Story (c) Hikage Stinkdawg 2004

"What the hell…!?" She shouted angrily as Quint looked down at her from his perch at the helm.

"I’m sorry, is something wrong?" He asked.

"Untie me right now!!" She screeched back.

Quint looked at her, smirking.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea!" He mused sarcastically, "Because the last time you were free on MY ship, you threatened to shoot my balls off."

"If you don’t untie me this instant, I swear…!"

Quint interrupted her. "You swear what? You’re pretty much helpless right now. Maybe if you’re a good girl, I’ll let you walk around on my ship instead of being tied to a post all day… and night." He added the last words for emphasis.

Alexis scowled and spat onto the steel deck. She wasn’t about to take orders from a cocky hyena. She looked away from Quint towards the aft of the ship, watching Tireal and Charr as the two sat lazily in the sun. Apparently they were discussing something.

"Let me get this straight," Charr was saying, "This friend of yours loves someone, but that someone doesn’t love them back… so you want to know what your friend should do?"

Tireal nodded. "Yeah…" He said nervously. He wasn’t good at talking about embarrassing things with other people.

"Well my only advice to your friend would be to keep trying to get the attention of that someone… unless that someone is truly against loving your friend in any way. In that case, I would suggest giving up.

Tireal frowned. "Giving up…?" He didn’t want to abandon the possibility that Quint could one day love him. Why would the hyena have slept in the same bed with him if he hadn’t felt some kind of attraction?

"I don’t think he’s ready to just give up…" Tireal said slowly, choosing every word with care. "I doubt that his love interest really doesn’t love him."

Charr nodded. "Well you should tell Quint as soon as possible I think…"

Tireal gulped and looked at Charr wide eyed. "Tell… Quint…?"

Charr continued looking out to sea and nodded again. "Quint is the friend you’re talking about, right?"

Tireal sighed in relief. "Oh! Yeah..."

"Are you alright?" Charr looked at him with genuine concern. "You look kind of ill… Maybe you should go lie down below decks…"

"No… I’m fine… I’m just worried, that’s all." Tireal sighed.

"Are you sure that’s all it is?" The large rat was still looking at him and for a moment, a thought entered Tireal’s mind.

Maybe Charr could replace the love he had for Quint…

That thought quickly vanished and Tireal was glad. He couldn’t bear to imagine loving anyone else besides the strong hyena.

The Jolly Dodger sailed slowly onward, remaining on course for Serevix as the day slowly waned and night approached. Quint looked at the deep red sunset and frowned.

"We’re in for a stormy day tomorrow." He said to the motley crew gathered on the deck. "We should be able to weather it if I steer the ship from below decks."

Vicks stared at Quint. "You can do that?"

Tireal grinned at the lion. "Sure, the control room is equipped with a steering mechanism as well as a view port so the captain can see outside of the ship."

Charr looked shocked. "Where is this control room I haven’t seen anything like it while exploring the ship."

"It’s what we’re currently using as the galley."

Quint told him. "It’s a simple matter of moving the table and pressing the right sequence of buttons."

Charr whistled, amazed. "This ship is quite a marvel… I’m surprised Zas didn’t steal it for himself."

Alexis scoffed from her place tied to the column. "You think this ship is marvelous? General Zas has a whole armada of ships better equipped than this waste barge."

Quint was beside her and pressing the business end of a pistol into her throat in a split second.

"You would do well to keep from insulting my ship while you are on it, She-rat."

Alexis scowled at the hyena.

"How do you know of these ships?" Charr asked her.

"None of the senators do."

"Fool!" She snarled. "The senate is a puppet practice. Only put into place to create the illusion of civilian power. General Zas rules the city kingdom single handedly and to his own ends! He needs no help!

NO ONE WI-"

"It’s nice of you to offer us your opinion." Quint interrupted her. "Now kindly, shut up." He lifted his pistol and cracked the butt of the gun into Alexis’s head, knocking the rat unconscious.

He turned to the rest of the creatures on the deck and holstered the weapon.

"I think we can tie her to something in the cargo hold for the time being, don’t you?"

Tireal folded his arms across his chest.

"I don’t think that’s a good idea." The otter said indignantly. "We should tie her to the ladder in the engine room instead."

The others were silent for a moment.

"Er…ok Tireal… I guess she can stay in the engine room…" Quint was still unsure of what Tireal thought of him after their confrontation earlier in the voyage.

