Anakaa:Great.
It was dark when Ana, and Hook, reached a snag in their journey. The moon above was full, but before them were trees. And it was clear that although they weren't too close together now, the forest ahead would just get thicker. Dense, dark, and dangerous. She stopped at a fallen tree and stood up, her front paws bracing herself on the log as she looked ahead of her. It would be best to stop and wait for morning, wait for the sun. But she hated sleeping out in the open, especially at night. They could go in a ways, get out of the open, but not so far as to try traversing the deeper forest.
"Come on, we'll go in just a-" She was climbing over the log as she spoke and her words were cut off on a hiss of pain.
"Careful, there's something sharp on that side," Ana said, nodding to the left of the log. Halfway up her left foreleg, something had sliced into her and she was fairly certain deep enough to bleed. And worse, she knew for a fact that she couldn't reach it to clean it.
Jay’mes / Hook:
He knew she was tired. She hadn't let on, she was a strong, lass, this one. She kept pushing on, and so long as she was looking to continue, he could follow suit. Even if the jungle was a dangerous place to travel at night. He watched her start to scale the log, and then she hissed in pain.
He immediately reacted, looking over the area she had mentioned. He didn't see anything at first glance, and he didn't want to take too much time looking either.
"Are you okay?" He asked, genuine concern in his voice. He could smell blood, even before he saw it dripping down her golden leg. Almost like their two colors intertwining. Had he been less concerned, he might have made a joke about such.
Anakaa:
Ana shook her leg out and then her head.
"I'm fine. It's not deep, I can take care of it when we stop. We'll just go a ways in and then wait for daylight," she replied, shying a step away in case he got too close. Her gaze darted back to where she'd crossed the log and almost... No, that had to just be a trick of the moonlight. She almost thought she saw a pale flash on the fallen tree, almost like a bone against the bark.
"Let's go. The sooner we get moving, the sooner we can rest." The words were almost snapped, almost, but she was tired of trying to be surly. So they'd just been more exasperated than anything. Besides, she could feel a headache starting to come on, she didn't need to get herself worked up. Without waiting for a reply, she turned away from him and started walking through the trees, being much more careful this time.
Jay’mes / Hook:He knew she was playing it off, and he didn't get to get a look at it before she was shying away from him. He frowned, shaking his head. She was already on the move, and she was a walking buffet lit up with neon lights at the moment. The jungle with the smell of blood could be even more dangerous than usual.
"We will need to get settled, and quickly.. You are bleedin', and I can't imagine any hungry creature isn't going to check that out." He really didn't want to have to fight off a hungry leopard. They were fast, where they lacked the size.
Anakaa:
"I know, I don't intend for us to go far." She just wanted to get out of the open, she needed to find a safer place. Even if no place was truly safe as long as she had her tag-along.
Ana started to blink slowly as they walked through the forest. Her head getting worse with every breath and it seemed like the world around them just kept slowly getting darker and darker. And to top it off, her leg was starting to burn like too long in the desert sun. They had been walking in silence for what seemed like too long when she paused in her steps, closing her eyes and shaking her head slowly. That didn't help at all with the pain but hopefully... When she opened her eyes again, nothing had improved, in fact it seemed to have gotten worse, the world seemed to be spinning. It took her a moment, but she finally righted her senses and the world returned to a semi-normal state.
"Hook, I-" But the words didn't finish making their way out of her mouth before she was interrupted.
Braedi:"As much as it pains me to admit it, I wasn't expecting this." Braedi's voice was low from his vantage point several leaps away from the pair, his gold eyes narrowed slightly. He hadn't been expecting Anakaa to be bringing a deadly enemy along. The seer he currently had under his paw, a much more cooperative little b***h than Baridi was, she'd told him where he needed to go this evening. She hadn't mentioned who would be there, or what would happen when he got there. Perfect.
Jay’mes / Hook:
He hated walking in silence. It was unnerving, especially when you considered you were walking with someone. But he walked with her.
She began to speak, his name leaving her mouth only barely before she was interrupted. But the voice that interrupted her, he didn't need to see the source. The voice instantly reminded him of his one time lover... Of the pain and agony of losing her... and the scarring that torn his paw.
