An Unlikely Pair
Kyro pressed a strained smile. Trying not to show to much his distain for his current situation or how this entire process felt like a load of tauros sht.
He thought about the steps that lead him to now. Going from a freelance cat burglar to- what? Federation lacky? Chained attack cat? Over glorified errand debt collector? His ears folded down as he continued to think and mentally spiral.
How long did he have to do this stupid parole program anyways? Weeks? Years? How long before this team he was assigned to was master rank and he had his freedom?
He stopped outside the post, the crumpled meeting place paper in hand.
“Who in the hell did I even get pair with?”, He mumbles as he scratches his chin.
Desiderio wanders the streets of Ethovalon, all the while eyeing anyone that passes him by. Each step he took was sullied, stolen from the other members of his former crew which he had sold out. Arceus, how long would this freedom last? How long until some friends of theirs caught wind?
Another bridge to be burned at a later date, certainly.
For now he needed to find his way to the post office and collect his paperwork. And partner, so it would seem. At least there was some mild relief in having a fellow rat at his side. Who had it been, he wonders.
As he rounds the corner he manages to spot the post office through the crowd, but fails to take notice of the small Shinx amongst the other townsfolk. He heads in his direction.
Kyro was small, being only 4' 5" despite his mid-twenties age. Even kids in school where often taller than him.
"I um- excuse me...", Kyro mutters and tries to get the attention of the attendant, who was a overworked and underpaid looking staraptor women.
"Hm?", She looks at him. "How can I help you kid?", She asks, polite but clearly a little annoyed at being interrupted from her sorting.
Kyro's tail flicks in anger. "I need the paperwork that was being held here for me? Name Kyro.", He says. She nods and goes to get the packet left for him.
Desiderio pushes open the door to the post office and observes that most of the tellers are already preoccupied assisting other patrons. He's about to get in line, but freezes at the sight of a rather familiar little Shinx man.
What was this mangy flea doing here!?
Not wanting to cause a scene, Desiderio sticks back by the door, leaning against the wall, waiting for Kyro to finish whatever it was he was doing. Had he broken out of jail? He must have, surely. How else was he walking free? Perhaps the guards had simply misplaced him. Likely the little guy was easy to lose track of after all.
Kyro took the paperwork and started to fill it out. He was unaware of Desiderio at all. But for how long? Kyro filled his stuff out right at the counter. Uncaring of others need for it.
His tail flicked back and forth as he wrote. His hand writing was so horrible, borderline illegible and his spelling was even worse. At least he could spell his own name…
Desiderio kept his eyes trained on the little Shinx, occassionally a newcomer asking him politely if he was in line but he simply shook his head. What was Kyro up do? Mailing a friend? Requesting help fleeing town? Honestly Desiderio was mildly surprised to learn the little rat could write at all.
Eventually his loitering seemed to have garnered the concern of the other clerks, prompting one of them to speak up.
"Excuse me sir, can I help you with anything?" asks a young Pidove boy from behind the counter.
Dez looks up from under his hat, glancing to Kyro's back as he weighs his options.
"Yes, I do believe you can," he says, keeping near the door, speaking just loud enough for his voice to carry. "I am here to receive paperwork from the guild. Forms for a bounty hunters team," he explains. If Kyro had escaped from jail, perhaps throwing him back in would earn Dez some bonus points back at guild headquarters.
Kyro finished his paperwork, well- to the best of his abilities. And he saw at the bottom of the form that where it said ‘Teammate’ a name was already printed there.
Kyro tilted his head, trying to silently sound out the word in his head. His reading level was very limited. ”De…s…i…dr….. roh? No… um…. What does this say?”, he points.
”Oh. Looks like you where assigned a partner. Looks like the name isss Desiderio”, The clerk supplied.
Kyro physically cringed. No. No please. Do not tell him he was stuck with that bush lipped fancy talking devilcat!
He looked around and the unmistakable had caught his eye. No. No!!!
“You can’t be fuckin’ serious!?”, He was gobsmacked.