The otter nodded curtly. He knew Quint was trying to get back on his good side, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to let the hyena get on his good side ever again. The crew was silent as they untied the rat and carried her to the engine room. Tireal stayed behind to watch the sun disappear below the surface of the water, the deep red ball throwing a spray of orange red and purple from it as it was doused in the calm blue of the sea. Tireal sighed sadly and vanished below decks, following the others into the belly of the Jolly Dodger that was lighting up slowly with the coming of night.

***

Quint’s lonely slumber was interrupted by someone shaking him. The hyena’s eyes snapped open and slowly came out of his dream. The person shaking him was saying something.

"Quint… Quint wake up, please…"

The hyena rolled over slowly and stared up into Tireal’s eyes.

"Tireal? What’s wrong?"

The otter frowned at Quint. "I… I’m lonely…"

Quint nodded and lifted up one end of the sheets for the otter, letting him crawl into the bed next to him.

The hyena rolled over again and yawned, putting his back to Tireal. Quint closed his eyes and was about to fall back into sleep when he felt Tireal’s smaller form pressed against his back. The hyena had forgotten how good it felt to sleep next to the small otter. He liked how Tireal cuddled into him. It made him feel loved. Seeing where his train of thought was heading, Quint quickly derailed it…

Yet…

He hadn’t loved in so long. He was beginning to forget what love felt like.

Quint shook himself. There was no questioning, he wasn’t gay and that was the end of it. He felt sorry for Tireal and the otter’s attachment to him, but he couldn’t love Tireal back.

But…

I do love him…

Quint’s last epiphany resounded in his mind like a tolling bell before he fell into a restless sleep once again.

The hyena awoke slowly, listening to the rain pound the outside of the ship. He sighed unhappily and decided to roll over to try and get more sleep.

Tireal’s sleeping form came into the hyena’s view.

Crap…

What do I tell him now? He’ll never believe me if I still say I don’t love him…

Quint stared at the small otter for a while, his eyes heavy from fatigue. The otter muttered in his slumber and rolled over, facing the silent hyena. Tireal looked like a child sleeping next to an older sibling or a parent. Quint couldn’t lie about his affection for the young otter, but he knew his love for Tireal wasn’t the same kind of love that Tireal had for him.

The hyena’s eyes drooped tiredly and he yawned. He remembered when he and Tireal had first met. It wasn’t a pleasant meeting by any means. Quint closed his eyes, his mind still focused on that day.

***

There was a thick layer of fog covering Leatine City that night. The streets were mostly empty save for a few citizens here and there making their way to their homes for the night. In front of the mayor’s mansion, however, there was a multitude of people. Gunshots had been heard and a crowd was gathering to try and see what the emergency was. It was impossible to see anything of what was going on in the fog, though and the crowd was quickly dwindling because of the lack of excitement. Had they been able to see clearly, they would have known that a lone bounty hunter was pitted against two big name criminals on that very same street. Quint strained his eyes, trying to tell the shapes of innocents from his prey. A bullet whizzed passed his cheek, but he didn’t move. He knew his adversary couldn’t see him any better than he could.

Another metal slug pinged off of a cobblestone near his foot. Quint perked up his ears.

A blade being drawn…

Rapid footsteps…

Quint ducked to the left as the second assailant flew over his right shoulder. His gun arm was ready, however, and he fired three shots at the airborne creature. Quint smirked in smug satisfaction as a ping of metal on metal was followed by the sound of tearing flesh and a yelp as the other two projectiles hit their mark. The hyena stayed crouched, head close to the cobblestones.

"I should be thanking you, bounty hunter." …a voice in the fog.

Quint was silent.

"You led me to exactly where I needed to be and at the right time, too." …a sinister laugh.

The hyena perked his ears toward the sound, following it with his pistol.

Another voice joined the first, "Let go of me, you fiend!" It was a female voice.

Quint grimaced as he heard a single gunshot. A dull thud was heard soon after.

The first voice spoke again. "You see, after this witch, I just need to murder her son." …another menacing laugh. "My goal is in sight, cowboy. Make your move before I end the little one’s life too." There was a pause. "Or maybe I should just kill you right now."

Quint had been waiting for this. He closed his eyes, picturing in his mind where the sound was coming from. The hyena’s enhanced intellect quickly calculated the reverberations of the streets and he leapt upwards as several bullets cut through the fog, missing him by centimeters. Quint flipped forward, pointing his guns in the opposite direction from whence the voice came. It only took two shots. The hyena’s deadly missiles spun through the fog.