He growled, a deep low sound before looking daggers at the red lion. How he hated him..
"Crocodile.. How good to see you again. I was hoping we might run into each other." He growled, surprised... but not unhappy about the confrontation. So long as Ana was safe... He didn't much care about his own wellbeing. He cared about revenge.
Braedi:
"Gods, I hate that name," Braedi replied, his eyes rolling as his frown deepened. Thankfully he had a back-up plan to deal with the pirate.
"Well, my dear, I take it you've come to repay your debt." As he spoke, he waved one paw in a gesture towards Hook, the bracelet he'd stolen from her flashing in the moonlight that filtered through the trees. "Here's your chance."
Anakaa:
Ana frowned and her ears flicked back. This wasn't helping her head at all.
Hook knew Braedi? He... there was hatred in the way he spoke, she would have had to be deaf and blind not to hear it in his voice, see it in his posture. Had he known where she was going? She hadn't said anything, how could he have known?
Had he used her?
She turned, putting herself in front of Hook, and conveniently shielding Braedi from attack. Her voice was low when she asked, "Why did you follow me, Hook?"
Jay’mes / Hook:
Hook bristled, and was slowly losing his cool the more Braedi stood there. When her bracelet glimmered in the moonlight, he found himself burning with rage. However he tried to reign it in, as he slowly stalked forward.
"Oh, I intend to. Believe me. You won't best me this time." There was convinction in his voice."But it will be you paying this debt. With your life."
Then Ana stood in the way, and Hook found himself frowning at her. Why did this matter? What did she care? He frowned, and then his eyes were back on Braedi, locked with his as he spoke.
"The seer warned me who you were going after. He happens to be...." He paused, eyes staring still at Braedi. "He took the decent use of my paw." He had also taken the life of his mate. Days after he was told she was with cub. Though that was something only he had ever known. A pang of agony going through his heart again.
Anakaa:
Ana's frown deepened. Even with her head pounding and everything turning upside-down, she could still see there was more to this, something he wasn't telling her.
"That isn't all of it," she hissed, frustrated with people lying to her. Damn them all! All she wanted to do was go home. But of course she couldn't stand having that kind of debt over her head. And if keeping Hook from attacking the lion who'd saved her in the swamp was her repayment, so be it.
Jay’mes / Hook:
Her words made him look at her. He had angered her, and he didn't care. THe revenge in his heart was calling to him. It was what he had decided to even give his life to..
He hated speaking of her. He hated admitting the monster had been the one able to kill her.. He hated Braedi so much, that every thought just lead him back to his death.
"As hard as it may be to believe, love. I had someone who loved calling me her own. She had my heart. " His eyes went back to Braedi.
"He ripped out my heart." He didn't have to get into details, the meaning was there enough. He let out another low growl. He wasn't going to fihgt Ana to get to Braedi.
Anakaa:
Some of her anger fizzled out, and with it her drive. She didn't need a clear head to figure out what had happened, and it wasn't as simple as Braedi having stolen Hook's lady away. That certainly was a damn good reason. But still...
"Would she..." Ana shook her head again, the world was growing darker. Something was very wrong. "Would she have wanted you to become this?"
She tried to take a step towards him, but doing so sent a wave of dizziness crashing over her so hard, she knew what was coming.
"Jay'mes-" It was all she could manage before the darkness finally won the fight she'd been defending against, closing in on her and she collapsed between the opposing males.
Braedi:
Braedi took a step back when Ana suddenly crumpled to the ground, his eyes actually growing wide. That wasn't expected either, but it wasn't something that really surprised him.
Oh, he could take a guess at what had happened, and probably be right. He was a poison master and he knew his work when he saw it. The only explanation would have been that someone had taken some of his work and... Ah, there was a slash on her foreleg.
Someone must have coated a branch or maybe even a sharp bone in one of his poisons and set it up somewhere to be stumbled onto, or against as the case may be. When it was light, he'd have to go around and collect them, he didn't want to be implicated in a murder plot. It would just wreck his day if someone, gods forbid his father, was poisoned by one of these traps and the blame came back to him. A scapegoat he sure as hell wasn't.
