for that he knew never to accept their generosity too much. It proved truthful even right now.

"Oh, good, finally the curtain falls. Let's see what mob muscle can do." Lucas inhaled a bit as he saw the gesture from Remy. Fire magic, no small wonder Remy was keen to get him near the campfire to share the drink. How strategic that was for him was questionable as Lucas watched Remy aim not for him directly, but the fire past him. The redhead tapped his fingertips on the bottle as he watched the roar of the fire kick up behind him, before he chuckles the glass bottle at the sand between the fire and Remy.

The result? As soon as the fire approached, part of the flames quickly moved to latch onto the high-proofed alcohol, threatening to close in on Remy as well. Whether it did or didn't, Lucas hopped back to let the fire separate him from Remy, allowing him to focus on the other two. His eyes narrowed as he stepped in and ducked the swing of the canids' attack, driving his fist into the canids' midsection to try knocking the wind out of him. 

'Undisciplined... They can swing a weapon, but that's all. More liable to hurt himself than he is me. But that still leaves the firestarter and...' the other one who was also near to him, more to his left than his right.

[Kissa Deactivated]

All Celestine could do was look in a mix of horror and disbelief. Was this how fights were supposed to go? Just hearing it put her stomach in a knot, but seeing it was even worse as the two large men kept pummeling one another like they were punching bags. These reptilians weren’t smart creatures, but they were strong and durable, so a good punch that would have knocked lights out of a normal person, just gave the reptilian a headache. Delmar would get equal treatment, his head, arms and side receiving heavy bombardment of tough fists. 

Remy was quick on his feet and he was well out of danger’s way when Lucas performed his little bottle trick. Not one strand of precious tail fur was lost in the process. The swing of the stunner missed, but the young and agile fox managed to move back just enough so Lucas’ hit didn’t have its full impact. As the human turned to face the vulpeculan and strike at him, he left his back open to the another one, who didn’t hesitate as he smashed the baton with his full strength towards the redhead’s skull. 

The scarface felt left out. He stepped from one foot to another, like he was standing on hot coals. He decided to join in and bravely approached the three who were in the middle of a fight. He used the baton like an ax when he aimed for the human man’s left side as he was on that side of Maxwell.

The hits of the lizard’s fists became slower and weaker. They started to feel like weak punches of a teenage girl having a hissy fit. Then his eyes rolled around in their sockets, his tongue hung out of the mouth with some blood staining it as the body went limp. He was still breathing.