They shattered the closed half of the bay window of the mayor’s mansion and cut cleanly through his adversary’s right thigh and left shoulder joints. All that the amazed lynx could do was topple over in shock, his right leg and gun arm rendered useless by two bullets from his opponent’s weapon. There was no way that any normal creature could have made those shots. He lay there on the floor, staring up at the ceiling as his two wounds bled onto the carpet under him. The feline remained motionless next to the female otter he had murdered as Quint’s tall form moved into his vision. The lynx stared upwards passed the hyena at the ornate decorations of seraphim and cherubim on the ceiling.

"What… sort of deal have you made with the gods or devils?" He asked. "Why have they granted you and these pathetic creatures their grace?" The lynx fought back a grimace of pain. "Why did they neglect me?"

Quint looked down at him. "No god gave me any grace and my strength comes not from devils. I’m on my own in this world, just like you."

The lynx chuckled, feeling his heart slow down. "I am glad… that you were the one to stop me…"

The hyena nodded and knelt beside the feline.

"You fought well and gave me quite a chase," Quint said, "I’m glad I was the one to stop you."

The lynx smiled up at Quint. "She… was a gifted… creature." The feline’s life was slowly ebbing away, the shoulder wound having passed too close to his heart. "I wanted to take both of their power for my own…" He swallowed painfully. "Was that… too much to… ask?"

Quint heard the sounds of the local authority gathering outside. "That’s not my decision to make, nor is it yours. Take comfort in the fact that you will not suffer for your mistakes." Quint looked into the lynx’s eyes. "You will enter Elysium after this night… just… give me your name and I will take your sins."

The lynx looked at Quint curiously and nodded. "I… am Alexander Capernicus."

The hyena placed a paw on Alexander’s forehead and closed his eyes as the feline breathed his last.

"Rest now, Alexander. Be at peace." Quint stood, putting a paw at his pistol when he saw the captain of the guard in the doorway.

"Giving last rights to convicted criminals, eh? Do all bounty hunters pity their bounty heads?" The doberman snarled.

"He requested peace; I merely gave it to him with two bullets, nothing more." Quint kept his paw at the ready to draw his weapon at any time.

"Is that so? What makes you think he disserved peace? He disserves to rot in a prison for the crimes he committed!"

The hyena shook his head. "Who are you to judge what others do and do not disserve? Each of us is entitled to peace at death. To deny someone that, is to become more of a monster than any of the worst criminals on the planet."

The doberman captain growled angrily and stalked off to find someone else to dispose of the two corpses.

Quint knelt beside the female otter and laid his paw on her forehead as well. "Forgive me, I could not spare your life. I will find your son and I will raise him as my own to repay my debt to you. I beg of you, show me where he is."

Quint closed his eyes and his paw glowed slightly; the image of the hiding and frightened otter child appeared in his mind.

"Thank you." He said as he stood and dipped his head in reverence to the two dead creatures as he left the house. He stopped over the dying form of his other attacker. The weasel tried to get away from the hyena, but Quint stopped him with a firm paw around his arm.

"I am a simple man." Quint said. "You needn’t suffer in death as you have in life. Tell me your name."

"C-Chris…" the weasel said frightened.

"What is your surname?"

"Andrews…"

Quint placed a paw on the weasel’s forehead. "I take from you your burdens. Rest and be at peace evermore."

The weasel died.

A throng of guards was down the street, listening to their canine captain bark orders at them. When one of the guards noticed Quint approaching, he pointed and exclaimed loudly while the others quickly joined in. They cheered and rushed over to congratulate Quint on a job well done. The hyena tried to push his way through the crowd of guards and citizens alike who wanted to know how he did it. He finally made his way out of the crowd and continued walking in silence, following the instructions in his head.

The house wasn’t very large, in fact it was more of a one-room shack. Quint pushed open the door slowly and peered into the darkness within. He took a step forward and winced as a sharp pain dug into his thigh.

The hyena reached forward and grabbed the otter child from the floor, lifting him upwards as he pulled the dagger from his thigh with his other paw.

"Let go of me!" The child was struggling. "I don’t wanna die!" The small otter started to cry.

Quint threw the bloody dagger away and put a finger to the young creature’s lips.

"Your attacker is dead." Quint said. "I could not save your mother."

The otter slowly stopped crying and looked at Quint.

"Mommy is…?"

"She and I are bound. I am indebted to her because I could have saved her if I had been fast enough. I am going to raise you as my own. A life for a life. Her life for your life."

The child nodded and sniffled, wiping his eyes with his small paws.

"What’s your name, child?" Quint asked.

"I’m… I’m Tireal, Tireal Rei." The small otter said after Quint put him down on the floor.

Quint smiled. "I’m Quint."

