The sun beat its relentless cadence onto Vesper Bay, an pounding blaze that could kill a man, or drive him mad. On a day like this, outdoor guard duty was punishment, and any pit boss or sergeant who said otherwise was a smirking liar. The presence of water was a cruel taunt, especially on the docks where you might catch the bloody flux just from looking at it too close. No breeze came in off the bay, so it was hot and stank of fish and unwashed bodies to boot.
Punishment. Rufus and G'drev knew it, knew they'd pissed off the duty sergeant by staying up too late two nights ago on the Lane (wasn't it worth it though) and now they were paying for it, Blades uniforms cooking them alive in that hellish sun. They'd have complained, but this wasn't their first shit duty; day like this, the heat plucks the spit right off your tongue. So they stayed quiet, and watched the bloody ship like they'd been ordered.
"Hey boys~"
That tone of voice, delivered in that pitch, drew the midlander and the seeker's gaze immediately... and despite knowing better, mouths dropped open for just a moment.
![[Image: 54e85d657c213365c79c278fc71c1d63.jpg]](https://i.gyazo.com/54e85d657c213365c79c278fc71c1d63.jpg)
"That's a pretty ship you're guarding. You guys must be pretty good, to have such an important job..."
A cop, especially a Blade, learns pretty quick when someone wants something, and knows even better when someone's buttering them up. But when a girl like that, dressed like that, sun and sweat glistening on malms of tan flesh, shows up talking in a sweet voice, touching and flirting, that long tail of hers just kind of stroking here or wrapping there.. well, even men who know better sometimes find themselves talking a lot more, sun or no sun.
And she listened. And smiled. And if those eyes of hers made promises no sane man would expect to be kept... well, who wanted to be sane all the time anyroad.
They didn't even like this duty.
By the time the girl - 'Star', she called herself - took off, Rufus and G'drev were feeling quite a bit better about the day. Might be they'd look her up.. or maybe just head out to the Lane to scratch an itch, see if any of the local girls had hair or eyes like that.. and maybe a long, long tail...
~~~
"The 'Mourning Dove', recently impounded by the Blades. During their investigation, the Blades found evidence that the ship was being used to smuggle illicit substances, and had it condemned. Ownership was transferred from the dead captain to Gabriel and Sons Shipping."
Lying in bed, Anstarra tapped her quill against her lips, as she read back her journal entry. Smiling a little, as she thought of the pair of Blades who she'd spoken with. If they were smart, and kept their mouths shut, they wouldn't get in trouble... and hadn't she brightened their day? Maybe they'd meet again. She continued her entry.
"Unfortunately, the Blades don't know who owns Gabriel and Sons. The obvious answer is "Gabriel" but this is Ul'dah, so clearly a Monetarist owns it, and isn't necessarily open about their ownership. The ship is now set to be completely dismantled, in search of hidden compartments that might have more illegal substances on them. The company Westwind Construction has been hired to begin the dismantling process in the next few weeks."
She turned the page in her journal, tail twitching a bit. Red creeping up on her cheeks as she remembered what had happened after. She'd gone to find crew to speak with, the former sailors. Flush with her success with the Blades, as it were, gone to see if she could find any of the sailors here or there around town.
"Ever been with a wolf, lass?"
An alley, barrels.
The massive sea wolf, grinning down at her.
Her hands, eager...
"Dammit, An!" She buried her face in her pillow, tail swishing, until she was able to focus back on what she was doing. That whole evening had been.. unproductive! She moved on to the next page, clearing her throat at herself. The next page, the next day, where she'd gone to find other sailors to talk to.
"Many of the sailors talked of how there was nothing illicit. Insisting they weren't a smuggling ship. Others, however," - a little drunk and a little horny, she thought to herself with a smile - "said there was something special on the ship. A secret delivery the nature of which they ignored, but knew it was important. The Captain would know, but is inconveniently deceased."
Who else would know? The Captain may have kept notes about it in his log. But secret things... well.. you don't want to write those down where they're easily found.
"Perhaps his first mate might have known more, but he seems to have already taken a commission on another ship and left Vesper Bay. Which is not uncommon, or suspicious; many of the other crew have already taken on other contracts, and left town. Only one remains unaccounted for: a man named Garven."