Or to have... He mentally shook the thought away. Now wasn't the time.
"How advantageous. You don't have much time to decide, pirate." There was a smugness in his voice that for once in his life he didn't feel. Yes, Anakaa had been a pawn, but this was not what he'd intended to do. He'd killed his tools in the past, why did he feel poorly for how this was turning out? No doubt it was her fault. She was softening him far too much. But what really rubbed his fur wrong was that he wasn't sure if he cared or not.
Jay’mes / Hook:
Ana's words clung in his ears. Hitting him like a ton of rocks straight tot he face. Though his anger turned to concern when she started swaying.. his true name uttered for the first time.
"Anakaa.." He whispered. Rushing towards her, he looked down at the wound on her leg. It was turning the skin a purple hue, and it didn't take a genius to realize what had happened. How Braedi had managed it, he didn't know. But it all made sense.
"What did you do to her, Crocodile? FIX HER." he snarled.
Everything in him told him to lunge at the throat, now that the hurdle was out of the way. But somehow she had gotten in his head. This was why he had never grown attached to anyone else. He hated the vulnerability it brought.
Braedi:
"I did nothing," Braedi replied with a curl of his lip. He hated admitting that someone had stolen from him and as soon as he found out who he would bring the wrath of demons down upon whomever it was. He didn't like being toyed with.
"But you're right, I can save her. For a price." He paused, cocking his head to one side and raising an eyebrow as his half-snarl smoothly shifted into a smirk. "Are you willing to pay it?"
Jay’mes / Hook:
"Have I not paid enough?" Hook snarled, his voice raised for the first time. He had lost decent function of his paw, he had lost his wife, he had lost his unborn children. He had lost everything that had been worth a damn. What more did he have to pay??
"You will save her, Crocodile. She did nothing to deserve that fate. Nothing. This is a coward's way of fighting."
Braedi:
Braedi growled, refusing to back down.
"No, she didn't, but that doesn't change the fact that she's stumbled onto this path." He gaze flicked briefly to Anakaa and he slipped her bracelet off his paw, tossing it to land within reach of the pair.
"Leave me alone. Never hunt me again, never touch me or mine, and I'll get the antidote she needs. Her time is growing short." And it was. He wouldn't have too much leeway to get back to his den, retrieve the right herbs, and be back in time to administer them. Another glance to the lioness saw her breathing was growing shallow.
Jay’mes / Hook:
The fact that Braedi had even said that, had Hook stop in his tracks. There was a reason.. There was no way he would deal for the wellbeing of himself. He was far too reckless. That would mean he either valued Hook as a grave threat... Or he was protecting someone.
"Aye, Crocodile you get your wish. I won't touch whomever it is you are protecting wtih your request." He narrowed his eyes snarling.
"But you remove that bracelet from your disgusting paw, and if Anakaa dies. I will make sure it is my missing to harm you and yours." He was angry. He rarely got angry. But this was foul play, and he was having to gift away his revenge. It made him seethe.
Braedi:
Braedi turend away, grumbling about hating that name.
"Stay here," he said over his shoulder, "I won't be long."
And with that, he took off at a run into the deeper forest.
Jay’mes / Hook:
When Braedi took off, all Hook could think of was that he had better return. He had better return and fast.
Hook closed the distance between himself and Ana, leaning down to nudge her cheek. She was so cold...He hated to think what would happen should she grow any colder.
"Come on love... Don't give up on me now." He whispered, His eyes trained towards where Braedi had been.
Anakaa:
Ana moved slightly in her unconscious state, a frown of pain creasing her brow.
"You... left me." Her paw twitched as she whispered the fevered words, as if she wanted to lash out at someone. Exactly whom, however, was unclear.
Braedi:
Braedi returned quickly, actually out of breath from having run. Yes, she was having much too much of an effect on him. He'd have to work on that.
He came to a stop a couple of lengths away from the couple, setting the bag that had been in his jaws down.
"Give me room and I'll do what I can." Honestly, he wasn't sure if he wasn't too late. It wasn't a fast-acting poison, but at this stage... There was no telling, really.