Dez turns back to Kyro when he hears his name come up, and his previous suspicious scowl gradually morphs into confusion as he tries to piece together what is going on. Was Kyro trying to use him as leverage somehow? Pretend they had some sort of history working together, as a bargaining chip?
"Fancy running into you here," he challenges, his tone suspicious as he eyes him up and down.
"And with narry a cuff nor chain in sight. However did you manage that?" he questions, fully expecting Kyro to try to make a run for it.
”Look at your own paperwork fuzz face. I’m stuck with you on a bounty hunter team.”, He said sharply. Kyro could cut right to the point, especially when angry. Which his rage was quickly building.
He looked Dez up and down slowly. He hated almost everything about him. From how unfair it was the other was so tall. To that poor dead caterpie on Dez’s lip. Even down to his stupid hat!
"Wh--?" Desiderio gasps softly, his eyes widening in astonishment before quickly being replaced with anger. "WHAT!?"
"Ah, then you must be Desiderio," the Pidove boy says cheerfully, oblivious to the crisis Dez and Kyro were currently facing. He holds out the paperwork over the counter. "Your forms for a joint GCFS team, Bounty Hunter division."
Desiderio quickly strides past Kyro and grabs the forms, skimming them quickly until he find what he's looking for, Kyro's name printed in ink in the 'Teammate' section.
"Mierda," he mutters to himself, slapping the papers back down on the counter as he rubs his brow. "Of all the people, it just had to be you, didn't it?"
”Hey! My name’s not Mierda and you know it! Or is your tacky hat on way to tight?”, His said with a hiss to his voice. His tail was all puffed up and his ears were back. Little zips of electricity lightly jumbled across his hair
He crossed his arms angrily.
”No fighting in the post office.”, A swanna clerk said firmly.
Dez holds up a hand towards the clerk in a peaceful manner.
"Perdòn--Apologies, we will be on our way," he says as he collects his papers and turns to go. The last thing he needed was to wind up back in police custody all over again for something so simple as a minor scuffle.
”Your base should be listed on your paperwork…. Good luck…”, the staraptor clerk said.
Kyro grabbed his paperwork and stormed out swearing under his breath. This was the worse!
”We better have a big enough place to be far away from you.”
Desiderio wasn't no longer paying attention, frantically flipping through the pages as they walked. Surely this must be a mistake. Did the fine print say anything about swapping teammates? Special arrangements? Surely the strong possibility of murdering one another constituted consideration.
"I can't believe this," he sighs, shaking his head in frustration, keeping his voice down as they exit into the busy streets.
"How did you manage to talk your way out of jail?" he questions, and though his voice is hushed the annoyance is prevalent. "Did you bribe them off with all your little gold bobbles, sticky claws?"
Kyro flicked his tail, sparks harmlessly popping off around it “Oh fuck off you limp leaf pussycat. I got out because I have value. I don’t know how you managed to get out”, he said venomously.
”I’m not any more happy to be here than you. But hearing you bitch about it all day is only making it worse. So do us both a favor and suck on your own lip hair or whatever keeps you quiet.”
"Value? Ha!" he repeats with an incredulous laugh.
"Perhaps your pilfered goods have value, sure, but I highly doubt the guild is interested in your talent for thievery," he says, looking Kyro up and down again in an appraising manner. "But fighting toe to toe with wanted ruffians? You?"
”Choose your words carefully or you may find yourself choking on your hat”, Kyro warns as he walks. He stops as they head for the docks ”Don’t tell me we live by the docks. Gross. The smell alone is so disgusting…”
Desiderio does, in fact, choose is words carefully in that he decides to end that particular line of discussion. Little as he may be, Kyro could be surprisingly intimidating and Dez was in no mood to add injury to insult.
He looks to his own papers, double checking that Kyro was in fact leading them in the right direction.
"Quite the walk from town. Must've been cheap for--oh dear," he sighs as he spots a rather decrepit structure near the edge of the dock, well worn from the elements.
"Wow- there is a place more sad looking than jail... there is no way that place's roof ISN'T falling in...", He frowns as he confirms this is the address.