Tireal smiled back, but then noticed the blood dripping from the wound in Quint’s thigh. "Quint… I’m sorry for making you bleed…"

Quint ruffled the otter’s headfur. "I’ve had worse, Tireal. Come on, I’ll take you back to my ship and show you how to properly dress a wound like this one."

Tireal’s eyes lit up. "You have a ship??"

Quint nodded and he put a large paw on the otter’s back, leading the small child out of the dark cottage and towards the port.

***

A knock on the door startled both Tireal and Quint awake and the hyena slid out of the bed to see who it was. Charr stood on the other side.

"Captain, we have a storm tossed vessel in sight.

What should we do?" The rat said urgently.

"How big is the ship?"

"It’s a small sailing vessel. No longer than fifteen feet." Charr replied.

"Shit." Quint threw on a shirt and a handy pair of pants. "Tireal, get the lion awake and tell him we need his help on deck."

Tireal nodded and quickly dressed as the rat and hyena left for the deck.

The four creatures stood on the rain-drenched deck, Quint holding a pair of binoculars to his face as he scanned the waters around them.

"What was the heading of the ship when you first saw it?" He asked.

"It was due east, about one hundred and fifty feet away."

"Then that means it should be one hundred feet northeast of us now. Tireal, steer the dodger to that heading, but try to keep her steady."

The otter did as Quint told him and soon the small craft could be seen. The wooden sailboat was being thrown from wave to wave like a ball in the hands of children. Quint quickly tied a length of rope to a winch on the side of the Dodger. He held one end and told Charr to be ready to haul the rope in. Vicks helped Tireal steer the Dodger as close to the boat as possible while Quint scanned the small ship for any signs of life.

"There’s an unconscious creature onboard!" He shouted over the wind. "I’m going to pull him out manually!"

Quint tied the end of rope around his waist and leapt over the railing, repelling down the side of the Dodger to where the small boat neared the larger ship’s hull. The hyena kicked off of the Dodger and landed in the sailboat next to a motionless bear. He tied the rope to the boat to keep it from drifting too far away from the Dodger, but doing so caused the waves to bash the small, wooden craft against the side of the metal ship. Quint cursed under his breath and quickly tugged on the rope. Charr and Vicks hauled on the winch together, slowly pulling the battered boat out of the water and scraping it up against the side of the Dodger until Quint was able to pick the bear up and vault over the railing.

"Put him below, somewhere warm." Quint told Charr as he handed the chubby ursine over to the rat.

"What are you going to do?" Charr asked.

"I’m going to get the entirety of that bear’s belongings off of his ruined ship." Quint replied as he climbed over the railing again and started to pass items up to Tireal and Vicks.

***

Simon groaned slightly as he regained consciousness. His head pounded painfully and he slowly opened his eyes to look up at a large rat. "Where…?" He began.

"Welcome back," Charr said. "You are on the Jolly Dodger, I am Charr."

"…my ship?" Simon asked.

Charr smiled. "We found it and salvaged what was on it, including you."

The bear was speechless for a moment.

"I… I am very grateful… How did you get all of my things off of my ship?"

"You will have to thank Captain Quint for that. It was he who jumped over the side of the Dodger to save you."

Simon nodded. "Er, pardon my rudeness, I’m Simon." He held out a paw to the rat who shook it warmly.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you." Charr smiled.

The bear sat up slowly and groaned, holding his aching head. "I must have been hit by something…"

"You do have a nasty bump there. I think the boom might have caught you by surprise." Charr handed a warm, wet cloth to Simon. "That should help with the swelling and the pain."

Simon took it and smiled. "Thanks… I don’t really want to burden you or anything."

"Not at all. We’re happy to help those in need." Charr smiled warmly.

Simon smiled weakly back, his large tummy gurgling slightly as he did.

"Hungry?" Charr asked. "There’s a fully operational galley aboard and I’m sure Tireal would be happy to whip something up for you."

"That would be wonderful." Simon grinned as Charr helped him out of bed and down to the galley.

Quint sat in his cabin, watching the rain pound against his windows.

"Am I destined to save lost souls?" He asked himself. "It seems people in trouble just fall into my lap. Do I have a choice anymore? No… that option was taken away from me when I drank that green elixir. There is no choice in this. What kind of person would I be if I just ignored everyone else’s problems? I’d be no better than Chris, Alexander, or Zas. It’s destiny that drives me, fate. I have no say in the matter. When destiny is finished with me, then I’ll get to choose again." Quint sighed dejectedly and fell backwards onto his bed. "I hope I make the right choice when that time comes."