Jay’mes / Hook:
Hook's ears perked, and his eyes softened at her words.. He had never left her, and he knew there had always been a story behind those pretty blue eyes. Someone had harmed her before.. Seems they both had been learning this evening..
Hook stood when Braedi approached, and at his words he backed up..Reluctantly. He wanted to rip off Braedi's head, but he would save that should he fail his promise.. If he failed, Hook would make sure he died..
Braedi:
Braedi took the vacated space and removed dried plants from his bag. Without too much time or water to soften them, he put them in a halved shell, spit into them, and crushed it all with his toes. When a sticky mess coated them, he pressed it deep into her wound.
When Anakaa cried out in pain, Braedi snarled at Hook, "Keep her still!" He'd rarely ever done this and preybeasts were a lot easier to keep from lashing out at him.
He coated his paw in more of the paste and forced her muzzle open, quickly coating her tongue in it before drawing back.
"There, I've done what I can."
Jay’mes / Hook:
When he barked the order at Hook, even if Hook hated him he did as was commanded. Her life was at stake. He would never again play with the life of another.. Not someone like her.. and Ana.. He pinned her front paws to the earth.While he held them, he began muttering for her to relax in an effort to sooth her best he could.
"If she dies, Croc... If she dies." Was all he could muster.
Braedi:
"If she dies, it won't be my fault," Braedi growled in response, gathering his things back into the bag and picking it up. He moved several paces away, placing his back to a tree before he sat down and dropped his bag once more.
"You should have known better. You knew what I was capable of, didn't pause to think for one second that there were other dangerous creatures where I'd be found, did you?" A devil kept with his own, after all. Yes, he'd tricked Anakaa into her life-debt with him, but it hadn't been as if he'd expected her to chase after him. He always saved those things for rainy days. He'd knew he'd need her eventually, just not so soon.
Jay’mes / Hook:
"I think you should leave Crocodile, Before I decide to change my mind." He wasn't sure he could do the chit chat. The pain in his heart so raw. Braedi being there was like him laughing in his face.
But Hook couldn't leave her side, his paws still on her leg. It was warming, the spot where her wound was, still burning hot.
"How long is this going to take?"
Braedi:
Braedi's eyes narrowed again, but he said nothing about the suggestion to leave, or the name. Or even the threat.
"You won't be able to move her until morning for certain. I'd wait until nearly evening if it were me, but I'd rather you two leave this place before then. Other than that, I can't say. That was the farthest along that poison's gotten before it killed the subject." He actually shrugged when he said it, admitting he was at a loss on how this would turn out.
"But she isn't thrashing, so that's a good sign." And with that, he picked up his bag, turned, and disappeared into the jungle.
Anakaa:
Ana whimpered and tried to curl up into the warmth that was so near. She was so cold and all she wanted was to be closer to the heat source.
Jay’mes / Hook:
Hook was immediately next to her. He heard no shiver, but he didn't need to hear it. He could feel it in his bones, he wanted to be close to her.
Leaning into her, he lowered his head over her neck, letting the warmth of his body warm her over. He would sit here forever if she needed him to.
...
Braedi stopped when he was about halfway back to his den. He was ready to just curl up with Ora and be done with this wretched night, but he felt the fur on the back of his neck stand on end. He dropped his bag and bared his teeth."You knew, didn't you?" he growled and a dark form moved out from behind a tree. The wild dog b***h was small even for her kind, nearly completely black but for the colors of a sunset on her paws, tail, and a flame-like marking on her face and neck. "You made me waste my deal."
"I knew," she replied, her voice soft. He controlled Machwa by threats and coercion, but it was clear she wasn't enough under his paw. He'd have to rectify that. Braedi closed the distance between them, reaching out to wrap a heavy paw around the back of her neck. Her deep green eyes didn't even widen a fraction.
"Do that again and you will live to regret it, seer," he snarled no louder than a whisper. The only bit of fear that he saw in her was a slight twitch of her ears.
"Very well, my lord. I will tell you all in my dreams."
"Good," he snapped and released her, moving back to his things. "See that you get back to your hovel before someone catches you."
Machwa dipped her head and watched the lion leave.
"I will tell you all in my dreams, deal-maker," she whispered after he had gone. "When you ask."
And like a shadow she was gone.