"Well, on the up side, if you wanted to reconsider jail as an option I am certain they would take you back," Dez offers as he approaches the front door, trying the knob.
"I'll just have to run you off, so get use to me being around. I like my freedom more than I hate you."
"Well I am certain the cell door is always open whenever you change your mind," he says as he turns the handle and finds it is unlocked, the door creaking loudly as it opens, the weight heavy in his hand as though one of the latches is loose. The interior does not look all that much better than the outside, the floorboards complaining beneath his feet as he steps inside.
"How quaint," he mutters as his eyes roam about.
"This thing is definately going to fall on us", Kyro muttered as he walked around. He paused as he looked between the rooms. "Um- there's only one fucking bed in here??"
"That's very funny," Desiderio says in an annoyed tone, clearly assuming the Kyro was making some sort of joke and not bothering to look for himself. Instead he plays with a small table and chairs, pressing against the back of a chair and the legs tap against the floor unevenly.
"Dibs on the bed.", Kyro says as he goes into the sad bedroom, the bed heavily sunk in the middle.
Desiderio's ears twitch beneath his hat and he does go to check on Kyro, his eyebrows rising an a look of disinterest when he sees how the bed dips under his weight.
"That thing? It's all yours. Probably filled with bugs," he says.
"Enjoy the floor", Kyro said
Desiderio rolls his eyes and leaves the room, in search of another bed somewhere else in the shack. Surely there were other bedrooms. After all they were supposed to recruit and house more members were they not?
He lays on the bed, thinking over what to do. Flee? Nah, he doubted he'd get far enough. And he didn't want a whole organization after him... distantly he could hear the other. Was he really stuck here like this?
After giving the shack a quick once over, Desiderio quickly concluded that Kyro was correct and there was, in fact, only one bed. Mierda.
"We'll need to get supplies," he calls, his boots clacking against the floorboards as he makes his way back to the foyer. He flips through the stack of papers he had received.
"Once we return these documents to the guild we can to work, earn a bit of coin to fix up that place," he decides, now sounding all that enthusiastic. So much to consider...
Kyro's ear twitches as he hears Dez talk. He sits up, scratching his hear "Ugh.... work...", He mumlbed and walked out "I already finished my papers at the place."
"Everything?" he questions, flipping through the stack of forms. "Even the team name?"
"Hm? Nah, I left that blank. I assumed I'd just be assigned one."
"Anything __else__ you left blank?" he questions.
"Um.... can't remember", He shrugs "Wonder if they'll give us money for food and stuff."
Desiderio shakes his head incredulously. Had he realized sooner that the two of them would be working under the same team he would have made sure to proofread Kyro's papers. He could only hope the imbecile spelled his own name right.
"There appears to be a form in here to file for provisions support," he says, sifting through the papers, searching for the one he had briefly spotted before. "Rations, soup kitchens, enough to get by until we can find some real work."
"Well- since there isn't anything, that one should be done.", He was not talking about how he could only read about 1/3 of the entire forms and had just wrandonly writen things all over his paperwork.
Desiderio sighs to himself as he makes his way over to the rickety table, pulling out one of the chairs and taking a seat. As he does so the legs tap unevenly against the floor again. His eyes scan over all the required information--name, age, previous address, etc, etc. How did you learn of the guild; the local authorities, from the other side of the bars. Why do you want to join the guild; it is preferable to being incarcerated. What was even the point off all this? As if these answers would come as any surprise to the guild. This was simply humiliating.
"We need something to call ourselves," he points out as he scribbles down answers to the tedious questions. However has Kyro finished this all at the post?
"Hmm? Oh um.... maybeeeeee... oh! Death Claws", He says with a toothy grin
"How about something a little more... refined," Desiderio suggests with a tone that sounds very much like a parent loosing their patience. "What about 'Garras Contraídas'? 'Contracted Claws'?"
"Garras Contraidas sounds like a disease", Kyro says as he scratches his ear "Why does it even matter? Everyone will know we're just thugs on a walk..."