An sighed, putting down her quill. Her entry terminated there, as did her trail. She could try to find this Garven, on the off-chance he knew anything... but where? Odds were just as well that if he knew too much, he'd been weighed down with rocks and dropped in the bay.
She closed her journal. Maybe tomorrow would yield more answers.
Punishment. Rufus and G'drev knew it, knew they'd pissed off the duty sergeant by staying up too late two nights ago on the Lane (wasn't it worth it though) and now they were paying for it, Blades uniforms cooking them alive in that hellish sun. They'd have complained, but this wasn't their first shit duty; day like this, the heat plucks the spit right off your tongue. So they stayed quiet, and watched the bloody ship like they'd been ordered.
"Hey boys~"
That tone of voice, delivered in that pitch, drew the midlander and the seeker's gaze immediately... and despite knowing better, mouths dropped open for just a moment.
"That's a pretty ship you're guarding. You guys must be pretty good, to have such an important job..."
A cop, especially a Blade, learns pretty quick when someone wants something, and knows even better when someone's buttering them up. But when a girl like that, dressed like that, sun and sweat glistening on malms of tan flesh, shows up talking in a sweet voice, touching and flirting, that long tail of hers just kind of stroking here or wrapping there.. well, even men who know better sometimes find themselves talking a lot more, sun or no sun.
And she listened. And smiled. And if those eyes of hers made promises no sane man would expect to be kept... well, who wanted to be sane all the time anyroad.
They didn't even like this duty.
By the time the girl - 'Star', she called herself - took off, Rufus and G'drev were feeling quite a bit better about the day. Might be they'd look her up.. or maybe just head out to the Lane to scratch an itch, see if any of the local girls had hair or eyes like that.. and maybe a long, long tail...
~~~
"The 'Mourning Dove', recently impounded by the Blades. During their investigation, the Blades found evidence that the ship was being used to smuggle illicit substances, and had it condemned. Ownership was transferred from the dead captain to Gabriel and Sons Shipping."
Lying in bed, Anstarra tapped her quill against her lips, as she read back her journal entry. Smiling a little, as she thought of the pair of Blades who she'd spoken with. If they were smart, and kept their mouths shut, they wouldn't get in trouble... and hadn't she brightened their day? Maybe they'd meet again. She continued her entry.
"Unfortunately, the Blades don't know who owns Gabriel and Sons. The obvious answer is "Gabriel" but this is Ul'dah, so clearly a Monetarist owns it, and isn't necessarily open about their ownership. The ship is now set to be completely dismantled, in search of hidden compartments that might have more illegal substances on them. The company Westwind Construction has been hired to begin the dismantling process in the next few weeks."
She turned the page in her journal, tail twitching a bit. Red creeping up on her cheeks as she remembered what had happened after. She'd gone to find crew to speak with, the former sailors. Flush with her success with the Blades, as it were, gone to see if she could find any of the sailors here or there around town.
"Ever been with a wolf, lass?"
An alley, barrels.
The massive sea wolf, grinning down at her.
Her hands, eager...
"Dammit, An!" She buried her face in her pillow, tail swishing, until she was able to focus back on what she was doing. That whole evening had been.. unproductive! She moved on to the next page, clearing her throat at herself. The next page, the next day, where she'd gone to find other sailors to talk to.
"Many of the sailors talked of how there was nothing illicit. Insisting they weren't a smuggling ship. Others, however," - a little drunk and a little horny, she thought to herself with a smile - "said there was something special on the ship. A secret delivery the nature of which they ignored, but knew it was important. The Captain would know, but is inconveniently deceased."
Who else would know? The Captain may have kept notes about it in his log. But secret things... well.. you don't want to write those down where they're easily found.
"Perhaps his first mate might have known more, but he seems to have already taken a commission on another ship and left Vesper Bay. Which is not uncommon, or suspicious; many of the other crew have already taken on other contracts, and left town. Only one remains unaccounted for: a man named Garven."
An sighed, putting down her quill. Her entry terminated there, as did her trail. She could try to find this Garven, on the off-chance he knew anything... but where? Odds were just as well that if he knew too much, he'd been weighed down with rocks and dropped in the bay.
She closed her journal. Maybe tomorrow would yield more answers.
![[Image: MBLxxyE.gif]](http://i.imgur.com/MBLxxyE.gif)