"Speak for yourself. Thugs are mere brutes," he denies as he taps his quill against the table in thought. "Of which I am not."
"Yah, you're a fancy worded charlatan.", Kyro says back almost bitterly
"Precisely," he agrees with a pleased smile. Then his lower lip presses up in consideration. "Charlatan Claws? Clawed Charlatans?"
Kyro gave an unitnterested Shrug, he honestly didn't care. He was moreso interested in finding food...
"Clawed Convicts--no, Clawed... Consorts? Captains?" Desiderio continues to ramble to himself, oblivious to Kyro's disinterest.
Kyro walks into the kitchen and see sthe ice box. He has never seen one of these before, and gives a confused frown "Hey! I think this place comes with a brig. A small one though..."
"Clawed--what now?" Desiderio looks up in the direction Kyro had headed off in.
"You know. A brig. A lock up. A damn big box in here", Kyro says
A brig? Desiderio's eyebrows draw together in confusing as he stands.
"Well we are bounty hunters after all. Maybe the guild have us a place to house any criminals we--" Desiderio pauses as he enters the kitchen, giving it a quick look around and failing to find what Kyro was referring to. "What brig?"
He points at the ice box
Desiderio looks to where Kyro indicted, blinking once.
"Is that how you make use of your ice box?" he questions with obvious concern. "As a holding cell?"
"I've never really senn anything like it... it just holds ice then?"
"How have you never--? Yes, ice and food," Desiderio confirms, reaching for the wide cupboard above the cabinet, which Kyro had little hope of reaching himself.
"You keep ice up here, and it keeps the food on the shelves beneath it cool," he explains.
"Well- no? I lived in an old abandioned town and then in the viper's den.", Kyro said, a bit embaressed to be disadvantaged to Dez.
Desiderio looks to Kyro with a blank expression for a moment, but doesn't seem to think much of it.
"I suppose that would explain it. Anyway, likely we will be receiving regular shipments of ice now."
"Why?.. I don't really get it. Just get food that doesn't need snow... it seems like a hastle...", Kyro says
"But with this you can keep meats and cheeses fresh, even without a ice-type around to chill them," he explains, clearly pleased by the idea. In the past ships he had been on often made sure to have at least one crew member experienced in ice-type moves primarily for this purose.
"Not a fan of meat?" he asks.
"Well yeah but I'm use to just eating it all within a day or two...", He says
"Well now you wont have to," Desiderio explains, closing the cabinet. "With this it can keep up to a week."
”Mhm… and ugh…. How much does… ice cost?”, Kyro asks, clearly skeptical
"It's pretty affordable, commonplace in many parts of the world nowadays even," he says. "We should be able to afford it soon enough."
”I guess we should find work too. Down at the bounty board I assume.”
"Yes, the sooner the better," he nods, stepping around Kyro and back towards the table his paperwork was still covering.
"Though we can't take on any work until our team is officially recognized by the guild. If we swing by their headquarters to drop off the paperwork, maybe we can get their approval today. After all I suspect ours is a rather... unique case."
"Yeah.. that'll be best", His shomach growls lowly
Desiderio pulls his chair out and takes a seat again, flipping through the forms, signing and dating when appropriate. His eyes flit over to the piece of paper requesting their team name from time to time, taunting him.
"Hmm... what about 'The Clawed Corsairs'?" he asks as he slides another completed form away and grabs another.
"Sure whatever.", Kyro strugs as he leans on the wall and looks out the window. Where they being watched?
"The Clawed Corsairs it is then," Desiderio says definitively with mock enthusiasm. How had he ended up in this mess, working alongside a long time thorn in his side? No matter, so long as the guild was paying he could make do. Simply following the flow of money, as always.
”Let’s turn in these dumb papers. I don’t even understand why they’re so important.”
"Of course you wouldn't," Desiderio mutters, rolling his eyes beneath the shadow of his hat. He stands, collecting the papers and prepared to head out.
Kyro is already to go out the door. And just like that, the Clawed Corsairs where born.